Archive for April, 2006
Acknowledgments
I wish to thank the following people for challenging and supporting me during my graduate program/assistantship. I have learned a lot from all of you and I look forward to our next adventure!
CSSA faculty/staff/instructors including: Jessica White, Rich Shintaku, Laurie Brendle-Sleipness, Larry Roper, Bob Bontrager, Tom Scheuermann, Tracy Bentley-Townlin, Melissa Yamamoto, Jackie Balzer, Tom Kirch, Eric Hansen, Bernie Liang, and Michael Hevel.
Additional faculty/staff that I wish to thank: Lani Roberts, Jim Day, Dan Crouch, Michael Ingram, Moira Dempsey, Wayne Robertson, Nancy Laurence, Blake Vawter, Kate Peterson, Joy Jorgensen, Jodi Nelson, Deb Burke, Dan Schwab, Resa Cochran, Janet Nishihara, Kris Winter, Marcus Langford, Rick DeBellis, Carol Andrews, Janet Morandi, Kyle Cassady, Edie Blakeley and Allison Davis-White Eyes.The 2004 CSSA Cohort. I am extremely grateful to all of you. I am graduating because of you.*
*Wendy, Tanya, Padma, Cat, Andrea, Gail, Tarah, Melanie, Justina, Dave, Rem, Kent and Sam – Thanks for listening!
Final defense
I. Portfolio overview
- Blogging
- Blog Stats: There are currently 137 posts and 211 comments, contained within 19 categories. Web Stats: 11,249 page loads and 4,336 unique visits.
- 1 year of content, comments, and community
- Portfolio + Blog = Blogfolio
- Technology – WordPress
II. Competency #9: Multicultural awareness, knowledge and skills
- Area of Specialization – Social Justice and Organizational Change
- Self-Awareness 2004 – 2006
- Action oriented
III. Practicum experiences
IV. Acknowledgements
V. Questions
UIC designs
I have been asked to provide a few examples of my work from the UIC Wellness Center. I have included several poster designs, the Wellness Center logo, an animated graphic, and a screenshot of the Wellness Center website. Enjoy!
Poster design for MLK Day
Here is a poster that I made for MLK Day at OSU. I didn’t link it before because I was not in “portfolio mode”…
When I was at UIC I was used to seeing my designs all over campus. It was nice to design this poster and see it all over campus. It felt good to do something for the OSU community. Most of my graduate assistantship has been spent trying to get folks to come to campus…
Technology and Student Affairs #2
Why is technology vilified in Student Affairs?
This session from PaperClip Communications is full of shock and awe:
“Liabilities, judicial impact, legal issues, thorny topics, and professional dangers”
“Facebook, Myspace: Liabilities, Judicial & Legal Matters
Every day a new set of issues, concerns, liabilities and legal precedents are set in relationship to cyber communities.
Sites like Facebook and MySpace are rapidly evolving, attracting more and more users. Cyber communities are rapidly developing into a new social and communication platform for college students.
With this new platform comes a whole new set of legal issues, judicial concerns and potential liabilities for every college and university.
Join a panel of experts and your colleagues for a cross-campus discussion on the legal and judicial impacts of cyber communities.
During this dynamic live event you’ll hear from a panel of attorneys who will address thorny topics such as:
- What’s the status of free speech online when using university servers to access cyber community sites?
- Does monitoring cyber community sites create a new “duty of care” and therefore open the institution to new liabilities?
- What legal status do the provider’s terms of usage have on campus? Are there conflicting legalities between the cyber communities and the university?
- What legal rights exist for an institution to document on-line actions in real world judicial proceedings?
As the digital world evolves so do the legal ramifications surrounding these popular sites. There is a need for developing policy and reconsidering procedures as campuses consider how these digital domains intersect with the real campus world.
We will also discuss issues such as:
- What students may not, but should, know about their online community agreement.
- How addressing student conduct online impacts a student’s Freedom of Speech.
- If your institution reviews student activity/behavior/speech in online communities, are you as an institution opening yourself up to liability? Have you created a new duty of care standard that you will be held to?
- What are the implications for using information obtained from online communities in judicial hearings? What can be used, what should be used, should you use it at all?
- What are the implications of using this information in hiring or selection processes? Can or should cyber communities be consulted as part of the admissions process?
- What is the most effective plan for educating students about the personal and professional dangers associated with online communities? What is working, what is not? We will discuss what best practices are being employed by institutions across the country today to educate students.”
I think it’s important to educate all student affairs practitioners about the complete picture of online communities. It is important for us to know whether or not we have a duty of care. However, I do not think that “fear sessions” create a technologically competent profession. Where are the NASPA, ACPA, and Paperclip sessions on Facebook/MySpace.com and their potential benefits to retention and academic success? I think we should look at technology like we look at other areas in student affairs. Why do we not think holistically about technology?
