Wow, have websites changed in the past few years. I remember making one almost 8 years ago from scratch for my first grade classroom in Cobb County...if I could find it now it would be a sad sad thing.
While reading, Building Web Sites That Work for Your Media Center by David Warlick the following statement jumped out at me, "Remember, you are building a Web page to help you do your job and, more importantly, to help other people help you do your job." That was sort of an "AHA" moment for me. As a school media specialist my job will be to promote the media center and the school as a whole. I will ultimately be luring people into the media center to check it out and hopefully come back for more. I realized that the "other people" who will help me will not only be teachers who update their own webpage but students who can tell me their favorite websites or research, parents who can help tell me the resources they need at home. If it is all linked in one place, it is like a one stop shop for educational resources.
After viewing various web pages and getting an idea of what they look like now...which is WOW! I am again overwhelmed at the task I will be presented with one day. I am a simple person, I like simple things, order if you will, and that isn't the case for many websites anymore. Sometimes, I think we can get so consumed with adding as much as we can that we forget why we are doing it in the first place. Warlick, also comment that people get on the web to get information not read...I'm one of those people. If I have to search a web site for too long to find what I'm looking I'll leave it and search another one. I think by keeping it simple, yet having everything you need you are more than likely going to have repeat viewers. Granted, there are some really cool websites out there that incorporate technology which is always fun to use. Bay Farm Elementary in Almeda, Ca is one example of a school that has a simple layout yet incorporates technology in an intriguing way. Wines Elementary is a site that in my opinion is too much. I can't seem to focus on one thing to figure out what all they have. Hoboken Elementary is another that I found, while, it doesn't incorporate technology it does offer a vast amount of information in a simple, easy to navigate format.
I think no matter what type of web page you are going to create, make sure it is inviting, colorful, and has a purpose.
I really like the quote you included. I've been browsing through various media center webpages and have really been looking to be wowed. However, the purpose of the website is to help you do your job and make searching easy and useful for all patrons accessing the site. I agree the website should be inviting yet simple. Many of the sites I viewed haven't had any useful links or information, while others had way too much to search through to find what I needed. This is a lot to think about for our upcoming assignment on creating a media center webpage. Thanks so much for the information and links to those media center pages. And I definitely agree with you about the Wines Elementary School site. The business ads across the top are very distracting!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your blog on creating a webpage for the media center. After reading your blog, I didnt realize how many aspects that were included when creating a webpage. Im like you, I like things simple. The easier a webpage is to navigate through and is user friendly, the more your patrons are going to use it and understand the information at hand. I also like how your approached this at a creator and user standpoint. Its good to see both sides so all parties are satisfied when searching or browsing your website. Well done!
ReplyDeleteMedia Center webpages seem to vary greatly. While some schools have a cute background with a "bare-minimum" approach to it's actual usefulness, others have tools that are useful for teachers and students. In my county, the media center web pages are made as a part of the whole school website and while they do include some useful information, they fall into the "well-organized-but-basic" category. They are aesthetically pleasing and easy to use, but limited in their usefulness.
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