Thinking back about the process of creating my Final Vision Project, I am left feeling
satisfied. I’ve written papers about the benefits of library websites in several TL courses. It feels good to have created a K-4 school library website that I think would be useful. Even if the teacher-librarian at my current school chooses not to use it, I now have a template that I can use when I get a job as a teacher-librarian.
To explain a few of the many benefits of library websites, I will share some quotes. Back in 2005, Valenza said, "A virtual library can become an integral part of the instructional culture of the school." It's still true. The British Columbia Teacher-Librarians' Association (BCTLA) explains
that “virtual collections of tools and resources are
essential to inquiry and to 21st century learning” and goes on to say that "social media is important as a reflection of the participatory and connected culture" (2017). Leading Learning, published by Canadian School Libraries, states that a “virtual LLC empowers learners to co-create and share ideas and
knowledge with a broader learning community” (2020). In short, library websites are important!
Before creating my library
website, I had to choose a platform to use. This was an important decision and I took the time to figure out the differences between wordpress.org, wordpress.com, Weebly and Wix before committing to one. Wordpress.org requires payment for website hosting, and both Weebly
and Wordpress.com require payment to connect to Instagram. Wix can connect to
Instagram for free, but charges for a domain name that didn’t include my name.
After much back and forth, I decided to go with Wordpress.com because it seemed
to give me the most programming control and room for growth. Once I’d decided,
it was relatively straightforward to create a site.
In the future, I plan to purchase the Instagram plug-in feature for my library website. With the plug-in, posts appear on
the blog and the library Instagram account at the same time. Teachers and
parents on Instagram wouldn’t need to go to the website to read the blog – it
would show in their Instagram accounts automatically. Meeting the community on online
platforms that they already use (like Instagram) is a fabulous way to educate them about what the library offers (Murphy, 2022) and seeing the
collaborations happening in the library may encourage other teachers to participate.
However, I did not include Instagram in this project due to cost. My website has a blog,
but not the Instagram/blog combo package I had originally envisioned.
The blog is one of 5 pages that make up the
website, which is designed to be simple enough for students in Grade 3 and up
to navigate independently. Chow et al (2016) recommend lots of pictures and
colour when working with young internet users, and I tried to follow those
recommendations throughout the website. Links are large to make it easier for
inexperienced mouse users to click them and pictures help students with limited
reading skills navigate. The limited number of links also simplifies
navigation.
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The homepage is a picture of the library, three links (catalog, online resources, and questions), and a picture/excerpt of the two most recent blog posts.
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The Online Resources page is a list of links for
teachers and parents, along with the password information to gain access. Each
link has a picture beside it to make it easier to find. The district pays for a
variety of online resources and they are not often accessed. By promoting their
existence and making recommendations as to how they might be useful, teachers
may choose to use them in their classrooms (Mardis, 2021). The Online Resources
page also houses two more pages: games (due to a
student suggestion) and an individual classroom page (created by teacher request, and could include links,
instructions, or whatever is needed). Listening to library stakeholder requests will make the website better (Hartshorne et al, 2008).
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The Questions page is mostly for parents and has
to do with the nuts and bolts of how the library is run. However, there is a
section about the Collections tab on the website that might be useful to
teachers.
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The About Us page introduces the
teacher-librarian. This page is linked whenever TL contact info is mentioned so
that when the TL changes, the contact information only needs to be changed in
one spot (Jacubowicz, 2022). The TL changes often at my school, so planning for
this is important.
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The Blog page showcases what’s happening in the
library to the wider community. I’m aiming for many short posts (with
pictures!) of collaborations, student work, new books, thank you notes, events,
book recommendations, etc. Student interactions with the blog will provide opportunities to improve digital
literacy skills, as recommended by International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE, 2023).
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The homepage is a picture of the library, three links (catalog, online resources, and questions), and a picture/excerpt of the two most recent blog posts.
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The blog is also the section where students can
"leave a footprint" by commenting on the blog posts (Chow et al,
2016). Currently, the comments on the blog are not moderated and do not
require an email address. It is set up this way so that students can see their
comments appear immediately. Removing the moderation step does leave the blog open to abuse and would not be an option in some school situations. In hopes of
avoiding problems, I would teach all classes how to leave an appropriate comment.
K-2 classes could come up with a group comment typed in by the TL. Grade 3-4
students could comment individually or in partners. Commenting on a blog post is an
authentic opportunity to teach digital citizenship and a great example of ISTE Standard 2.3.c, which states that educators
“mentor students in…ethical practices with digital tools” (ISTE, 2023).
In addition, I also programmed some safeguards into the setup for the comments.
I specified a list of words that would send someone’s
entire comment to trash and prevent it from appearing (poop being a gentle example). I also limited the
amount of time the comments are open. After 2 weeks, the comments get closed and will no longer need monitoring.
Works Cited:
Mardis, M.A. (2021). The Collection Program in Schools. Libraries Unlimited.
Murphy. P. (2022, December 12). Social Media Mavens: How Teachers and Librarians Are Harnessing Online Platforms. Publishers Weekly. www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/childrens/childrens-industry-news/article/91107-social-media-mavens-how-teachers-and-librarians-are-harnessing-online-platforms.html. Accessed Dec. 5, 2023.
Valenza, J. K. (2005). The Virtual Library. Educational Leadership, 63(4), 54–59.
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