Racial Patterns of Urbanization #2
The following is the second response paper for my Racial Patterns of Urbanization class:
The New Divinity
In this chapter, Mumford continues his historical treatise by focusing on the shift to a “new divinity.” The medieval church begins to dissipate and religion is incorporated into a new political and ideological system. Religious institutions morphed into new structures. Economics became the new religion and “the money changers all but drove the representatives of Christ from the temple” (Mumford, 1961, p. 372).
It is interesting to note that institutions which had been “stifled” by the Church were able to emerge after they disconnected from the cloth. Mumford writes about dramas of Shakespeare and the portraits of Rembrandt. The Guild and the Church were not bastions of creativity.
The unity of art and culture was localized in the courts of Princes. God was deposed by man’s “divine right.” Ancient public relations experts wrote accounts of the “omnipotence” of the “despot.” This seems to be a technique that modern day “spinmasters” use to promote the absolute authority of national leaders.
Luxurious living was the norm for peoples in the Courts as well as for soldiers in the army. Mumford (1961) states, “this concentrated triviality had a discouraging effect on good minds” (p. 373). Wealth was becoming important and “the demand for unlimited funds infected every rank in society” (Mumford, 1961, p. 373). Princes robbed from their own people when they ran out of money. Rich men took money from poor people and bestowed it on people who were already rich. This reminded me of President Bush and his cronies who seem to survive on stolen “pennies.” It was during this period when policies regarding licenses and patents emerged. This seems to be all about control. It’s no wonder why the class system exists. Someone had control while many others did not.
To further illustrate the hierarchies that this new system created, and the class and social inequities that were manifesting, Mumford (1961) closes with this quote:
- It finally came down to this: a whole country was run for the benefit of a few dozen families, or a few hundred, who owned a good share of the land – almost half in France in the eighteenth century – and who battened on the unearned increments from industry, trade, and urban rents (p. 374).
The frightening part about the previous quotation is that it represents the current system in which we live. A few families or groups have the majority of the wealth and power.
The New Freedom
This chapter’s primary subject of concern is capitalism and its effects on human society. The Western ideal of time plays a huge part in shifting the focus of man from nature and humanity to a more mechanical system of clocks. Capitalism became the new religion. Capitalism’s “ultimate result was a money-making economy that had no definable ends or purposes other than its own expansion” (Mumford, 1961, p. 415).
There seemed to be a singular focus. Profits were more important than the good of society as a whole. The new freedoms were “freedom from municipal restrictions, freedom for private investment, for private profit, and private accumulation, without any reference to the welfare of the community as a whole” (Mumford, 1961, p. 415). Perhaps I am more socialist in my leanings than I had thought, but this seems to continue the trend that the rich got richer and the poor got poorer.
The medieval economy gave way to capitalism because the medieval economy was sluggish and resistance to change. According to Mumford (1961), “in the effort to achieve a static security, the medieval corporations had resisted new inventions and new methods of work” (p. 416).
Existing cities were not prepared or created to sustain capitalism. “Local autonomy” was “undermined.” Capitalism created instabilities in cities and contributed to “active corrosion into existing cities.”
The objective of capitalism was to make money and to create profit. This was a new philosophy. The community had less control in this new system. Social responsibility disconnected and “divorced.”
In what looks like the first recorded episodes of gentrification, wealthy investors would displace poor renters, clear an area, and then develop it for profit. Taxes and profits became more important than the citizenry. My participation in a capitalist system is not unnoticed as I read this piece. It is very troubling. It would seem that we need to find a new system that does not oppress people. Capitalism seems inherently damaging to collectivist cultures. It seeks to disconnect people from each other and individualizes peoples into hierarchies in which oppressions occur. I never thought about how the military wall affected society. It’s amazing how the physical environment can have such a profound impact.
The Conquest of Paradise
Sale’s introduction of the historical context in which Columbus existed starts off on a depressing note. Sale labels it as a “culture of death” and time in which the ideal of progress was non-existent. Columbus thought the world was going to end. It’s no wonder he went on his risky voyage. Fifteenth century Europe was rife with violence, disease, and famine. Violence was a daily occurrence and those in power abused their subjects. The Church was engaged in the Inquisition which “went, methodically and heartlessly, after any variety of heretic or dissenter, reformer, or mystic…” (Sale, 1990, p. 32).
The diseases which ravaged Europe seem to have been caused by an extreme lack of hygiene. The city was its own worst enemy as overcrowding and poor sanitation systems set up a slew of “epidemic diseases as never before or since.” Famine was a major issue for everyone in Europe. In fact, it was not until “potatoes and corn” were “discovered” that the poor were “saved.” Humanism, the patriarchy of the Church, and rationalism emerged during this time period. Science (rationalism) came about in response to the failure of the church to “come up with the goods.” During this period, the “degodding of nature” was achieved. According to Sale (1990), “humans were the ‘masters and possessors of nature’” (p. 40). Science created the first public clock, eyeglasses, pane glass windows, double-rigged three-masted sailing ships, the printing press, and the gun. The printing press and the gun would prove to be extremely significant. The printing press enabled the “industrialization of philosophy and the mechanization of thought” (Sale, 1990, p. 41). The gun led to the establishment of “modern mechanized warfare.”
