The Importance of a Web Page

I believe the importance of a media center web page is designed for research purposes. Many students from grades K-12 are equipped in using the internet for their schoolwork. During my research I discovered that 78% of students in K-3 begin using the internet in school and 43% of student in 4-6 use the internet at school. Furthermore, 84% of students in 7-12 use the internet in the school so the web page is a necessity. The media center provides great web sites for students to research materials for projects. Teachers are supportive users of the web page. They integrate web sites with their lessons by surfing the internet. Teachers also use the media center web page when teaching class assignments in literature, technology, science, business or mathematics.

I think it is importance that parents have access to the school's web page. Parent need to be informed of events regarding their child, for example teacher-parent conferences. Contact numbers and web addresses of teachers need to be provided in case of an emergency. The hours of operation of the media center needs to be posted on the school's web page so the community is aware of it. Someone may want to schedule a meeting during school hours so knowing its schedule is very important.

Some of my likes and dislikes for web pages are the use of small images or photos and small font that is very difficult to read. All information and texts must be well organized so it can catch the viewers attention. This will determine if the viewers will continue to visit the web page. Here are some selected links to view on do's and don'ts for web pages: www.kysma.org/Making%20the%20Most%20of%20Your%20School%20Media%20web.ppt and alfabravo.com/blog/2007/11/presentation-skills-dos-donts.html
A web page must include links to book reviews' sites. There must also be a place for students to post their comments regarding the book reviews.

The media specialist must have the option to either have a web page, blog page or wiki page. I feel that their must be a balance because web pages have been around for a long time. Therefore, media centers need to be updated and have the use of wikis and blogs. Students need the experience using all of them because the more they know about technology, the better it prepares them for the world.

Wiki-ing & the media center

I definitely think wikis can be fun and useful tools in schools amongst teachers and students. Of course they need to be closely monitored especially when students can add and edit entries. That’s why I believe students’ should be limited to add and reading entries.
I can envision wikis being implemented in many ways with students:
Book talks: it is strongly suggested that media specialists sponsor some type of book discussion club. Though book discussions are very fun and interactive, wikis can offer an alternative to actually discussing a book face-to-face. Students can include links to topics related to the book; include videos of their thoughts about the book; etc…The list is endless.
Students can share their favorite math-related resources Sharing of ideas for a unit of study; teachers have such creative minds. One of the most unique aspects of wikis is the fact that you can add videos
Students can share research projects and not have to be consumed with the logistics of writing. They can share their learning in an informal and fun way. I feel students will take pride in the public posting of their learning and strive to make it the best!

As a media specialist, I think one will have to be reasonable and accept the fact that everyone is not going to embrace the idea of yet another something new. However, there are ways to create enthusiasm surrounding wikis. It would be wise to start small with a select group of teachers and faculty members. Build that wiki using it to its fullest potential and showcase the wiki at a faculty meeting.

Wiki's

I initially thought that I would never use wikis, in the Media center. However, as I’ve read different articles on wiki’s I realize that they can be useful to a media specialist in many different ways. For example, one of the jobs of a media specialist is to collaborate with teachers on the curriculum, a wiki’s would be a great tool to post informational sites pertaining to the curricular unit. In addition, this would be an excellent tool, where the media specialist and grade level teachers, could actually post their ideas and thought before they all met together. This would allow teachers and media specialist to brainstorm at their convenience and post idea before they ever meet. This would help save time when they actually meet together.

In order for Wikis to be successful teachers have to be open to the idea of new technology and fully understand how it can benefit them. Many are overwhelmed with their workload as it is. In order for Wiki to be successful teachers need to receive a brief tutorial on the tool, the benefits of the tool, and how it has worked for other schools in the past.

Wiki’s have been criticized over the years. For one, the information can be compromised by others. To overcome this problem wiki’s can be limited to teachers and administrators. Furthermore, wiki’s could be broken down by grade levels and subjects. For example, a fourth grade wiki could be created for fourth grade teachers to collaborate on the upcoming unit or address issues or concerns they are having teaching the current unit. Another criticism of wiki’s according to the article Seven Things You should Know about Wiki’s is that a Wiki can be biased and represent the opinions of the authors who creates them.

The Use of Wikis

In all honesty I never heard of the word "wiki" until I took this course. After reading Chapter 3 Library 2.0 and Beyond I pretty much comprehend what a wiki is. Wikis are used for internal communication, instructional collaboration, and as a research guide. Using wikis in the media center can be very productive. Teachers can use them for student's book reviews, reports, Pathfinders research on fiction and nonfiction books, and for student's work/assignments. The web site blog.schoollibrarymedia.com/index.php/category/wikis/ has some interesting information about the use of wikis. Wikis can be used effectively in education by having students to learn how to create web sites. Students can track group projects on a wiki and post their discussions and collaborate on design or podcast.

Certainly there are some drawbacks to wikis. In an organization or school setting there are many users contributing and editing on the wiki. There should only be administrators and teachers having the responsibility to edit on the wiki not students. Students may include information that is not factual. Review the web site report on wikis.wikispaces.com/Drawbacks+of+Wikis for more facts on wikis drawbacks. Another drawback is that it does not have an identical customized option as a self-hosted wiki.

