School Library Website

The final project for ISCI 761 was to create a school library website. The goal of the website was to provide information about the library, and offer several educational resources to students, teachers, or anyone who accessed the website. Users should be able to navigate through each tab, locating the items that they need with ease. Each link should work properly and be readily accessible.

I created a Google Site for the fictional library of Sparkleton Middle School in Sparkleton, South Carolina.  On the home page, I included a general greeting next to a Canva AI generated logo of Sparkleton’s purple panther mascot. My greeting consisted of general information about where to locate items within the website. Below the greeting, I included a virtual photo tour with several photos of the library. I took the photos at my real middle school library. Next to the virtual tour is a live calendar of events. This is intended to inform users of what is going on during the school year. Also on the home page are links to the library catalog, SC Discus research database, and a link to the public library. At the bottom of each page, I included fictional contact information and a link to my personal school email address.

Aside from the home page, I created 4 separate tabs: About, Students, Teachers, and Spark Lab. The About tab has two separate sections: Media Center FAQ and Meet the Staff. The ‘Media Center FAQ’ page shares the check-out policy, book order request form, library hours, and Student ID information.  The ‘Meet the Staff’ page shares information about the librarian and the library assistant.  I decided to create a fun twist by having Mrs. Frizzle from the Magic School Bus as my fictional library assistant. Below our introductions, I included the school logos of the colleges that I attended, as well as the Canva AI created images of the fictional colleges that Mrs. Frizzle attended. I think that it’s important to share college information with students.

The ‘Students’ page is intended to be an exciting tab that students will want to return to often.  I included a link to “Sparkleton Spotlight,” which is a Book Talk that I recorded for my Young Adult Materials course, but I plan incorporate into a future library. In my library, I hope to be able to create a monthly Book Talk that I use in connection to a book club. Next to Sparkleton Spotlight, I added several photos of real students at a library event earlier this year. The students were enjoying a dessert pizza party because they had participated in our schoolwide book club.

Below the photos, I chose to add in the results to a library contest where students and staff voted to name our two library book carts.  I felt that including this showed a bit of fun and collaboration in the library. The winners were: Dolly Carton and Hot Wheels.

Next on the Students page is a Padlet that I named the Literary Lounge.  This page is for students and staff to add book recommendations or to view recommendations posted by other students or staff. I have categorized each book by genre.  This was fun but very time consuming! At the bottom of the ‘Students’ page are several websites for homework help.  There are links to SC Discus, the Smithsonian Learning Lab, Tutor.com, and Khan Academy. I chose these websites in an effort to provide free learning tools to students.

The ‘Teachers’ page is intended to help create a collaborative environment for teachers and library staff. I have included a link to the library reservation calendar, a poster request form, accessibility resources, and helpful links to make lesson planning easier. The library reservation calendar is an efficient way to give teachers the opportunity to plan when they want to visit the library.  I want to implement this in my library because I have experienced a lot of unexpected chaos at my current library with numerous teachers bringing classes without letting us know. I am hoping that by implementing a schedule, it will eliminate having multiple classes trying to come to the library at the same time.
            I created a poster request form as another efficient way to give teachers the classroom materials that they need on a timely basis. My librarian is bombarded with poster requests that often get lost in email, or the requests are left unanswered because we do not know what size poster they want or if they want it laminated. I have also experienced uncomfortable situations with teachers who emailed a poster request and were upset when they arrived 15 minutes later, at the end of the school day, and the poster was not finished yet. I think this form with specific guidelines and deadlines will make everyone happy.

            I wanted to offer a section that included resources for Multilingual learners, Assistive technology, and cognitive assistance.  This section was also a digital curation assignment that was part of the final website requirements.

            Lastly, I included 4 websites that should make lesson planning easier.  I included QuestionWell, which is an AI database that generates questions based on grade level, standard, and topic. ClassHook offers movie and TV clips that are standards-based but help to make the lessons more relatable and interesting for students. Sora is an online eBook and audiobook collection that students can access for free with their school ID, and Masters of Tradition is an interactive story map from Smithsonian that allows students to explore diverse cultures and traditions within the United States.

The final page of my school library website is called the Spark Lab, which is what I am calling my Makerspace. On this page you will find images of real students playing board games, using 3D pens, and making buttons.  I have provided a small blurb that details what is available in the Spark Lab.  At the bottom of the page is the Virtual Spark Lab, with several online resources for artwork, coding, making music, building, creating paper airplanes, and online interior design.

