Workshops

Optional pre- and post-conference workshops give you a chance to tackle a new project, learn a new skill, or brainstorm new ideas in a more in-depth, hands-on format.

Pre-conference Workshops
Sunday, November 6

WOR1: CSS Basics
WOR2: Introduction to PHP 5
WOR3: Developing & Maintaining Web Content: An Idea Generating Workshop
WOR4: Humanizing Web Interfaces: Colors, Multimedia, Voice & Trends
WOR5: Business Process Management and Workflow in Higher Ed

Post-conference Workshops
Wednesday, November 9

WOR6: Advanced CSS Workshop
WOR7: Advanced PHP 5 with MySQL 4.1
WOR8: Turning on the "LAMP" (Linux, Apache, MySQL, PHP)
WOR9: Understanding and Implementing Web Accessibility
WOR10: Writing and Editing for the Web

PRE-CONFERENCE WORKSHOPS

WOR1: CSS Basics

Michael Adams, University of Northern Colorado

Wondering what all the hoopla is about? Do you want to get started with CSS but are daunted by some of the experiences you or someone else has had, or the horror stories you've read on forums? This session will begin at the beginning of Cascading Style Sheets and proceed with the major points up to (but not including) CSS layout. You'll learn how to style stuff, what stuff to style, what control you have over items, how to avoid typical problems, how to measure, how to build a stylesheet from scratch, and how to use it. You are encouraged to bring your laptop with you as tutorial files will be available at the workshop — it can be as "hands-on" as you like! You need to have a basic understanding of HTML tags and the ability to work in code (although you can do much of this through a GUI application like Dreamweaver).

This session is scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 6, from 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM.

WOR2: Introduction to PHP 5

C. Daniel Chase, The University of Tennessee at Chattanoo

An introduction to basic PHP 5 use with a focus on the power of dynamic pages in comparison to static HTML, including a short history of PHP, statement syntax, basic program logic statements and data types, simple PHP pages, and HTML forms.

This session is scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 6, from 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM.

WOR3: Developing & Maintaining Web Content: An Idea Generating Workshop

Douglas Tschopp, Augustana College

This popular WebDev workshop is a great way to start off the conference! Using some of the cornerstone topics in communications and public relations, this workshop examines the development of good Web content. The second half of the workshop looks at research techniques available for developing and assessing Web sites.

This session is scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 6, from 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM.

WOR4: Humanizing Web Interfaces: Colors, Multimedia, Voice & Trends

Martha Carrer Cruz Gabriel, Universidade de São Paulo, Universidade Anhembi Morumbi

As new technology enters daily life faster and deeper, people increasingly need to "feel" human. In this context, the proper analysis and correct use of human characteristics in Web site interfaces are vital to achieving desired user reactions. The workshop will address John Naisbitt's "high tech/high touch" paradox, the "brain/mind" balance analysis, and interface basics; and explore some significant techniques to humanize Web sites interfaces and navigation, such as colors, multimedia, and others. Colors instigate physical and psychological reactions. They attract, warn, excite, calm, and convey many feelings. The way we use colors in a Web site contributes greatly to the way users react and feel. Color harmony and psychodynamic effects will be explored and 3D color effects on the Web will also be shown. Multimedia — is it a plague or a solution? The issue of using multimedia on the Web — how, when and why — and whether it may be good or bad will be discussed. Besides its role in "humanizing" technical interfaces when properly used, we will also address the new role multimedia is playing in separating the user interface from back engines. Going a little bit beyond the actual visual driven interfaces, which take advantage of colors and/or multimedia solutions, some aspects concerning interface evolution and trends will also be raised, including ubiquitous wireless networks, voice interfaces with speech synthesis and voice recognition, and nanotechnology.

This session is scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 6, from 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM.

WOR5: Business Process Management and Workflow in Higher Ed

Richard Dumm, Pennsylvania State University
Jim Gorman, University of Buffalo
Jeremy Trumble, Rochester Institute of Technology
Beth Hayes, Pennsylvania State University

Business Process Management are those activities that organizations can perform to either optimize their business processes or adapt them to new organizational needs. These activities are usually aided by software tools. A workflow specifies what tasks need to be done, in what order, and who has permission to perform each task. Join us for this panel discussion on Business Process Management that will include presentations, discussions, and Q & A on workflow systems that have been implemented at higher education institutions. We'll look at procurement and financial workflows, resources, infrastructure, and training considerations as well as open standards (J2EE) and open source's roles in deployment of workflow systems. Included will be a demonstration of an open source implementation of an electronic requisition form using a commercial Business Process Management engine (Ultimus). Also included will be a "How Not to Do It" discussion as well as "Implementing Workflow from a Project Manager's Perspective."

This session is scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 6, from 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM.

POST-CONFERENCE WORKSHOPS

WOR6: Advanced CSS Workshop (FULL)

Daniel M. Frommelt, University of Wisconsin - Platteville

A hands-on opportunity to play with some advanced CSS concepts. Bring your laptops and an open mind. We'll cover many of the current hot design techniques: multi-column layout, faux-column layout, advanced image replacement techniques, advanced list manipulation, rounded corner boxes, son-of-suckerfish dropdowns, cross-column pull-outs, CSS hacks, and customized CSS for alternate devices. There will also be a discussion of emulators for alternate devices and a discussion about helpful tools for Web developers. Example files will be made available for the session that can be manipulated during the workshop. For those bringing laptops, please have a text editor and the current version of Firefox installed, as well as other browsers your institution may support. If you can not bring a laptop, you will be able to observe and work with the other participants. Final example files will be available at the end of the workshop. This workshop assumes a basic understanding of CSS and XHTML principles.