When perusing the wiki from last week I realized its strength and weakness. In Library 2.0 and Beyond, its primary strength is to allow contributions from anyone in society. A weakness for the wiki is having too much inappropriate content and resources from the community. The elements that must be taken place to move wikis towards collaboration is for the wiki creator to give up control to the administrators, teachers, and students. A library media specialist must promote the wiki positively whether teachers or students are using it. However, as time goes by they will learn how to appreciate it and understand the importance of it.

Podcasting 101

A teacher approaches you and asks you if you can help him to start up a podcast for his class (something like Radio WilloWeb). How do you respond to the teacher? What is your role? What are the reasons behind how you choose to respond to this teacher?

I would respond excitedly. Excitedly because I know this means that at least one teacher is interested in new-age technology. Unfortunately, new technology and new ways of doing things are often resisted at my school.
To help this teacher, I would first do my “homework” and brush up on my understanding of podcasting; including what (free) software is needed or available and compatible with the type of computers we have; the equipment needed; and how to begin the start-up of a podcast.
My next step would be to share what I have learned with the teacher and actually sit down with him or her and create a podcast. We always stress that students learn best when they are "doing" so this is why I would take this route.

I would make sure that the teacher left with a comfortable understanding with how to get started and a tip sheet that detailed the steps taken to complete the project.
Hopefully this would start a chain reaction and other teachers would become interested as well. "Our" next step would be to conduct an in-service for all teachers intereseted in sharing this unique tool with their students.

Being an effective media specialist is all in the relationships you build with the rest of the faculty.

Podcasting in Schools

With the advancement of technology even the most novice users can create multimedia presentation. Pod cast are where images, animations, and images can be used together to create presentations. Teachers can use this technology to created interesting presentations. In addition, students in elementary, middle, and high school can use this technology to create presentations. The pictures can be obtained from the internet or from digital pictures. When students use this technology to create presentations they gain a better understanding of the information. In my opinion, having students to create presentation should be used in conjunction with pen and pencil tests. However, I realize that with a shortage of computers and because of time restraints it is unrealistic to have students complete many pod casts. In one elementary media center I visited the media specialist was teaching students how to create a pod cast of their favorite author for a writing assignment. The first thing she did was show them her presentation on her favorite author, and then she taught them how to download a photograph and book covers of their favorite author and where to download it on the schools server. She actually had the website pre selected for each students. This whole process took about 45 minutes and the presentation would be completed over several visits to the media center. It was very exciting for the students and the media specialist. Pod cast can be used in elementary, middle, and high school and can be a powerful tool to help students learn the required information.

Podcasting in Schools

The use of podcasting in schools has risen tremendously. It appears that technology is taking over the school system. I really did not know much about podcasting until I took this course, research the topic, and read Chapter 4 on Podcasting. This form of technology is very popular and user friendly to students. On the contrary, it keeps them focused and engaged in their studies. Now, I think this is awesome to have students to really enjoy what they are learning through podcasts. At my school where I volunteer, the teachers are assigning students to do podcast movies and videos. I don't know much about creating these type of podcasts. I would definitely need some kind of training on how to create them.


If a teacher approaches me asking for help to start up a podcast for his class I would first of all research the topic and then ask the technology specialist for assistance. Once I have gotten all of my resources I would suggest the following from Library 2.0: (1). An audio file must be uploaded to the web. (2). An RSS 2.0 feed is associated with the file and must be uploaded to the web. (3). The feed must be read by the podcatcher application and then downloads the audio file. I would also suggest that he does a 3 minute podcast presentation having each student to introduce themselves using their favorite pictures. Hopefully, this would help the teacher get started with his podcast effectively.

Duties of the Media Spec

A teacher approaches you and asks you if you can help him to start up a podcast for his class (something like Radio WilloWeb). How do you respond to the teacher? What is your role? What are the reasons behind how you choose to respond to this teacher?

I would tell the teacher that just making a podcast is a relatively simple thing to do, but creating a space is a little more complex. I will offer to help create a space like Willow Web. My role as the media specialist is to provide media support and podcasting is part of today’s media that kids will enjoy and learn from. After visiting some of the sites we were given, some better than others, I can see the value of using this technology to enhance/enrich the curriculum. I would further suggest offering an in-service to “share the wealth”. Paul

Slippery slope but a good point

"The issue is not whether patrons have been denied First Amendment rights but rather, whether public libraries must be forced to become purveyors of pornography and deliver obscene material to innocent children," said Stephen Crampton, chief counsel for the American Family Association.
Moreover, libraries already censor literature deemed inappropriate for kids, said David Miller, the vice president for Citizens for Community Values.
"They already pick and choose which books their patrons have access to," Miller said. "Why are they unwilling to filter out Internet material that is harmful to children?"

People who want access to material deemed inappropriate can always purchase their own net service. Many municipalities and some states have opted for smoke-free restaunts to protect patrons. An argument could be made that filtering out certain content is doing the similar thing; protecting young patrons from inappropriate stuff. There are adults who would find some blocked sites offensive but are those sites also harmful to adults? Hmmmm. Something to ponder further. Paul

Super attractions at Myrtle Beach

There are some wonderful pictures in Lahamasflower.

Myrtle Beach this Summer

Myrtle Beach was fabulous this Summer. I had a wonderful time lying on the beach in the sun and listening to the waves splasing backwards and forwards. Wow, I had the time of my life! I am excited about visiting Myrtle Beach again.

hurray

Finally!!!!!!!! Okay ladies, let's knock this out!