Blog 3: Media Center Webpages

As we continually use technology such as websites, social media, or even Instagram to share information, it becomes increasingly important to make sure that you are visual to the online world.  I think that this is also applicable to school media centers in that they should be promoting themselves to teachers, students, parents, and even the community through their websites, blogs, or social platforms. 

While researching a lot of different media center websites, I’ve added up a list of my favorites and my least favorites with my personal opinions and comments.

Favorites:

1.       Milton Middle School- Milton, Wisconsin

http://www.milton.k12.wi.us/schools/mms/website/library/MMS_LMC/Welcome.html

My immediate thought when pulling up this site is that it is very aesthetically pleasing. The layout and graphics are nice and pop, drawing the user to important links on the site. I enjoyed that the site included a link for media center policies, which is easily accessible for teachers and students. I also enjoyed the fact that the media specialist included a large bio on herself, because I think that is an important element for a parent/teacher connection.

2.       Lewis and Clark Elementary School – Liberty, Missouri

http://lc.liberty.k12.mo.us/lmc

When I came across this site, I was at first a bit overwhelmed with the amount of content, but soon came to enjoy and appreciate all of the detail that the media center team put into this site. Of particular interest is the twitter feed to the left side of the screen. I think this is a great way for students, parents, and teachers to keep up with library happenings!

Least Favorites:

1.       Knoch Senior High School- Saxonburg, PA

http://www.southbutler.net/lib/

While this site does have some useful information, it really lacks in esthetic appeal and doesn’t do much to promote the library. When trying to find information, I think that having a clear, concise format is ideal for students, teachers, and parents. This site seems to be lacking in a particular format and includes way too many “outside resource” links.

2.       Cass High School- Bartow, Ga

http://www.bartow.k12.ga.us/education/dept/dept.php?sectiondetailid=10305

This is another site that needs a lot of help. I did appreciate the fact that the media specialist included a book search; however, there is no other useful information to be found on the site. There are links to encyclopedias, weather, and databases, but it really gives no direction on how to use these resources.

Overall, while searching through various media center webpages, the ones that really stick out to me as “great” are the ones that have a clear and simple format, but also contain information that is actually useful for teachers and students. For example, the Cass High School website contained a BUNCH of links to various resources, but gave no other information as to what the site does or what information is available on that site. If I were a student or teacher, I wouldn’t want to sit and go through each site to determine which one(s) to use. I think as a media specialist, it is our responsibility to “weed” through these sites and lists the best possible ones.

As far as ways to make a website, I personally prefer using Weebly, now that I’ve been accustomed to it. In my search, I came across tons of different website platforms, such as a Google site, Blogger, and even pages created through the school’s webpage creator. The ones that were made with Weebly, or the ones that contained their own domain, stood out the most to me. They looked professional, creditable, and, in the most cases, contained very useful information.