Planning Process
Completed Taxonomy
Reflection
I wanted to create a website that would meet the everyday needs of the school; both students and teachers. Thus, it needed to be user-friendly and attractive. I did not want to create a website that was boggled down with useless information. My goal is to increase the number of staff and students using the library and its resources (both print and online). Hence, the website must be at its pinnacle. As Loertscher (2008) mentions, the library is the hub for all school improvement initiatives. It’s the center for professional development sessions and action research projects, where innovative ideas are presented and new technologies are tried out before being fanned out into the rest of the school. Since I am in an elementary library position, I am able to use this site and my newly acquired knowledge to promote the library and information literacy skills. (Note: this is an ongoing process as certain needs changes every year.)
I wanted the website to have something for everyone, to build something that’s useful for the people who will be using it (Information Architecture - Planning Out a Website). A goal was to keep the information simple but rich. My main platform was Weebly, but I also used other tech tools such as PBworks and Symbaloo. I chose to use the following titles for Level 1: Welcome, Library News, Students, Magazines, Digital Subscriptions, Teachers, Webquests, Classroom Blogs, and Parents.
I knew the majority of information would be placed upon Students and Teachers as these are the patrons that will use the library resources the most. As such, it is important to link the school’s OPAC to the website. With inquiry projects on the rise, I wanted the library website to have suitable information to aid and promote inquiry-based learning. As stated in Achieving Information Literacy (2006), new and developing technologies have stimulated opportunities for different and exciting approaches to teaching and learning. Therefore, the school library must have access during and beyond the school day. As such, the Students page is linked to a PBworks Wiki. This is where additional information is placed (Virtual Library, Book Trailers, Author Sites, Research, etc. ). To promote inquiry in a fun way, I included the “Wonderopolis” widget. Equally important, is the inclusion of the district’s Digital Subscription package. This great package includes - World Book Online, EBSCO, Passport to the Internet and Learn 360.
I have included access to a variety of magazines for both students and teachers. These magazines are part of EBSCO's digital package. I felt this was important as it gives both groups access to additional information; information that may have been neglected in the past. I did not include any open access articles (e.g. Google Books/Scholar) as I feel my patrons will not use this resource. The majority of open access resources will be more beneficial for high-school and post-graduate students. I did feel that having access to Creative Commons images was important for students when they delve into research projects.
Since I used other tech tools, I wanted to showcase how the inclusion of other resources in the school broadens student access to resources (Achieving Information Literacy, 2006). Symbaloo was used to differentiate between what tools teachers and students would be interested in. The teacher’s Symbaloo web mix is categorized by district sites, district blogs and other online tools, while the students’ web mix is geared towards the higher level thinking of creating, communicating applying and evaluating information for the purpose of completing an assignment. These tools include: Glogster, Animoto, VoiceThread, Wordle, etc. A page I neglected to include is on Digital Citizenship. How can a website that promote tech skills not have a digital citizenship page? This is something I must include in the future.
In order to generate traffic from the students and teachers to my site, I plan to fully implement this website by the end of the month. Through the projects I am currently working on with various classes in the school, I will use the website as a starting point for research and inquiry in hopes of familiarizing the website to staff and students. By doing this, I hope they will use the library website as a springboard for future projects.
I wanted the website to have something for everyone, to build something that’s useful for the people who will be using it (Information Architecture - Planning Out a Website). A goal was to keep the information simple but rich. My main platform was Weebly, but I also used other tech tools such as PBworks and Symbaloo. I chose to use the following titles for Level 1: Welcome, Library News, Students, Magazines, Digital Subscriptions, Teachers, Webquests, Classroom Blogs, and Parents.
I knew the majority of information would be placed upon Students and Teachers as these are the patrons that will use the library resources the most. As such, it is important to link the school’s OPAC to the website. With inquiry projects on the rise, I wanted the library website to have suitable information to aid and promote inquiry-based learning. As stated in Achieving Information Literacy (2006), new and developing technologies have stimulated opportunities for different and exciting approaches to teaching and learning. Therefore, the school library must have access during and beyond the school day. As such, the Students page is linked to a PBworks Wiki. This is where additional information is placed (Virtual Library, Book Trailers, Author Sites, Research, etc. ). To promote inquiry in a fun way, I included the “Wonderopolis” widget. Equally important, is the inclusion of the district’s Digital Subscription package. This great package includes - World Book Online, EBSCO, Passport to the Internet and Learn 360.
I have included access to a variety of magazines for both students and teachers. These magazines are part of EBSCO's digital package. I felt this was important as it gives both groups access to additional information; information that may have been neglected in the past. I did not include any open access articles (e.g. Google Books/Scholar) as I feel my patrons will not use this resource. The majority of open access resources will be more beneficial for high-school and post-graduate students. I did feel that having access to Creative Commons images was important for students when they delve into research projects.
Since I used other tech tools, I wanted to showcase how the inclusion of other resources in the school broadens student access to resources (Achieving Information Literacy, 2006). Symbaloo was used to differentiate between what tools teachers and students would be interested in. The teacher’s Symbaloo web mix is categorized by district sites, district blogs and other online tools, while the students’ web mix is geared towards the higher level thinking of creating, communicating applying and evaluating information for the purpose of completing an assignment. These tools include: Glogster, Animoto, VoiceThread, Wordle, etc. A page I neglected to include is on Digital Citizenship. How can a website that promote tech skills not have a digital citizenship page? This is something I must include in the future.
In order to generate traffic from the students and teachers to my site, I plan to fully implement this website by the end of the month. Through the projects I am currently working on with various classes in the school, I will use the website as a starting point for research and inquiry in hopes of familiarizing the website to staff and students. By doing this, I hope they will use the library website as a springboard for future projects.