Building a School Media Web Page
When building a school web page, there are two things to keep in mind. First, think like a media specialist, and decide what your patrons need. Not all media web pages need to contain the same material. An elementary school media center web page would need to include materials which are slightly different than would a middle school or high school. Secondly, think like a web designer. Your media web page must be an extension of your physical media center. Your page should be user friendly, informative, and accessible to meet the needs of all students and teachers. This includes your web accessibility for your impaired students as well. Since students may access the page at home, it should also be a good idea to include information for parents.
Items You May Want to Include
- Online catalogs
-Reference resources and assistance
-Curriculum connections
-Literacy connections
- Information about the media center
- Highlights of new material
-Calendar of activities
-Video tutorials
Media Web Page Do's
-Make website easy to navigate
-Follow copyright guidelines
-Use age appropriate material
-Keep information up-to-date
-Include a Help and/or Feedback Section
-Label everything clearly
Media Web Page Don'ts
-Don't use to many graphics
-Don't forget to be clear and concise
-Don't ignore web Accessibility rules
-Don't make forget your target audience
References:
Baumbach, D., Brewer, S., and Refroe, M. (2004). What should be on a school library web page?, Vol. 32, No. 1. Learning and leading with technology retrieved from: http://www.gorhamschools.org/~winstonb/pdf_files/SLMC_website_article.pdf
Walbert, D., Best practices in school library website design. Learn NC. retrieved from" http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/969
One of the most exciting things you mentioned is that a media center website should highlight new materials. My students get so excited when we get in new materials. They would love to be able to see the cover of new titles. Parents would also be able to see what is new in the media center using a website. They enjoy learning about new events. Last year after having a Storybook Character Pumpkin Contest, I included pictures from this event on our school website. I received a lot of good feedback, which has encouraged my to do it again this year.
ReplyDeleteI love how you broke your posts down into things to put on a webpage for the media center. I also like that you mentioned several do's and don'ts for a webpage as well. One thing I would not even think about is a copyright issue when creating a webpage. I would not think about accessibility for handicapped patrons either. These are serious and relevant issues that need to be considered in every webpage. I definitely agree with your comment that the webpage should be updated frequently. I have been to so many webpages that have not been updated in a year or two. I find this to be extremely annoying. Last, I agree about webpages needing to be easy to navigate. There is nothing worse than a website that has too much stuff on it with no particular rhyme or reason for where it is on the page.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your blog about building a school media webpage. I like how you mentioned the two main ways of what should be incorporated into the web page. It is very important to keep in mind who your audience is when creating the website. I also like the different ways/reasons for creating one and the different aspects one might include on his or her website. I didnt realize or take into consideration some of the do's and dont's of creating a webpage for the media center. I definitely agree that adding too much stuff can be distracting and take away from the website as a whole. Well done!
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