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.
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4 comments:
I agree that mark of a good media center page is easy to navigate, provides relevant resource links and uses font and characters that are not too small or obtrusive. You comment about the site having links to online book reviews is also great. Perhaps the SLMS can create an account with sites like "Librarything" and post new acquisitions to the media center there.
You covered some valid points in your posting. With the way Internet use has grown there's no way one should think that a school website is a waste. These sites are invaluable tools for all stakeholders. Like you stated, the school's website can be used to keep parents up-to-date on important meetings; students can access the site when researching or looking for help with homework. My concern is how do we bridge that gap for those populations with great numbers of households without computers. Believe it or not there are still many students who don't have computers in their homes.
You made some really good points in your blog. In the school that I work at, we have two computer labs and technology instruction begins in kindergarten. They are taught at an early age how to use the internet, and many come to school already knowing how. I agree that school websites should be accessible to both parents and students at home. Our Techie does a great job with our website. There are links to educational things for students and a great deal of information for parents as well. If you ever get a chance to visit our website at Coker Elementary here's the address: http://www.murray.k12.ga.us/coker/coker.htm
There's even a place for teachers to link to different places, and I use it all the time.
Lahama,
I agree with you that websites can be a valuable resource for teachers and students. The websites could be connected to the curriculum by providing valuable links, by grade level, that are aligned to what is currently being taught. I also believe that parents should be able to access the website where they could find information could find information on AR books, important dates, etc. The website should also be easy to use. When websites are well organized I tend to visit them again.
Alecia
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