Back in the dark ages, right after I got my first job out of college, I had my first opportunity to see the internet. I worked for a large real estate firm in Atlanta doing corporate marketing. At that time we were considered fairly tech savvy, although we still had to hand paste our logo onto all our marketing materials to get them ready for the printer. One girl in the office was lucky enough to have internet access because she had to submit the classified ads to the newspaper each week. I can still hear her computer as the slow sound of dial-up filled the room. One day our boss was not in so we all crowded into her cubicle so we could see what all the fuss with the internet was about. As I studied my first webpage I could not help but feel, how can I put this nicely, profoundly disappointed. That was it? That was the internet. It seemed like nothing more than a giant ad for companies with the resources to market themselves. Of course, we didn’t have much time to “surf the net” to see what all was available. And back then webpages and graphics were nothing like they are today. It would be like comparing the first Atari home video games (remember Pong?) to a Nintendo Xbox 360 or a Sony PlayStation.
I am quite simply amazed at the changes that the last 18 years have brought in terms of technology. (I am also amazed that I have been out of college for 18 years but that is another story!) Now virtually every business, politician, organization and event has their own website and school media centers are no different. In fact, our textbook, Technology in the School Library, states that close to 90 percent of school media centers have websites and, because of new options and technologies, this number is expected to be close to 100 percent in the next few years (Jurkowski, 2010).
The question then becomes not should the school media center have a website, but how can the school media center website be the best it can be and best serve the students and staff?
Content, obviously, is extremely important. In fact, it was listed in almost everything I read about effective website design. Many different elements can be included in a good media center webpage. It is important to post the basics like hours of operation and contact information. I personally think it is a good idea to include an e-mail address and phone number in a prominent spot. I get extremely frustrated when I cannot find the contact information on a website since that is often the initial reason I go to a site. Other ideas for content include pathfinders, books and reading promotions, presentations, speeches, instructions and blogs. School Library Websites, http://schoollibrarywebsites.wikispaces.com/, is a great wiki with a lot of ideas for content. Not only does it give a lot of links to established sites (some good, some bad) but it provides numerous links to different ideas. One suggestion I loved was “Book Trailers.” Similar to movie trailers these short films would be great to place on your homepage to pique reader interest. See a sample below.
Other tips for designing an effective webpage include making sure you keep your audience in mind. A site aimed at a third grader will need to be different than one aimed at a high school student. Schools that have a large range of ages can use a common home page with links to different areas for different ages (Jurkowski, 2010). Simplify, simplify, simplify. If a page has too many elements it becomes distracting rather than helpful. It is also a good idea to visually highlight important information (like e-mail address and phone numbers!) Make sure and limit your color palette and pay attention to readability when selecting colors. Red and blue mixed together are difficult to read and red and green are impossible for someone who is color blind. Color should always be used judiciously (IJ design, 2011). Finally, it is a good idea to keep pages short, satisfy user’s needs immediately (avoid lots of clicks to get to something simple), make sure your page is easy to navigate and check the usability of your webpage by testing and retesting (Diane, 2010).
References
Diane, L. (December 8, 2010). Top 10 Web Design Tips and Tricks | TechnoZeast. TechnoZeast | The Technology Blog. Retrieved October 17, 2011, from http://www.technozeast.com/top-10-web-design-tips-and-tricks.html
Jurkowski, O. (2010). Technology and the school Library (Revised Edition ed.). Lanham: Scarecrow Press, Inc.
Top 10 web design tips - IJDesign. (n.d.). Green Web Design - IJDesign in Denver, Colorado. Retrieved October 17, 2011, from http://www.ijdesign.com/Top-10-Web-Design-Tips.html
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ReplyDeletePosted by: Kim George (Having technical difficulties commenting, but not posting, as herself)
ReplyDeleteI really like your analogy of Atari and Nintendo Xbox and completely agree. I think my daughter would laugh if I told her the story of my family receiving its first Commodore 64 computer. I remember typing in code from GAMES magazine for what seemed like hours to be able to play hangman. I was sadly disappointed when I had to review the code for one mistake that had prevented me from playing the game. Media Center web pages have, like you mentioned, come a long way.
I too am a strong believer in simplifying. I find it very distracting when going to sites like weather.com and pop up ads are jumping out and movement and sound are coming from various advertisements. Inside I’m thinking I just want to know what the weather is like. Overstimulation is rampant in web sites and advertising companies. There is such an overwhelming amount of information out there and sometimes it seems like people are trying to squeeze it all into one website. It’s similar to teaching students. We don’t just dump the information out and have them sift through it to find what is useful. We use strategies like chunking information, retrieving prior knowledge, allowing them the opportunity to reflect on discussions, and visuals to assist them in painting a picture in their minds. Similar strategies can be used on websites. We need to ensure that the pages are updated and outdated information is hidden or deleted. Policies should also be clearly labeled for parents, teachers, and students. Upcoming events are also important to encourage community involvement and communicate with parents. I would also have a monthly newsletter that discusses the “State of the Media Center” and mention new books, technology or courses being taught. I also think it is a good idea to include the links to local public libraries so students can easily find books that aren’t part of the school collection.
One feature that I have also noticed some websites have is their reference information already created in MLA and APA format. It’s nice to easily locate all of the information on one page and copy and paste into a reference section. Not to mention, it ensures credit is given to the proper sources.
At the same time, sometimes it seems like I could spend a full day each week updating the media webpage by highlighting projects students have been creating about digital citizenship, reviewing books that I’ve read, informing about new books, giving credit to students who have earned incentives for reading, and the list goes on.
I love the book trailer idea and the You Tube video you included. Nancy Keane also has some great book trailers. It would be interesting to publish these on the media website and have students vote for which book they wanted to read the most based. You could set up the media center like a voting station with laptops loaded with Survey Monkey and have the live results streamed onto the white board for a dramatic effect. Maybe in your spare time you could create I Voted Stickers for all the students.
