Review Essay: K-12 Web Pages: Planning & Publishing Excellent School Web Sites by Debra Logan & Cynthia Beuselinck, 6(15)
Lorraine Beaudin
beaulc@uleth.ca
University of Lethbridge
Logan, Debra Kay & Beuselinck, Cynthia Lee. K-12 Web Pages: Planning & Publishing Excellent School Web Sites (Book). Worthington, Ohio: Linworth Publishing Inc., 2002, 180 pages (paper). $70.00 (Cdn). ISBN 1-58683-036-8
School personnel are frequently asked, What makes an excellent school web site? Logan and Beuselinck's book, K-12 Web Pages: Planning & Publishing Excellent School Web Sites tries to answer that question by providing a comprehensive range of information about developing school web sites. It is refreshing to see that the book clearly supports informed planning and decision making. In this way, the authors advocate thinking before action. In other words, they answer the question successfully.
My first response to this book, however, was that it should be online. In their defense, the authors accurately state that the information is out there, but scattered throughout a number of sources: books, journal articles, websites, and so on. They also clearly state that locating and organizing the information itself is a major and time-consuming task. The text simplifies those onerous tasks by organizing materials in a logical manner and formatting materials for educators in an easy-to-use way.
Importantly, the book does not focus on “how-to” web authoring techniques. Rather it is concerned with the decision-making processes that should be present when planning and publishing school web sites. This is significantly innovative.
The instant nature of the Web can be both attractive and unattractive; its speed puts massive amounts of information at an educator’s fingertips. For example, a quick search on the Net for ‘creating school Web sites’ gives one hundreds of thousands of hits: Create an Instant School Web Site; Free Web Sites for Teachers; Websites made Easy, and the list goes on. It is refreshing to see a text that promotes reflection on the whole web authoring process by pausing to reflect on why one would want to have a school website in the first place.
The book well laid out and is easy to read. It consists of 10 chapters with two appendices. The chapters cover a wide range of topics, including:
1. Why Create School & Educational Web Sites? Consistent with others (McKenzie, 1997), the authors include four broad reasons to create a school website: community connections, partnerships with parents, linking learners to learning, and engaging educators. The authors also provide examples for each of these reasons. However, they are clear to state this is a starting point—that there are many possibilities that need to be explored and that teachers can work to see how the Web can meet the needs of particular situations. In that way, they are advocating the idea that using the Web in teaching is about education, not about the Internet.
2. How to Get from Ideas to Web Site: Beginning Steps. This chapter outlines the need to have a web planning team who answers these questions: Why have a site? Who is the primary audience? What does that audience need? The chapter is supported by a collection of worksheets intended to aid the planning team. The worksheets are clear and useful.
3. Possible Pages…What Goes on an Educational Web Site? This chapter deals with content. The authors suggest four types of pages: informative pages, curricular pages, showcase pages and revenue generation pages. The chapter contains a good selection of examples for each type of page.
4. Publishing Guidelines And Policies, And Copyright Issues. Beginning with the quote: “I don’t mind you thinking slowly; I mind your publishing faster than you think,” these chapters highlight important issues for school website development. They include consistency, maintenance, safety and liability and copyright issues. A thorough collection of resources, examples and suggestions make these valuable chapters. Many of the topics are preventive measures in the sense that the authors offer insights into potential issues that schools deal with after problems arise.
The authors are aware of the on-going nature of web authoring. They state that, “The work does not stop with promotion and education; maintenance, evaluation, and revision are also ongoing aspects of Web work” (p. 107). This is an important insight for educators to understand when undertaking the development of a school Web site.
The layout and design of the chapters make the text a resourceful reference publication. The authors have included callout boxes with Quick Tips (used to highlight proven ideas helpful in Web planning and creation), Fast Facts (used to give additional or clarifying information), and Ideas in Action (used to spotlight what other educators have managed their websites). These callout boxes act as good reference points and would be a useful tool for both practicing and preservice teachers.
Importantly, one of the books strongest features is the ‘check sheets’ included in the appendices. The check sheets summarize a collection of steps that facilitate the creation and development of websites. Many of the check sheets could be useful for professional development of teachers, e.g. they could be used to in a workshop structure where teachers could be exposed to the process of developing a school website. Another great feature is the collection of examples that are provided throughout the book. There is a large selection of ideas that are practical and tested. The book topics, examples and check sheets are also extremely useful for pre-service teacher education.
Many educators today are simply ‘getting on the bandwagon’ and producing websites as quickly as they can and with limited understanding of the process. Logan and Beuselinck’s book provides a thorough description of what it takes to plan and publish excellent school web sites.
My one criticism of the book is that, in being thorough, the authors have prescribed a process that might be unrealistic for smaller schools. In many cases, schools do not have the resources (time, technical etc.) to plan and produce web sites as outlined by the authors. Concurring with the critical focus of the text, Hall (2000) states that “teachers must master electronic technology or they will likely be mastered by it. And the best way to go about attaining mastery is to use those skills of curiosity, imagination, critical analysis, and judgment that have always been our primary resources” (p. 1). The problem is in the time it takes to do the task. Hence, there is a need to be more critically reflective when deciding how to best create a school Web site.
In summary, Logan and Beuselinck’s book, K-12 Web Pages: Planning & Publishing Excellent School Web Sites, is informative and well written. It is comprehensive and easy-to-read. It meets its objective in that it has compiled the resources, ideas and structure needed to build an excellent school website and, therefore, would be a useful reference for both school personnel and preservice teacher educators.
References
McKenzie, J. (1997). Why in the World Wide Web? From Now On: The Educational Technology Journal Vol. 6. No 6. Available at: http://www.fno.org/mar97/why.html
Hall, M. (2000). Teaching with Electronic Technology. Knowledge Quest: Journal of the American Association of School Librarians. http://www.ala.org/aasl/kqweb/28_5_webprofilefulltext.html
Author Note
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Dr. Lorraine Beaudin is currently an Assistant Professor at the University of Lethbridge in the Faculty of Education where she teaches courses in educational technology. She has been involved with technology integration and works closely with preservice and practicing teachers.Primarily research interests include: online teaching and learning, authenticity and technology integration, and the professional development of teachers.She can be reached by e-mail at: beaulc@uleth.ca |