Overall, I felt that this website offers a lot of information, numerous resources, and shows that I intend for my library to be a very active and fun place. I had a lot of fun creating this website and it makes me very excited to be the librarian of my own school library one day.

Click to view the website to Sparkleton Middle School Media Center.

Final Overview

I can't believe the semester is nearly over! It has truly flown by.  

My biggest takeaway from this semester was learning all about Makerspaces. I have seen a few Makerspaces in person and each of them had different options.  Many of them were simple with a few arts and craft supplies.  Others have been more elaborate, such as at the public library, where they have several machines that do things such as embroidery, 3D printing, glow forge, and woodburning.  I liked reading about several different types of Makerspaces, and found really great ideas, including creating a digital Makerspace. I like the idea of students being able to use my library website to create things for personal or school use. I think that having a Makerspace is an excellent way to incorporate STEM and fine arts within a library. I love finding ways to collaborate with subjects that aren't typically paired with library.

I think that it's great that libraries are becoming technology hubs. I love that it's now more than "just books" and people can use the library for pretty much anything.  I think that including technology emphasizes the fact that libraries are extra large classrooms that encourages learning about any subject. This is one of the big reasons why I absolutely love libraries. I love that the library concept is for anyone to be able to come and learn about anything. 

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has entered the chat. 

School and educators have banned certain AI websites, such as ChatGPT, due to the fear of students relying on the website to cheat.  However, the ban has been removed in many states because when used responsibly, ChatGPT and other AI resources can be extremely helpful. (SLJ Staff)

I use ChatGPT nearly every week, if not more often, to help me at work and at school. Recently, I used ChatGPT to generate a list of novels written in verse for a teacher. Before I consulted ChatGPT, I had scoured my library catalog and the internet for days, trying to find relevant material on a middle grade reading level.  ChatGPT generated 100 titles instantly. I could have saved myself a week's worth of time by starting with ChatGPT in the first place. 

I have used AI to write recommendation letters for friends who used me as a job reference.  I simply type a brief description of my friend and the job that they're applying for, and ChatGPT does the rest.  Within seconds, an excellent letter of recommendation is created.

An website that I recently learned about that I would like to highlight is called QuestionWell. Maya Bialik created this website to help teachers create lesson plans. This website instantly creates questions based on a specified topic, reading level, language, and standard.  Teachers can upload a document, website, or video The questions can be multiple choice, short answer, or fill-in-the-blank.  Videos can also be implemented.  Depending on the price level, the website can upload grades and can create questions for multiple classes. I think this is an excellent resource for teachers.  I actually forwarded the link to the webpage to my educator friends and they were really appreciative!

Here is a screenshot of the main page of QuestionWell:

References:

SLJ Staff. (2023, November 15). School librarian AI hacks. School Library Journal. https://www.slj.com

Makerspaces

Our module this week discusses all things Makerspace.

I have always loved the idea of Makerspaces and I am thrilled to be able to design my own in the future.  I think that having a Makerspace in a library is a fantastic way to collaborate with STE(A)M subjects.  I love how versatile that Makerspaces can be.  You can have something as basic as crayons and construction paper, or if you have a huge budget, you can implement items such as a 3D printer.

I currently work in a middle school library and we are developing our Makerspace. Last year, the school was an intermediate school and only contained 5th and 6th grades. The Makerspace at that time had a LEGO wall, an Indy car robot, and a large storage table that housed K'Nex and other building blocks. This year, the school was transformed into a middle school and now contains 6th through 8th grades. Because the school is considered "new," our district gave us a substantial increase in our library budget to cover the cost of new materials.  We have since purchased several 3D pens, a button maker, board games, and Buddha boards. We also still have the LEGO wall and building block table. Students can also use the Promethean board to draw on. Our students have loved the additions to the Makerspace.  It has became their favorite part of the library.  We have implemented a rule that they must check out a book before they can go to our Makerspace, and they gladly obey. 

There are numerous blogs and websites about Makerspaces and ways to make them better.  One idea that really stuck out to me is a Makerspace Fair. I saw this idea on Diana Rendina's blog, Renovated Learning. 
She created a Makerspace Fair for her middle school, where students would create items and showcase them at an afterschool event to their family.  The school set up several stations where students and families could create various kinds of items.  Everything from a K'Nex roller coaster, to a hand-woven oven mit. I love this idea and think it would be a fun way to get the community involved in our school.  I think that this could be a spin on the typical literacy nights, but we could have science and art stations. We could also invite community partners to set up a table and give out information or assist with various projects/stations. 

