Websites are used for a variety of purposes. They deliver information, entertain viewers, and provide a window looking into companies, organizations, and groups. School websites are no different, and many schools are able to provide their students, parents, and teachers with a massive amount of information that is long-standing and does not require much altering on a regular basis. For school media centers, a webpage is one way to get basic information to their patrons in an organized manner. Online catalogs, policies, media center hours, and the like are just a few pieces of information that SLMS can publish online with the hopes that patrons with questions can find their answers. Resources on this topic stress several important pieces of information.
• Use bullets to help views find important information
• Choose fonts wisely - use a bigger font for headings and smaller fonts for supporting information
• Use images that are eye-catching and make them into links that are relevant
• Keep writings short - students may shy away from reading long writings
While these websites are great, I was left with the nagging feeling that there had to be a quicker way to update information as media centers change. For Coweta County and other districts, it can take up to 24 hours for websites on the server to be updated, but what happens if a media specialist wants immediately wants to showcase new titles that have arrived, a literary event happening in the community, or award avid readers with an accolade? It would take a full day for the information to become live, but if the media specialist chose to run his or her site in a different format, the information would immediately be accessible and students could be updated through various means.
With tools out there like Blogger, Edmodo, Facebook, and Twitter, a media specialist could run an account for his or her media center that contains the same information a website does but with "followers." Those followers, teachers, parents, and students, could be instantly updated when new titles are added to the shelves, teachers could easily collaborate with the SLMS through posts, and parents could be kept informed of upcoming events. This method would come with a great reward - it is changing constantly, requires students to use their beloved technology, and is instant.
One thing about this generation of students is they do not like to be bored. Doing the same thing day in and day out wears on them, and we as educators need to strive to find ways to keep them actively engaged and this includes the internet. Today, we gravitate towards sites like YouTube, MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter because there is always something changing. Each new visit promises something new, and without that constant change, we will give up on that site. A media center website is no different. If we can show students that their media program is a living, breathing center then they may be encouraged to come inside. New books, new technology, and new ways of delivering information to a technology-driven generation may be the key to more students visiting their media centers.
Your question is an interesting one about whether media center websites are useful tools or are outdated. I think their usefulness definitely depends on how often the media specialist is maintaining the website. If they aren’t updated regularly they become outdated in a hurry. I update my website for my classroom daily and my changes are live automatically. What platform does your school use for websites? We use sharepoint and it is limited but very functional. Is someone monitoring your changes, is that why you have to wait for them to be published? If that is the case, it seems like your school system would probably not be open to using social networking sites for SLMS updates. I know my school district will not allow it. That said, I think you are right that these tools can be a wonderful way to communicate regularly and keep stakeholders informed about what is going on in the media center. I particularly like the use of a blog like that of Buffy Hamilton’s for this purpose: http://theunquietlibrary.wordpress.com/
ReplyDeleteI really like what you said about showing the students that the library is a "living and breathing center." That is SO important. My mentor and I constantly joke that we are trying to make the library a hip, cool place again. One way to do this is through constant updates and feedback. I know that our school has started a twitter account this year. Our principal tweets about upcoming games, advisement schedules, registration, or community events taking place at the school. So many kids are on twitter these days, so our kids are instantly updated.
ReplyDeleteI know that Cartersville City also has to wait an extended amount of time before posting on a website. I think that it would be necessary for the library media center to have a twitter account, blog, or Facebook. While my library media center hasn't ventured out into this realm yet, it certainly is coming. We have to meet students where they are. They are not constantly trolling the school's library webpage, but they are always on Facebook and twitter. By integrating the library into their lives through these social medias, the library's webpage could be used more often and usage in the library will go up. Isn't that the ultimate goal?
I am curious as to why it takes so long for information to be updated on your website. Does your district require review of sites before they go live? Or is it the sites themselves that allow only your IT department to post new information. As a district, we just overhauled our websites and are using SchoolinSites. When we make changes they occur instantly. Each teacher has a site, the media center has a site, and all of them are linked to the school and district sites.
ReplyDeleteI can understand how the other social networking sites would look like attractive alternatives if you had to wait a lengthy time. However, I think that a website would still allow you more flexibility and creativity.
I, too, am concerned that few students see the media center as a "living, breathing center." I would love to see the media center become the hub of the school. In order to accomplish this goal media specialists need to be technologically current and proactive in promoting the media center. In addition to an attractive, up-to-date website, utilizing other options such as Facebook, Twitter,and Edmodo makes sense.
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ReplyDeleteI really don't know exactly what Coweta uses for our websites. I used to keep up with a class website, and I when I needed to update something, I would upload it to my network drive, email our IT who would upload it, and then it would be live after midnight. Since that did my students no good for spur of the moment things and I didn't want to keep up with two, I only use Edmodo. It is easy and instant. I can keep the normal stuff (syllabus, weekly quiz reminders, etc) plus go live quickly with daily work
ReplyDeleteI know in Cobb County most schools use their media specialist as the webmaster. I cannot off hand remember the webpage creator approved by the county, but whatever is updated is instant. Our school uses a blog rather than a website. Each teacher can link his or her blog to the school blog. Our prevoius media specialist set our blog up through typepad. My personal class blog is through wordpress. Prior to the new program Cobb used front page which was not very user friendly. This caused many schools to switch to the blog format. Our media center website is also a blog. Here is the link to the media center blog for my mentor, Dr. Peggy Creighton.
ReplyDeletehttp://creightonblog.typepad.com/addison-media-center/
The idea that websites can take forever to be updated is very true. I think using a social networking site is a great way to get instant updates to a website. I think it is also a great way to get students to actively check the webpage. Students are more likely to be on social networking sites on a daily basis as opposed to just a random website. It would be more intuitive for them to just click on the school media center webpage on Facebook than to go and access it from the internet. It would also allow for a more interactive website. Students could comment and be an active part of creating the content they want to see. Great suggestion.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, at our school teachers do not have a choice about the use of a webpage. The media specialist is responsible for maintaining the school website. Each teacher is required to update their personal webpage on a regular basis. In order to regulate the type of information being presented to parents and students, teachers do not use any other tool to communicate. I believe a well maintained website can serve the same purpose as any other social networking site. In this day and age, we have to be extremely careful what we say and how we say it. Anything put in writing needs to be carefully thought out. It is comforting to know that the media specialist and administration are monitoring the information available to parents and students.
ReplyDeleteI also think that the ultimate goal of the website plays a huge role in determining how the media specialist approaches designing the webpage. If the media specialist wishes to simply provide patrons with information, the webpage can be created with little need for maintenance. If the media specialist wishes to provide a changing website to spark the interest of students, the media specialist could possibly embed a Weebly site.