HighEdWebDev 2004 Conference
Tracks & Sessions

• Management, E-commerce, & Applications
• Content: Strategies & Design
• Technical: Propeller Hats Required
• Content Management Systems: Planning & Implementing
• Corporate Track (info coming soon)

Management, E-commerce, & Applications

MEA1: eCommerce 101

Richard Dumm, Pennsylvania State University

PSU implemented a payment-processing infrastructure that provides a single, central, e-commerce capability and assures the highest level of security, availability, accountability, control, and integrity for our e-commerce applications. We now provide electronic credit card payment processing services to over 100+ departments at the Central campus and commonwealth colleges. We will provide an overview of electronic credit card payment processing concepts, architecture, experiences, partners, internal resources, and the eCommerce services we provide.

This session is scheduled for Mon, Oct 11, from 9:45 AM to 10:45 AM.

MEA2: Open Source Awareness in Education

Jason Moore, University of Rochester

In many respects, developing web applications for higher education is more difficult than developing applications for any other industry: in education, the need for high-quality applications is tremendous, but the funding and resources needed for such development are often lacking. One extremely viable option to overcoming this problematic discrepancy is to be open source aware. By using pre-existing open source software and by developing in an open source environment, the costs for developing and supporting educational web applications can be dramatically reduced. In this session we will take a look at the history of the open source movement as well as examine current examples to see what role open source development can play in higher education.

This session is scheduled for Mon, Oct 11, from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM.

MEA3: Innovate & Integrate: Networking Incoming Students

David VanScott, University of Rochester

Daryl DuLong, University of Rochester

Each year a new bunch of eager, excited, and enthusiastic students enters the University of Rochester with one thing in mind – meet as many people as possible in a very short amount of time! From a web content management perspective, delivering all the necessary information year after year can be a daunting and tedious task. The University of Rochester is entering its fourth year of using a homegrown method to deliver information in a consistent and uniform manner, while preserving its principle of student-led initiative. In the end, UR is handing over control of the sites almost entirely to the student body while retaining single information access points for students. Through the vision and hard work of two dedicated students (one undergraduate and one graduate), UR has continued to shape the way students communicate even before they get to campus. Each class can now develop their own unique sense of identity within the University community, including implementing their own look and feel. We will cover how you can go about giving each class their own Web space while still retaining some control, how the sites are managed, and how updates are funneled. In addition, the evolution of the class site vision will be shown through previous class sites and a sneak peek at the Class of 2009 website.

This session is scheduled for Mon, Oct 11, from 1:15 PM to 2:15 PM.

MEA4: Helping Departments Develop E-commerce Applications

John Chapman, Washington State University

WSU invested in e-commerce technology so it could develop web-based e-commerce applications for centrally supported, high volume applications such as tuition payments, student loan payments, admission application fees, etc. However, we also wanted to make it easy for IT staff in departments to be able to write secure e-commerce web applications for the many goods and services offered across campus (e.g. College of Agriculture publications, KWSU TV pledge drives, Student Rec Center fitness classes, etc.) For departments to want to use our e-commerce services we knew we would have to offer them a solution that was inexpensive, easy to use and available from whatever language and platform they wanted to use. This presentation describes the services and tools we have assembled for departmental IT staff to help them quickly and easily develop secure e-commerce applications. It has been adopted by numerous departments across campus and resulted in over twenty-five web-based e-commerce applications.

This session is scheduled for Mon, Oct 11, from 2:45 PM to 3:45 PM.

MEA5: From the Ground Up: Project Management

Aimee J. Lewis, University of Rochester, Warner School

Whether you have six months or two weeks, every site must be carefully planned from start to finish. This session will focus on the planning and creation of new sites by following a step-by-step guide to aid in determining scope, writing content, choosing the right design, and implementing a site with measurable goals and favorable outcomes.

This session is scheduled for Mon, Oct 11, from 4:00 PM to 4:30 PM.

MEA6: From Content to Conversations: The next phase of online presence.

