Crossley, Karen
LS521MC Sum 02
June 28, 2002
Elective: Teacher Made Websites
In this activity, I will investigate and evaluate two elementary counselor websites, to help me prepare to create my own website in the next school year.
Mrs. Mark, Pleasant Union Elementary Counselor - http://teacherweb.com/NC/Raleigh/lmark/ulinks2.stm - This website was created by Mrs. Mark, an elementary counselor, for use by the parents and children of her school. She used TeacherWeb.com. At this site, Mrs. Mark presents information introducing herself, her guidance program, and provides resources for parents and students on parenting information and classes, websites for improving academic skills, activities available, and an article about helping children cope with tragedy.
Recommendations for improvements to this website:
1. Mrs. Mark's primary audience is clearly her own school community. A photograph of herself (or more than one) would assist her in making personal connections with the parents of the students at her school. In addition, it would be helpful to outsiders such as myself if some information about the school location, it's size and student population were included on this website.
2. On her "Counseling" page, Mrs. Mark lists "Great Books for Children"; however, there are only four books listed. On her "Games for Kids" page, there is only one website for games listed. The resources in these two specific categories are too few to hold a child's interest for very long. More books and game sites would be easy to provide and would make this site more valuable for students.
3. This website for the counselor seems to stand alone. It would be very helpful to have links for the school website, the middle school and/or the school system website. In addition, some links to appropriate community agencies, such as libraries, Child Protective Services, and other social service agencies would extend this website further out into the community. This would make it more useful for parents, and also build the view of the counselor as a community-wide helper.
Commendations for this website:
1. The "Resources" page has a nice list of favorite websites, which will help parents and students to access sites regarding test preparation, reference and academic help, and book recommendations. In addition, there is a "Search" button which will lead students directly onto Yahoo! to research a topic of their interest. This page could help students do independent research, and also provide resources for parents to help with their children's homework.
2. There are links at the top of each page that allow a user to move easily throughout this website, instead of having to return to the home page repeatedly. This would make it possible for students especially to use this site with confidence and ease.
3. There is very good information provided on several pages in this website. The "Counselor Chatter" page has information about summer activities for students, and the "Parenting" page details workshops on parenting, as well as giving suggestions for dealing with sibling rivalry, holding family meetings, etc. The "Helping Kids Cope" page is an article about helping children deal with tragedies. These pages would give parents useful ideas for helping their own children and also finding outside help if they need it.
Mr. McWithey's Home Page, LaFontaine Elementary - http://www.msdwc.k12.in.us/msdclass/mcwk/mcwkhome.htm - This website was created by an elementary counselor who serves three different elementary schools. His audience is the parents of students in those schools. In this website, Mr. McWithey provides links to many helpful websites which offer adults information about such topics as autistic disorder, anti-drug info, oppositional defiant disorder, explosive kids, and ADD/ADHD. In addition, students receiving recognition for bringing up grades and demonstrating character traits are named.
Recommendations for improvements for this website:
1. There is only one original communication from the counselor on this website, under the "Counselor's Corner" page. The rest of the categories are either lists of student names, or links to other websites. With three elementary schools, I would think one of the purposes of this website should be to allow parents to learn more about this thinly stretched counselor. More personal information about Mr. McWithey, or just information about the counseling services available at each school should be included to provide ways to connect with parents, instead of just providing them with outside information sources.
2. The link called "Is ADD/ADHD for Real" is for an NIH Consensus Statement on ADD, and is very difficult to understand, filled with scientific jargon. The link to "Seeing is Believing! Brain Imaging of ADD" also provides very technical information, and is also a commercial site. These sites are not going to be informative for most parents, and may discourage parents from exploring this site or the issue of ADD any further. These links should be replaced with more user-friendly sites, such as the site for CHADD (Children and Adults with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder).
3. This site is clearly designed only for adult use. Again, with this counselor trying to cover three elementary schools, I think he should use every opportunity to connect with the students at each school. I think a few pages should be specifically designed for student use, perhaps giving sites for homework help, educational games, or information about school programs.
Commendations for this website:
1. There are many links to helpful information sites, so that parents or staff can learn more about children with autistic disorders, oppositional defiant disorder, and explosive kids, as well as anti-drug information. In addition, there are links to the pages of each of the three elementary schools this counselor services, which will enable parents to learn about specific school programs.
2. Two pages on this site provide names for student recognition: B.U.G. (bringing up grades) and Famous Falcons where students are recognized for using good character traits. These lists not only give applause to these students and their parents, but also demonstrate the important values this counselor focuses on. This would be helpful to parents and staff members, and hopefully encourage more students to want to attain these rewards.
3. Since this counselor does have to service three elementary schools, a very practical feature of this website is the listing of his schedule, along with phone numbers to reach him at each school. This would allow parents and staff to establish communication with Mr. McWithey, whether he is at their school or not, and also allow staff to plan when they can consult with him.
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