Great Post! Thank you for sharing.
Content and audience have always been two extremely important considerations for communicators. In the information age, with so much content available and so many (millions of) possible viewers, these two facets of a web site have become even more important than ever. The link you provided for school library websites is already in my favorites! There are many examples from all over and from many different types of librarians and technology specialists. This resource is wonderful! Thank you so much for letting us know about it. I think the only challenge to creating a library media center web page would be knowing when to stop putting incredibly good and useful links on it because there are so many great ones to choose from.
ReplyDeleteI love book trailers. YouTube has a lot of them, and many were made by students. They are not as professional looking as the one you provided, but I think they are a great idea for a literature project for high school students or advanced middle school students. Once you’ve seen a good book trailer, you are hooked and have to read the book. Posting good book trailers on the web page is a great way to keep students coming back to the page for more, and while they are there, they will be exposed to all of the other great content and study tools on the site.
Thanks for your post! Sue Thach
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ReplyDeleteI remember the early days of the Internet too, and actually being in college and having to write papers without using online resources! When I wrote for my college newspaper, we did paste-up (yes, I mean paper and glue) to put together page layouts. It really is amazing to think about how different things are today.
ReplyDeleteWebsites today are so much more sophisticated than the first web pages, but I do think that sometimes there is the temptation include too much, simply because we can, and completely overwhelm your audience. I like that you emphasize the need to simplify, simplify, simplify. I hate it when I click on a web page and I’m immediately assaulted by blinking graphics, background music, and scrolling headers. Yes, it is nice that we have the technology to do these things, but do we really need to do all of them at once?
I also love the School Library Websites wiki you link to. The book trailers are awesome! Now I want to read The Adoration of Jenna Fox. These would also be great examples for students to use to make their own book trailers. Lots of media centers have access to the equipment to do this now, and making a book trailer would be so much more interesting than the book reports of the past. Book trailers by students, for students, would be perfect content for any media center website.
Terese Scheiderich
I can't post through my google account, so I'm having to post through another account...how frustrating!
ReplyDeleteI guess I am spoiled because I don’t really remember not having to use the internet for some type of assignment. The internet really took off when I was in middle school, and my earliest memory of it was waiting for AOL to connect so I could check my e-mail. It was the highlight of my day! Now there are so many different ways to utilize the internet that it’s hard to believe that school libraries wouldn’t take advantage of this mode of communication.
Web design and content planning are so important. I think a lot of schools now use e-learn websites which present a template to teachers who can create a web page for their class. I know they are utilized a lot in Newton County. It’s kind of a painless approach to website planning and development because the web design is already done for you. I, however, would like to get more familiar with website design software such as Dreamweaver (although I don’t know if this is the latest software anymore). I had to use the trial version for intro to technology, but the software was too expensive for me to purchase at the time.
I, like everyone else, enjoyed the book talk. Reading the comments gave me a lot of ideas for having students create booktalks as well. I think having students participate in the process gives them a sense of accomplishment, and makes their peers much more likely to respond. Perhaps students in Helen Ruffin Reading Bowl or a book club could make book trailers to advertise their favorite new additions to the library. I liked book trailers so much that I made one of my own in a Children’s Literature class which introduced poetry on a variety of topics relevant to middle schoolers and teenagers. I believe it will be included on our media center webpage as a sample entry on a podcasting blog which we will link to.
Awesome post! You really gave this topic a lot of thought!
Joyce Reid
Group 6
Molly,
ReplyDeleteI found your blog to be both informative and entertaining. I like the way that you took us on a journey of your first experience with the Internet on your job when you graduated from college and the analogy of gaming systems from when I was a kid.
Also, the research that you found will be helpful with our group assignment for the Media Center webpage. So lets make sure that we keep these resources in mind. Being that I work at an alternative school and my Media Center serves the punitive and voluntary alternative programs, the Media Specialist serves elementary, middle, and high school. The information that you shared about keeping it simple and divided into grade levels will be helpful for us to start creating a website for our program. In addition, the design principles and the Book Trailers can be shared with teachers as well. I plan on sharing this information with my mentor even if she does not create a website immediately.
Thanks for sharing,
Cynthia
The concept of a video book trailer really seems to be appropriate for our children and adults in today's age. (I like to read the book first.) That one was captivating!
ReplyDeleteI loved your content ideas for web sites and can completely relate to your frustration regarding contact information. I have been in that situation too. I think some companies try to hide that information, but I have also had trouble locating faculty email on school websites as well. The most basic info such as hours and contact information should be posted in a prominent area, because they are probably some of the most common things you look for when you visit a page. It would seem very practical to post pathfinders (I finally know what these are now) for various research groups to access and upcoming events (my own children tend to lose flyers). There are so many possibilities and it is exciting to imagine the potential traffic you can attract to your webpage.
I like how you mentioned color combinations and color blindness. I had not given that much thought, but I guess if you contrast you can’t go wrong. I have had to highlight passages myself with the mouse to make words easier to read. Thanks for all the great suggestions on web pages.
Molly,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your timely blog about media center web pages. This is great information, especially with the upcoming media web page assignment!
It truly is amazing how much technology we have at our fingertips as compared to the “good ole days.” Your example of using your first internet experience was funny, but so true. It wasn’t that long ago that I myself made jokes about fixing dinner while the internet booted up!
You included a lot of great tips for building/creating a library media center web page. Content and color, accessibility and simplicity, and so on, these are very important to consider. Keeping the audience in mind is key to the success of the page.
Wow! The book trailer idea is GREAT! I loved the example you included… it really made me want to read the book about Jenna Fox.
Thanks, again, for all the great information!