Devendra Shrikhande, Northwest College

Online tools such as chats, forums and journals are the next level of interaction in the Web space. Colleges have found them invaluable in developing relationships with current and future students. However, the demands of such functionalities are a bit different from other online processes. This presentation will focus on how one can evaluate and organize the logistics in successfully merging these tools within institutional processes.

This session is scheduled for Mon, Oct 11, from 4:45 PM to 5:15 PM.

MEA7: Supporting Learning Across a Program of Study: Penn State's Experience with e-Portfolio

Glenn Johnson, Penn State University

Is designing and developing an electronic portfolio a reasonable and manageable expectation for faculty to require of students – without increasing faculty workload? Recent studies at Penn State University demonstrate a positive increase in activity student web publishing. Web usage surveys, end of semester feedback surveys, and University Learning Center data indicate that the web publishing tasks involved in publishing e-Portfolios are not overly difficult to learn and that while mechanisms need to be in place to support student learning of these new and necessary skills, this support can be made available to those who need it. In addition, this presentation will also review the benefits that have emerged as a result of student involvement in e-Portfolio development as well as the challenges that have presented themselves along the way.

This session is scheduled for Tue, Oct 12, from 8:30 AM to 9:30 AM.

MEA8: Better Living Through Web Metrics

Kathy Farrell, Empire State College

Melissa Meehan, Buffalo State College

Ned Stankus, Hamilton College

Maryann Stopha, SUNY Geneseo

People responsible for web sites are often asked questions like, “How many hits did the site get this month?” or “What are the top ten search terms?” Such questions can be answered by using web metrics. Yet, it can be surprisingly hard to get reliable answers. The most common source of information, the web server log, can be problematic for numerous reasons, including the sheer size of the log files, possible inaccuracies in the data, the challenge of configuring the log analysis software and interpreting the reports it produces, and the time and effort needed to develop and use “home-made” tools for answering specialized questions. Other sources of data, such as online comment forms, webmaster email messages, usability studies, etc., have their own advantages and disadvantages. This panel presentation will address how to use web metrics from server logs and other sources to develop, monitor, maintain, and improve a web site. The presentation will begin with a brief overview of the topic and provide basic definitions. The presentation will then cover two major topics: (1) working with server logs; and (2) working with other data sources, such as online surveys, helpdesk calls, webmaster emails, focus groups, usability studies, etc. On each topic, panelists will discuss their own experiences and respond to questions from the audience. The panel will conclude with final tips and lessons learned about choosing and defining metrics, using various tools and methods, and ideas for the future.

This session is scheduled for Tue, Oct 12, from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM.

MEA9: Web Enabled Effective Planning

Michael McGuire, The University of Tennessee

Jim Moran, The University of Tennessee

Planning is the determination of the goals and objectives of an enterprise and the selection, through a systematic consideration of alternatives, of the policies, programs and procedures for achieving them. "Effective planning" occurs when the entire organization participates in and buys in to the plan. With the introduction two years ago of my/UT, an Oracle based web portal, it became possible to use the web to collect data, improve data turn around, speed approval, increase involvement, increase buy-in, and improve accountability. A natural opportunity to apply and demonstrate the above arrived with The University of Tennessee's re-accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) due in 2005. SACS has recently initiated web-based documentation of compliance reports. In addition to data collection providing the documentation for the SACS accreditation, the design of a web-based SACS' Compliance Report that conformed to SACS' web requirements necessitated a different design philosophy. This was done through the portal as well. The implementation of the SACS project on the web protal coincided with other initiatives at the University to coordinate planning and evaluation activities. This has allowed us to implement a web-based strategic planning tool for the university to allow units and administration to have the data they need to plan the university's future. We will demonstrate and discuss the tools, processes, design decisions, administrative decisions, and implementation of this project that has enabled us to have a more effective planning process without undue burden on reporting units.

This session is scheduled for Tue, Oct 12, from 1:15 PM to 2:15 PM.