Useful Apps and 1:1

This week's module shared several resources for useful apps for school librarians. Many of the apps used some sort of AI, but I believe that using AI can be extremely helpful within the library.  I have used ChatGPT to help with lesson plans, as well as ideas for school spirit weeks. AI can help write excellent book summaries and short blurbs for social media posts.  

Learning apps such as PebbleGo, ABC Mouse, and Khan Academy are often available to patrons for free through the public library.  

Many schools have implemented a 1:1 learning method, where each student is given a laptop.  My school district is now fully 1:1 in every grade level.  I think that this method works well and eliminates the physical responsibility of carrying around numerous heavy textbooks or binders. Because of the laptops, schools do not have to have lockers.  Nearly everything that the student will need for learning is available on their laptop. Laptops have been a game changer when it comes to any sort of school closure. Schools can quickly accommodate a school closure by implementing an eLearning day. Students can complete their work at home and won't have to make up a school day. 

Cyberbullying

According to the Cyberbullying Research Center, the definition of cyberbullying is "willful and repeated harm inflicted through the use of computers, cell phones, and other electronic devices."

Cyberbullying has steadily increased over the years. PEW Research Center states that nearly half of the teens in the U.S. have been bullied or harassed online, and older teen girls are more likely to be harassed due to their physical appearance. Regardless of why teens are being harassed or bullied, we must continue educating students on the consequences of bullying, and offer ways to prevent bullying. The Cyberbullying Research Center offers numerous videos and instructional materials that schools can use to teach via school-wide assemblies or within a classroom.

Personally, I feel that cyberbullying can be worse than physical bullying. In my experience, I was most often hurt by others through the internet rather than in person. I think that people feel fearless when they are sitting behind a screen, whether it's a computer or a cellphone. I experienced my first cyberbullying when I became active on social media in middle school. I think that cyberbullying felt worse 20 years ago because we did not have the resources available to educate students. The focus was more on physical bullying. Now, I think that people that are my age have realized that others would have benefitted from cyberbullying prevention methods and they have created numerous resources.

I was not surprised to learn that cyberbullying has increased over the years. I feel that it will continue to increase as long as we are reliant on social media and other electronic devices to communicate.

My school district participates in a program called Olweus. This program trains teachers on bullying prevention and gets the students regularly involved in activities that promote kindness and inclusion. Some of the lessons that I've seen included writing kind notes to students and placing them on their lockers. The program and it's lessons have been well received by students so far.

As of January 1, 2025, my school district is implementing a student personal electronics policy that prohibits students from using cell phones, smartwatches, and other similar devices during the school day. This policy is an effort to lessen student distractions and fully engage with their teachers and other students. This could be a good step towards lessening cyberbullying.

References:

Cyberbullying Research Center. (n.d.). Videos. https://cyberbullying.org/videos

Cyberbullying Research Center. (n.d.). What is bullying? https://cyberbullying.org/what-is-bullying

Pew Research Center. (2022, December 15). Teens and cyberbullying 2022. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2022/12/15/teens-and-cyberbullying-2022/

Social Media

This week's module focuses on using social media as an information professional. Personally, I think that I would utilize Instagram as my main social media platform of choice in my library, because I would want to post a lot of pictures and videos. Facebook is also a good choice, but I think that Facebook could be better suited for the parents of students, rather than to attract students. My daughter's teacher has created a group on Facebook to post images, videos, and communicate important information. This method works well for us, but my daughter will never see it unless I show her because she is not interested in having a Facebook account. She says that Facebook is for "old people," and, no offense, she's not wrong. The majority of my Facebook friends are 30+ (I know that 30 is not old, but to my tween daughter, 30 is borderline ancient).

According to the Pew Research Center, students are obsessed with YouTube. In a survey completed in 2023, 93% of teens ages 13-17 said that they used YouTube. 63% used TikTok, 60% used Snapchat, and 59% used Instagram. Nearly 1 in 5 teens admitted to using YouTube almost constantly.

While I am the most familiar with Instagram, I think that I could learn how to use YouTube. Students would enjoy creating content on YouTube, and I could share the videos on Instagram. I think that inviting my students to help me create content will get them excited about the library and be willing to collaborate with me on topics. I am open to learning more about other platforms, but I am most comfortable with Instagram and Facebook because I personally use both. I do not have a TikTok account. I would post about our displays, book suggestions, special projects around the school, and topics related to using the library. I would love to get the students involved and even have them create posts as long as I approve it.