Instead of doing a formal post, I thought I would make a
list of some interesting and useful tips I picked up through my exploration of
library media center websites.
- Organize before you start – It is important that you figure out the type of information and the goal of your website before you create one. A poorly designed website that is published too early will not encourage users to revisit it.
- Our book is a good resource for developing a website step by step. If you are faced with updating or building a library media center website our text book provides a step by step process to ensure your website meets all of your goals.
- Categorize to make the information easy to find – To me, having your website similar to a filing cabinet makes it easier to navigate. Also, include a way to get back to the beginning or “Home” on every page. This makes navigation easier.
- Keep in mind your audience – A media center serves a wide variety of patrons. You serve staff, teachers, parents, students and other community stakeholders. Each patron should have a section on your webpage.
- Taylor your site to the age of children you serve – This means that the language you use on your website should be readable to the majority of student you serve. Providing descriptions of new materials or of links to different information, keep in mind the language level that you serve. You do not want to use higher language for elementary students, but likewise do not want to use elementary language when working with high school students.
- Have a goal for your website – Why are you creating this page? This sets the purpose of your website. Really think about what you are trying to accomplish by creating this website. If you think about this before you start, then your webpage will be an extension of the services you provide face to face.
- Make sure it is visually pleasing and your layout works – You can design a website with great material but if it does not look professional then many users might be turned off. Your website should be easy to navigate and visually stimulating without being too crowded. Also, make your website searchable. This makes it easier on the patrons to find what they are looking for.
- Include many different ways to get the information (images, animations, video, audio, etc.) – Students learn through many different types of media. You as a media specialist should also provide different ways to get information. Include different ways on your webpage.
- ADA guidelines should be kept in mind – Having different types of media is one way to make your webpage more accessible for students with disabilities. Also, make sure the colors you use can either be turned off or can be easily read by people with a visual impairment or are color blind. Provide captions to videos for students who are deaf or hard of hearing. There is a tool you can use on YouTube to do this now.
- Give current information & resources – Make sure your website is current. Include the date your website was last updated. Not only will it be useful to the patrons, it gives you another reason it update it more often. While some of the information will not change, it is important to provide new and update resources to keep your patrons interested in your media center.
- Provide communication for students, librarians, and teachers – This point I found interesting because I did not realize that a media center website should do this. Your website should foster communication between students, librarians, and teachers. This can be done in many ways. For example, the teachers can link to resources on the library media webpage from their blog. Also, you need to provide a way for a patron to get in touch with you whether it be via phone, email, or the hours your media center is open.
- Have solutions to problems on your website – One idea is to have a list of common problems and solutions on your media webpage. For example, you might have an area for parents who have struggling readers or you might have a video posted for your teachers on how to connect their laptop to an interactive white board. In addition, you can have links to helpful homework helpers and other resources for students.
- Include resources for parents (common core, Lexile, etc.) – Make sure you have resources for parents on your webpage. They will look at your website when they have a question and need information. Linking to information about the new Common Core Standards, Lexile Ranges, Accelerated Reader, College Applications are just few ideas for parents.
- If you don’t have control of your website, link to your own wiki – In some districts, you may not have control of the content on your website. It is the same generic website for all media centers. However, most of the time you can link to your own wiki or webpage. By doing this, you are making your media center stand out and providing good information to your patrons.
- Put your URL on all handouts, and encourage teachers to link to your webpage – This will increase traffic to your webpage. You must promote your webpage in order for students and patrons to use it. Set it as the homepage on your media center computers. This might increase student use of the resources you provide for them on your webpage.
Overall, the most important thing to remember when creating
a webpage is to include engaging items for all users that foster your media
center’s mission and goals.
References
Jurkowski, O. (2010). Technology
and the school library: A comprehensive guide for media specialists and other
educators. Lanham, Maryland: The Scarecrow Press, Inc.
Warlick, D. (2005).
Building web sites that work for your media center. Knowledge Quest, 33(3),
13-15.
Including resources for parents including but not limited to Common Core, Lexile, etc. is a great way to connect the media center to student learning. The same could be applied to another layer of the website for teachers/staff. Collaborating with staff members and compiling useful resources on the media center website, again connecting the media center to student learning may increase the number of teachers that use the media center and the media specialist as learning tools.
ReplyDeleteThe media center website is one of the best PR tools we have. We need to include a way for the users to respond to what they see/don't see, what they like/don't like, what they would like to find in the media center or even what they would like to have available through the website.
You included some great tips for designing a media center web page! I learn best through analogies, so thinking about the webpage as a filing cabinet makes complete sense. Things must be organized in order for them to actually get utilized by the users of the site. Including resources for parents (and teachers) is a very important tip to me. As a first grade teacher, any web page created by the school would most likely be visited by parents before the students. By having something for everyone, you are much more likely to get lots of traffic to the web page. Love the idea of including the URL on handouts and other teacher’s webpages. Another idea would be to create QR codes that link people directly to the site when scanned with their phones. You could even make bookmarks with the QR code printed on them
ReplyDeleteClaire, I like the format you used to detail and provide information regarding school websites. Your blog was easy to read and bulleted pertinent information quickly and easily. I especially liked your point regarding having a goal for your website. I think it's too easy to get 'pulled' into the technology aspect of the media center and easy for a website to become a dumping ground for miscellaneous information instead of having a design and flow to it. Truthfully, it wasn't until reading about websites and doing the class assignment for making a site that I realized just how much information really needs to be included to provide the necessary information to all of the media center stakeholders.
ReplyDeleteClaire,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the list you created. It was helpful. In fact, I created a similar list of useful hints and content that should be present on a media center webpage so that I will be well-equipped to create a great one when I have my own media center. I thought you made a good point about organizing before you start. I had not considered that a webpage should prompt users to come back often. While it is always evolving and should be added to and changed, the webpage should also be complete enough from the get-go to appeal to users and encourage them to revisit it in the future. The first impression can make or break a webpage’s success and may taint the perception of the media center and even the media specialist! I also like your idea of organizing your website like a filing cabinet with information addressing each type of stakeholder that may visit it. Good suggestion! Like you, I didn’t realize that a media center webpage should encourage communication between students, teachers, and parents. I like the idea of a blog as part of the webpage, but my school blocks sites with blogs, so an exception would certainly have to be made!