MEA10: Integrating Online Academic Tools: Strategies, Successes and Surprises

Mark A. Greenfield, University at Buffalo

Kara Saunders, University at Buffalo

This presentation will explore the “Integration of Online Academic Tools” Initiative at the University at Buffalo, an important project which has proven to be more challenging and more rewarding than initially imagined. This multi-phase project involves a series of enhancements to, and the integration of, UB’s online academic tools and resources, including class schedules, the undergraduate catalog, the “Rainbow Book” (an informal guide to programs and career options), web-based class registration, degree audits, and various university web sites that share academic information. With the primary goal of easing academic processes for students, we began integration of these tools which, historically, had been developed independently. The end goal of our integration is a seamless system whereby students are informed of requirements, offerings, and policy and are provided with the tools they need to perform the tasks involved. Examples of integration include: ·Display course descriptions and prerequisite information from the undergraduate catalog on the online class schedule. ·Display when a course is offered in the undergraduate catalog ·Using a single database to generate a list of academic programs that can be used on any and all relevant university sites, such as department home pages and university Admissions, completely separating the content from its presentation. As with many university initiatives, we encountered unforeseen obstacles as well as unforeseen benefits as we have begun integration. The presentation will focus on the strategy and implementation of the integration project, along with the technical, cultural and political challenges involved.

This session is scheduled for Tue, Oct 12, from 2:45 PM to 3:45 PM.

Content: Strategies & Design

CSD1: The Difficulty of Creating and Maintaining Websites in Higher Education and Potential Solutions into Revolutionizing Online Communities

Johnny Won

Class websites at colleges and universities are often sought out by students to find the latest information about their classes and course work. In an ideal world, the websites are perfectly organized with perfect information, perfectly relevant to the class on hand. The reality however, is unsurprisingly the opposite. For non-web professionals, the process of publishing websites is tedious, confusing and difficult, despite “easy” tools such as WYSIWYG editors, Macromedia Contribute, and websites that build websites. The vast majority of professors, teaching assistants and students do not know HTML or the federally mandated accessibility guidelines. Most websites designed by non-web professionals are notoriously crude, poorly organized, broken and seldom made accessible. Content management systems have matured in the past few years and now allow an amazingly easy system for distributing information. From Blogs to open source CMS packages like Plone, this presentation will focus on the difficult problem of creating and maintaining websites in higher education and offer a brief look at technologies that could revolutionize higher education communities. This presentation will reveal the potential social and academic possibilities of allowing greater information dissemination that can be made through technology. What happens when an economics professor can freely comment on Alan Greenspan’s actions in an online journal to the audience of millions? What about students who can read any notes for any class at any point in time?

This session is scheduled for Mon, Oct 11, from 9:45 AM to 10:45 AM.

CSD2: Case Study - Bringing an Alumni Online Community In-House

Michelle Tarby, Le Moyne College

As colleges and universities look to streamline costs, we'll examine the process and problems we went through bringing our alumni online community in-house after contracting with a third party vendor for the previous three years. We'll review the preliminary steps involved - from building a successful project team and interest from the Institutional Advancement personnel to reviewing the technological tools we had available. We'll also discuss the practical issues we encountered during the design and development phase. Finally, we'll take a look at the problems encountered in our testing phase, as well as the steps we took to resolve them. We'll look at how the project was received following the launch of the site and what we're considering for the next phase of the project.

This session is scheduled for Mon, Oct 11, from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM.

CSD3: Creating Accessible Forms

Andrew Stevens, Indiana University, Bloomington, School of Library and Information Science

HTML and other web technologies provide numerous methods to make web forms more accessible. This presentation will outline the correct usage of a few of these technologies, W3C accessibility guidelines that relate to forms, and provide general strategies for delivering web content in an accessible manner.

This session is scheduled for Mon, Oct 11, from 1:15 PM to 2:15 PM.

