By the time I graduated high school and entered college, the internet began to really become something useful to ordinary people. Just a few years earlier it was something that only individuals with specific skills could access and use. Now, the internet has become even more interactive, allowing any person with access to a computer to create their own website, blog, wiki, or many more personal pages and space. With the increase in access and use, there have been a slew of new issues pop up. Some websites are phenomenal, and with today’s software becoming more and more point and click, sites for schools and media centers really have to be upgraded. The thing I find most frustrating with media center websites is that they hold a lot of potential, but are often used as a list of links. The idea of setting a standard for a webpage through the media center is quite appealing to me. I would love to start a blog and a wiki. It’s a little ambitious, but I would hope that I could spark the creativity under some teachers.
I also tend to want web pages to look neat and sophisticated. I really do not think that tons of random clipart and a lot of poorly constructed tables makes for a useful webpage. I am definitely not insinuating that a media specialist needs to be an expert at web design, but a lot of the software available now is very helpful in keeping the look clean and professional. Attention must be paid to colors, logos, pictures, and current links. It is quite annoying when a site has pixilated pictures, poor color choices (it’s a personal choice, but some things do not work together), or dead links. A little bit of effort in these areas really helps.
I don’t want to list a bunch of complaints and make it seem that I am negative. I really believe there are quite a few educators out there willing to put in the time and effort to make a really interactive and useful tool out of the classroom, media center, or school website. I am always excited to see the new ways educators from all levels want to implement the available tools on the internet. The main thing about it is that a webpage is somewhat like a garden. They are fun to plant and watch grow, but they need care and weeding and eventually new plants. A webpage is a growing organism. If it is not constantly changing and checking and redeveloping , the internet will leave it behind.
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2 comments:
I agree that many web sites seem poorly designed and rarely updated.
Looking at the situation realistically, web sites take a lot of time and effort. I know personally that I have had a lot, and I really mean a lot, of trouble with WinScp this year. Every time I want to post something to the WIKI, the darn thing won't let me in so I can create my web address. This is frustrating to say the least. If you could see my face while I am typing here, you would see the false smile I have pasted on my face when I even think about WinSCP. Technical difficulties, research, and time are all hindrances to creating and maintaining web sites. I guess the question boils down to the importance of the web site to yourself, your students, your teachers, and your school. I know I'm going to need all the fortitude I can muster to have a web site when I become a media specialist. I guess I should eat my Wheaties, huh?
Web sites are a technology giant that make the internet what it is today. I agree that websites that are cluttered become very cumbersome to utilize. I have also seen many of the creative and useful works of media center web pages. In another class that I have taken I had to evaluate media center web pages. There is certainly a wide variety of what you see out there. In my search I found that many of the elementary web pages had the cutesy format and were not as beneficial for actual content. The high school web pages appear to have more resources and less cute pictures. I agree with you that these web pages need to constantly be updated and changed to grow with our ever changing world.
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