Do you ever wonder what people used to do before the world wide web? Did we actually have to visit a place in order to know what it was like? Did we really rely on only word of mouth? My seven year asked me last week, “Mom? What was it like in the 1900s? You know, when you were a kid?” She made it sound so very long ago. After I said, “Huh?” and turned up my hearing aid (jk), I thought, “What was it like?” I remember not having a computer at my fingertips (by the way, I should note that I’m typing this blog on my smartphone)…actually, I remember rarely using a computer at all until about 1996. Boy, was it a doozie. Do you remember the heavy desktop computers with the printers that only printed in black and white on a continuous sheet of paper? The paper with the perforated edges that you had to tear off? I recall wasting a lot of it to make banners. LOL! It also had this weird smell that I’ll never forget. Remember? (I guess if you’re old enough!) Well, I digress. Back to my original topic… There was no Google when I was in high school, and the search engines I remember were not that great. You really had to “search” to find anything useful. And, webpages? What were those like?
Today, however, all of that has changed dramatically. There are webpages for even the most “ma and pop” restaurants (or at least a Facebook page), and it seems everywhere you look you see an advertisement for a business webpage. Are we really utilizing them effectively, though? And, are we keeping them up-to-date?
After scrutinizing multiple media center webpages (mostly for schools I can name off the top of my head), I found myself rather displeased with the majority of them. Each listed basic media center information (e.g., hours of service, overdue fines, staff names, etc.), but they were mostly mundane and boring. Oh gosh, especially the high school webpages. They were, for lack of a better term, horrific! So plain and nearly useless. If this is my first impression, I am not impressed. Of course, there were links that took me to useful sites, but the school pages were not up to par with today’s expansive technology.
What I’m saying is this, “Make it meaningful, purposeful, useful, and attractful.” (haha…I ran out of ful words) No, seriously, leave an impression. People should want to come into your media center because of what they see and read on the webpage. Engage them and force them to want more.
After scrutinizing multiple media center webpages (mostly for schools I can name off the top of my head), I found myself rather displeased with the majority of them. Each listed basic media center information (e.g., hours of service, overdue fines, staff names, etc.), but they were mostly mundane and boring. Oh gosh, especially the high school webpages. They were, for lack of a better term, horrific! So plain and nearly useless. If this is my first impression, I am not impressed. Of course, there were links that took me to useful sites, but the school pages were not up to par with today’s expansive technology.
ReplyDeleteI partially discussed this on my own team's blog. Though, I would have to contend that its mostly, because many media specialist probably are not adept in creating websites, web content, blogs, or etc, especially if one is not technologically literate or is not use to many of the most modern means of creating websites. We have to realize that many media specialist were caught in that transitional phase between 80s and 2000s where the media center went from being a place that housed books and materials versus a place that houses books and materials, as well as the newest forms of technology, while developing students who possess 21st Century Skills. Pointing to the 21st Century Skills, it's a rather new phenomenon and idea, which is one of things that drive modern media center to where it is, currently. Finally, I do agree some websites could use a thorough makeover, but as times continue to go along, I believe you will see improvement in web content, information feeds, resource links, and etc. on some these outdated media center websites.