CSD4: Maintaining Our Focus: Creating Information Targeted to Student and Faculty Interests

Rob Withers, Miami University

Rob Casson, Miami University

Aaron Shrimplin, Miami University

College and university libraries provide resources to faculty and students in dozens of academic disciplines, but the average user only needs information in a handful. To more effectively guide end users to resources they need, we have used open source scripting to create a passworded administrative interface which enables subject specialists to create and edit lists of indexes, electronic journals, electronic books, and other resources including web sites and research guides. Specialists may create their own listing of other resources. In addition, subject specialists may also use the administrative interface to create announcements in their subject area to effectively reach faculty and students interested in new databases or collections that are appropriate to their area. Subject specialists will also be able to specify which databases should be included in a federated search for each subject area. This interface benefits all involved with the Libraries’ web site. Subject specialists can make immediate changes to web sites within their purview. Web developers don’t have to worry about pages complying with web publishing standards and code because the source code and graphics are automatically generated. And end users are immediately guided to a selection of resources in their area of interest. As the University prepares to launch a portal to internal users, we anticipate being able to automatically push a list of resources to portal users based on their course enrollment (if they are students) or department(s) (if they are faculty).

This session is scheduled for Mon, Oct 11, from 2:45 PM to 3:45 PM.

CSD5: Mapping Japan: What can communication theory teach us about interface design?

Cynthia A. Ramlo, Indiana University Department of Telecommunications

This showcase will look at how two instructional Flash modules were designed and developed. The particular focus will be on revealing how theories from the field of telecommunications can inform the design of more compelling and usable web and interactive designs.

This session is scheduled for Mon, Oct 11, from 4:00 PM to 4:30 PM.

CSD6: Web Site Assessment

Elaine Nelson, Pierce College District 11

We spend so much time creating Web sites and services to help students achieve their goals; how do we know whether our efforts are bearing fruit? This showcase will highlight an assessment project that evaluated the success of the Pierce College Web site as a resource for students. I will review techniques that we used for evaluation, the assessment process, how our results are affecting the future development of our site, and how to fit assessment activities and ongoing improvement into the site life cycle.

This session is scheduled for Mon, Oct 11, from 4:45 PM to 5:15 PM.

CSD7: We Came, We Saw, We Wheedled: The Journey to Content Management

Melissa Meehan, Buffalo State College

Many say the Web is higher education’s most powerful marketing tool. As a result, the expectation is clear: fresh, accurate content in a polished, easy-to-use interface. How to meet this expectation three clicks in, however, has become the real question, as many university sites still function as a collection of disparate sub-sites. Buffalo State successfully tacked toward--and ultimately implemented--CMS (with templates!) in an environment where self-publishing had been the norm.

This session is scheduled for Tue, Oct 12, from 8:30 AM to 9:30 AM.

CSD8: Creating forward, backward, and present compatible sites with CSS

Andrew Stevens, Indiana University School of Library and Information Science

This presentation will cover how to create structurally correct, forward-compatible sites with CSS, while maintaining support for legacy browsers. W3C recommendations, their evolution, and their rationale will be reviewed. Common rendering dissimilarities between browsers will be highlighted, followed by a discussion of how browsers' differing support and interpretation of web standards impact web development. Practical techniques for dealing with browser quirks will outlined and assessed, along with strategies to help ensure that web sites constructed today remain accessible in future viewing devices.

This session is scheduled for Tue, Oct 12, from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM.

CSD9: Higher Education's Web Offenses

Daniel JS Lewis, Plattsburgh State University

David Anderson, SUNY Buffalo

On the tenth anniversary of the invention of the web, it's still amateur hour. Higher education sites are rife with blatant content, usability, and accessibility problems. Jumping off from the lessons in Mark Twain's "Fenimore Cooper's Literary Offenses" and incorporating the work of current usability experts, we'll look at existing higher ed websites with an eye to improving the content, usability, and accessibility. A simple outline for planning and implementing higher education websites that actually meet the needs of constituent customers will be presented. A brief question and answer period is anticipated.

This session is scheduled for Tue, Oct 12, from 1:15 PM to 2:15 PM.

CSD10: myUM: University of Miami’s Official 24/7 Service Center

Wendy Dibean, University of Miami

Lindsay Boatner, University of Miami

Over the past 4 years, the University of Miami has been planning to release a personalized portal (myUM) to the University community. This fall, with the help of students, faculty and staff from around the university, the dream has been realized. Before and during implementation, we had to deal with many issues, including user management, credential management, data management, customization, content, and buy-in from all areas of the university. The dream has many levels and could not all be realized at once, but the launch for the fall includes single sign-on to major University applications (e.g. Self Service, Course Management, Email, and Content Management), personalized delivery of content and announcements, customization abilities, and group collaboration. This presentation will show features of myUM, and will discuss lessons learned and future plans.

This session is scheduled for Tue, Oct 12, from 2:45 PM to 3:45 PM.

Technical: Propeller Hats Required

TPR1: "Cap'n, I'm givin' 'er all she's got!"

Jim Gorman, University at Buffalo

Jim Brandt, University at Buffalo

How to expand your web serving capacity when your servers are at their limit. -- How many times have we heard Scotty tell Captain Kirk that the engines just didn't have anything left to give? Have you reached this point with your web servers? As the web has become an integral component in delivering student services, medium- to large-size servers went from being excessive to barely adequate. You add memory, disk, and CPU, but you still can't meet the demand during peak load times. We reached this point at UB, and embarked on a 2-year program to re-engineer our server software using new open source tools and re-architect our hardware environment to allow us to leverage many small machines rather than a single large one. We'll tell you how we did it.

This session is scheduled for Mon, Oct 11, from 9:45 AM to 10:45 AM.

TPR2: Integration with External Vended Products and Local Web Applications/Legacy Systems

Vlad Grinman, Boston University University Information Systems

Robin Smith, Boston University University Information Systems

Jacalyn Reisz, Boston University University Information Systems

The XML-Gateway was developed as a toolkit for integrating Boston University's Authentication Service with vended products and user systems. Additionally, it can provide data to these requestors in a secure, dynamic, and controlled process, thus eliminating the proliferation of accounts at vendors' sites and in the university departments. The required data is exchanged real-time, thereby eliminating warehousing and data synchronization issues. A Win all the way around.

This session is scheduled for Mon, Oct 11, from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM.

TPR3: Web Security and Service: Finding a new Balance

Dale B. Grady, University of Rochester Information Technology Services

Ten years ago if your server went offline, the administration might not have noticed. Today the phone rings before the crash is complete. The deans and the president notice immediately. It must stay online! When you have the usual firewalls, security, intrusion detection, and redundancy, what else can you do to protect your server? It cannot be locked in the closet for protection because it must be available to users. Security must be balanced with Service. The University of Rochester in-house developed development/production server model has long been used in industry because it gives hackers little to work with. The production server has no vulnerable software and no shell accounts while the development server uses a single SSL secured pipeline to the production server. This presentation will describe, demonstrate, and review the technical specifications of a development/production server system implemented in a university environment. We will examine security issues, vulnerabilities, and solutions. A key secure utility for moving pages and entire sites to production called Deploy will be demonstrated. Cost/benefits will also be discussed including the ability to use a full production copy for development and testing that is inaccessible to the public.

This session is scheduled for Mon, Oct 11, from 1:15 PM to 2:15 PM.

TPR4: Test Driven Development - Finally, a Better Mousetrap

Jim Brandt, University at Buffalo

Testing. During development, we all do it, whether we like it or not. And since we don't like it, we do just enough to get things working. But what happens when we need to make a change? How do we debug when something goes wrong down the road? Uncomment those debug statements? With test-driven development, you do the same testing, you just record it. Then you automate your tests so you can ensure that when you test, you test the same way - every time. And since you have your tests recorded in code, you can run 100 tests against your application after a DB or operating system upgrade in 25 seconds. And you can pass all your testing knowledge along to the next guy in a script. For an added bonus, why not do this with freely available tools? Utilizing a few available perl modules you can create test suites for your web applications. This talk would walk through the why and how to do this. We will also discuss how to utliize this in your development effort to ensure you have your tests completed right when your coding is done.

This session is scheduled for Mon, Oct 11, from 2:45 PM to 3:45 PM.

TPR5: Usability Testing: Why Everyone Should Try It At Least Once

Lori Packer, University of Rochester

Many university Web developers feel that usability testing is a luxury they can't afford, both in money and time. "Usability testing is for large corporate sites, not my department homepage," they say to themselves. Well, don’t be so sure. Any Web project can benefit from a round or two of testing, and this presentation will show you how to begin. Using a case study from usability tests of a university homepage redesign, you'll see what you can learn from even a relatively simple test with real users. Your site can only benefit from the experience.

This session is scheduled for Mon, Oct 11, from 4:00 PM to 4:30 PM.

TPR6: Trust and identity as defenses against phishing and spoofing

Rick Ells, Computing & Communications University of Washington

With the aggressive rise of the practice of spoofing to coax users into executing worms and phishing to mislead users into giving away sensitive information, inconsistency in an organization's identity and practices that erode trust in that identity have become major liabilities. This presentation reviews literature on branding, identity, and trust for ideas on how to counter spoofing and phishing. The scope of topics covered include Web sites, graphical identity elements, transactional processes (such as sending email confirmation of online purchases) and email language and formatting. The results of interviews with persons who have been deceived by spoofing and phishing will also be covered. A basic theory to be presented is that users judge the validity of interactions with the organizations on their overall experience with the organization, rather than just in individual transactions. The more the organization works to create trust and relationships with the user across the full range of its interactions with the user, the more likely the user will be able to recognize a false contact.

This session is scheduled for Mon, Oct 11, from 4:45 PM to 5:15 PM.

TPR7: VoiceXML - Talking to the Web

Martha Carrer Cruz Gabriel, NMD Internet & Multimedia Ltda

The potential of bringing the web to all existing phone devices, through voice recognition and interpretation, is explosive: this is the alliance of the widest computing network (the Internet) with the most pervasive device on Earth (the telephone). VoiceXML is the bridge between the phone and the web. The presentation will cover the basic aspects of building a voice recognition interface/system using VoiceXML and GSL (Grammar Specification Language). It will also present the uses and challenges of voice interfaces. A simple web application accessed via a VXML gateway will be shown to illustrate the steps of development and deployment.

This session is scheduled for Tue, Oct 12, from 8:30 AM to 9:30 AM.

TPR8: Developing Web Applications with XML Forms

Daniel Barnes, University of Rochester, College Enrollment

HTML forms play an intrinsic role in any web-based application. From the basic login form to the advanced Exchange Web Forms, getting and manipulating data from the user is a constant consideration for any serious web developer. The process of creating a basic HTML form, from designing the interface to coding the backend, may take days. Often, the code used to manipulate one form’s data could work just as well for another. However, because the names of fields in the databases are different, the developer must write separate logic for each form. Furthermore, form design is often inelegant, inaccessible, or unattractive. A design change to a site could mean significant structural overhaul to forms. Because they rarely make use of accessibility elements like labels or option groups, typical forms are inaccessible under Section 508 and the WCAG. On those rare occasions when a form has a pleasing interface, it often comes at the sacrifice of web standards like XHTML and CSS. All of this takes away from dealing with the most fundamental principle of any form: what purpose it serves. XML acts as a container, or vessel, simply carrying data in a standardized format for access by different systems and resources. In the case of forms, XML makes life for the developer much easier. Forms written using the XML Forms specification take less time to code, are fully extensible, reusable, dynamic, capable of server- and client-side validation, and fully integrate with any database (including automatic updates and inserts). All the developer has to do is define basic attributes of the form and its elements. XSL is used to process the form into (X)HTML, WML, XML-FO, or any other format for viewing in diverse environments. The first hour of this session will cover installation, the XML Forms specification, creating a basic form, and processing using ASP. The second hour will cover more advanced topics like multi-page forms, encryption, auto-filling elements, creating dependencies (drill-downs), and saving to PDF, as well as how to use the XML Forms Online Editor to make form creation even easier. With a little creativity and initiative, there is no limit to what can be accomplished with XML Forms. NOTE: Although inspired by the same idea and developed around the same time, XML Forms are not a part of the W3C XForms specification. As an alternative to XForms, this technology is much easier to learn, quicker to develop, and requires no special client software to use.

This session is scheduled for Tue, Oct 12, from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM.

TPR9: Building a PHP/MySql utility

John Wagner, Princeton University

Princeton is providing an open access web service platform with a primary audience of Php/MySql users. We initially started with custom built software but are migrating the service to OpenPKG (target date 9/1). The presentation would discuss: Building the service including the software requirements imposed by the OpenPKG architercture, security concerns in an open access environment, MySQL self service databases, migration success stories and the usual "We tried it, it was a bad idea" commentary.

This session is scheduled for Tue, Oct 12, from 1:15 PM to 2:15 PM.

TPR10: Yikes! Why Doesn't My CSS Layout Work as Well as Tables?

Michael Adams, University of Northern Colorado

Sometimes it seems that CSS layout isn't worth it. Tables are just so easy, why would I want to change it? Well, dry your eyes, Sport, there's help on the way. We'll walk through the basics of CSS layout, hit the high points of technique and browser compatibility, and discover some very helpful troubleshooting techniques. We'll look at and change some example pages with a text editor and with Dreamweaver MX 2004. It really isn't as hard as it first appears.

This session is scheduled for Tue, Oct 12, from 2:45 PM to 3:45 PM.

Content Management Systems: Planning & Implementing

CMS1: Web Site Redesign With Content Management

Drew Hill, Web Coordinator, SUNY Oswego Office of Public Affairs

This is a case study or synopsis of the steps taken to re-design and develop SUNY Oswego\\\'s Web presence while implementing an institution-wide content management system (CMS.) This session will likely interest those considering implementing a CMS, a site redesign, or both. Topics to be touched upon include: o Pre-RFP Considerations o RFP Issuance/Evaluation/Procurement o Getting Started o Navigating Change within Organizational Culture o Project Management o Major Project Phases o Site Launch o Post Site Launch Issues o Summary - What Went Right/What Went Wrong

This session is scheduled for Mon, Oct 11, from 9:45 AM to 10:45 AM.

CMS2: When a the large content management systems are too complicated and expensive how do we help our web content authors?

Patricia sperry, University of Notre Dame

Large enterprise content management systems (i.e. Documentum) have all the bells and whistles promise to take care all of the of the web content issues. We (University of Notre Dame) piloted a large enterprise content management system and found it complicated to install and the bells and whistles were more than our web developers really wanted. Our second try at helping our web content authors update their websites without technical knowledge has been a winner. The software we rolled out to campus is Macromedia Contribute. The content owners are able to use basic word processing skills to update the website. We have implemented a lower cost content management system that works for the content authors on your campus! We will share the lessons and tricks we have learned.

This session is scheduled for Mon, Oct 11, from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM.

CMS3: Copenhagen CMS at Indiana University

Greg Polit, Indiana University

Copenhagen Content Management System is a powerful tool for managing University’s information resources. It has an essential role in integrated and crisis communications efforts across Indiana University. Currently this XML based CMS powers IU Media Relations site, and manages news content on a number of external static websites including IU Gateway, IU’s onestart portal, a number of IU’s regional campus homepages, administrative, and school websites. It is evolving into a central repository for all official Indiana University content including news, spotlights, photos, and faculty biographies. Session will discuss the CMS implementation, and focus on how this CMS helps to increase site stickiness by categorizing, interrelating and grouping various types of content via associations and threading. It will also discuss how multiple dynamic web sites can be powered by this single content repository, each with unique branding and functionality.

This session is scheduled for Mon, Oct 11, from 1:15 PM to 2:15 PM.

CMS4: Building Grassroots Support to Ensure the Success of Your Campus Portal

Larry LaTarte, University of Notre Dame

A campus portal can be a great tool, but only if your user community adopts it. While focusing on the ins and outs of the technical implementation are required to ensure a stable and feature-rich web site, it is equally important, if not more so, to engage your users early and often. This presentation will describe the process used at the University of Notre Dame to engage our users before and during the launch of our SCT Luminis campus portal, and will share insights gained from a year in the portal trenches: both positive and negative. Issues to be covered include: targeting your audiences, generating institutional buy-in, marketing to the masses, and navigating university process and politics.

This session is scheduled for Mon, Oct 11, from 2:45 PM to 3:45 PM.

CMS5: RIT FAST Dev: A Student Based Web Team for RIT’s Division of Finance & Administration

Daniel Pedersen, Rochester Institute of Technology

RIT’s Division of Finance and Administration has made a commitment to the direct utilization of students in the development and maintenance of its web systems. The division relies directly upon students to execute and complete major software and web projects to facilitate the division’s goals. These systems are utilized not just internally to F&A but by all of RIT and its external customers. The students play an integral and essential role in the success of the division. The challenge is to efficiently and effectively utilize the diversity and uniqueness of the students despite the constant transformation of the team composition to ensure high quality and consistent production delivery.

This session is scheduled for Mon, Oct 11, from 4:00 PM to 4:30 PM.

CMS6: Portal Shootout: Open Source vs Open Pocket

Kirk M. Anne, SUNY Geneseo

As the old saying goes, time is money. Is it better to purchase a prepackaged portal product or spend hours/days/weeks/months/years working with a "free" one? This session will look into the pros and cons using uPortal and Oracle Portal as examples. uPortal is an open source project used by many schools as the basis for their portal system. Oracle Portal is a commercial portal package that is gaining ground in the academic environment.

This session is scheduled for Mon, Oct 11, from 4:45 PM to 5:15 PM.

CMS7: Research on the Web

Wendy Dibean, University of Miami

Hans Holland, University of Miami

Survey research is important to all aspects of life at the University of Miami. Students perform surveys as research for papers, thesis, and dissertations. Faculty use surveys to write journal articles and books. Administrative departments including Admissions Office and Alumni Relations perform surveys to find better ways to enhance services. If these surveys could be done online, with the results stored in a way that would provide for quick and simple analysis, it would save a lot of time (and money) for the University. Now they can be done online. The University of Miami has implemented SPSS mrInterview, an online survey tool. This presentation will describe the features utilized at the University, the policies necessary to implement an enterprise-wide survey application, and the lessons learned along the way.

This session is scheduled for Tue, Oct 12, from 8:30 AM to 9:30 AM.

CMS8: The Conversion to Web Standards

Daniel M. Frommelt, University of Wisconsin – Platteville

Web standards have been around for a long time, so why aren't developers adopting them? Lean how to do a conversion to Web Standards to be more accessible, save development time, and most importantly save bandwidth. The presentation will contain a brief overview of Web Standards, the benefits, and demonstrate a conversion of a web site from a traditional method of web design to a web standards based design.

This session is scheduled for Tue, Oct 12, from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM.

CMS9: Web Content Management Best Practices

Bill Rose, Penn State's School of Information Sciences and Technology
Rose Pruyne, Penn State's School of Information Sciences and Technology

A well-chosen content management system can go a long way toward addressing an institution's issues of Web content. But don't expect a CMS to solve all your content problems. Before you go shopping for a CMS, make sure you have your Web content procedure nailed down. Learn about content management best practices from a seasoned Web administrator and publications professional.

This session is scheduled for Tue, Oct 12, from 1:15 PM to 2:15 PM.

CMS10: Case Study: Athletics Content Management System

Dale B. Grady, University of Rochester
Dennis O'Donnel, University of Rochester Athletics and Recreation

The most dynamic content on your site is likely the athletics site. Rosters are changed each semester, schedules are modified, and scores are constantly posted. Photos and bios are changed at least yearly and game stories are posted as events happen. Timeliness is critical. This case study describes and demonstrates the Athletics Content Management System, an in-house-developed, database-driven, dynamic content system that manages articles, a photo library, and roster/player/staff libraries with bios, scores, and statistics. This successful system, operational for more than a year, will be described from beginning (comparing commercial systems and defining the specifications) to implementation (cost of development, manpower savings, and timeliness improvements). Selected code will be reviewed, and performance and security issues discussed.

This session is scheduled for Tue, Oct 12, from 2:45 PM to 3:45 PM.