Another extremely important formation was constructed during this time. Material lust combined with humanism and rationalism formed the basis for capitalism. The idea of nationhood was established and the formula for the spread of European culture was created. It seems to me that although today’s systems are perhaps more complex, they do not diverge from what was occurring during the time of Columbus. Europe and Columbus overcame their troubles by oppressing the Native peoples of the Americas. Today, our government is engaged in similar oppressive acts in the Middle East.
The End of the Moorish Enlightenment and the Beginning of the Columbian Era
I think it’s important to note that the Renaissance would not have occurred without Moorish and Jewish Scholarship. This article is terrific in that it clearly illustrates how the histories that I grew up reading are bogus, biased, and bigoted. Christians sought to assimilate Moors and to destroy their culture even though they appreciated their scholarship. According to Carew (1992), a “tradition of conquest and ethnocide” was established (p. 4). I think it was during this period that a lot of African scholarship was destroyed and the myth of an unsophisticated Africa was created. I could be wrong, but it sure seems that the Spanish as well as other European historians wrote history in such a way that Europeans seemed to always be the champion for what was seen as “right” while the Moors and others were always seen as villains.
Carew (1992) states that “the persecution of Moors and Jews, therefore, and their tragic inhuman expulsion, gave added momentum to the process of decivilisation and the institutionalization of racism” (p. 6). Christianity played a pivotal role in setting up this oppressive structure which continues to this day.
It is a travesty that the Moors and their culture were culled from Europe. They were extremely advanced and the Christians slowed their own development by taking away Muslim baths. It does not seem coincidental that the public health and hygiene systems that the Muslims created were sorely missed when the Christians instituted “filthiness is next to godliness.”
Country and City – A Problem of perspective
The first two chapters of this book are extremely perplexing to me. Thinking critically, I have deduced that the primary argument that is being presented is that the country differs from the city and the truth differs from the tale. I hope that our classroom discussion enables me to flesh out the complexities of this work. I keep going back to this particular phrase at the end of chapter two: “Is it anything more than a well-known habit of using the past, the ‘good ole days’, as a stick to beat the present?”(Williams,1973, p.12). Perhaps this represents perspectives and how critical thinking needs to occur in order to break away from our tried and true past stories?
References
Carew, J. (1992). The end of the moorish enlightenment and the beginning of the columbian era. Race & Class: A journal for black and third world liberation, 33(3), 3-16.
Mumford, L. (1961). The city in history: its origins, its transformations, and its prospects. New York : Harcourt, Brace & World.
Sale , K. (1990). The conquest of paradise: christopher columbus and the columbian legacy . Plume.
Williams, R. (1973). The country and the city. New York : Oxford University Press.
Technology and Student Affairs
Every time I think that I can shift my focus away from technology in student affairs…they pull me back in! This (see blockquote) is an online course that is being offered by the American College Personnel Association (ACPA). Can someone please inform ACPA and NASPA that technology is not an “emerging discussion.” It is this kind of language which causes student affairs administrators to remain stuck in 1995. Technology is CURRENTLY in use in student affairs! We have blogs, databases, wikis, rss feeds, vpn clients, web statistics, screenreaders, podcasts, etc. This course should be technical!
Who can I look to as a technology mentor in student affairs when almost everyone seems to think that technology and student affairs are mutually exclusive. NASPA needs to bring back the information technology knowledge community. ACPA needs to have highly technical classes on technology for student affairs practitioners. It is 2006. Technology needs to be part of our educational competencies. [end rant]
ACPA: Technology in Student Affairs
Course Description
iPods, Blackberry, MP3, and more! Today’s college students are awash in technology and have adapted it to their lives. How comfortable are we as college student educators with integrating technology into our professional lives?
This e-learning course is designed to provide an overview of the issues related to technology and the field of student affairs. Included in the course are sections on the current issues, decision-making, and practical applications. Discussion will center on the implications of technology in higher education and how it can best be managed within student affairs. Although technical aspects of technology will be discussed, it is not designed to be a “technical” course. A main objective for participants is to research and address a current technological issue with which they (or a functional area of interest) are dealing.
Course outcomes:
Participants will be introduced to the emerging discussion of technological decision-making in student affairs.
Participants will reflect on and discuss how professionals make technological decisions on their campus.
Participants will research an upcoming decision (or potential decision) related to technology, develop specific goals and strategies to address the issue at hand, and share results with other participants.
A comprehensive list of resources for participants will be provided by the instructor and expanded upon by the participants.
Racial Patterns of Urbanization #1
The following is my first response paper for my Racial Patterns of Urbanization class:
The Mismeasure of Man
This chapter frames scientific objectivity with social prejudices and sheds light on the fact that science cannot exist in a vacuum bereft of cultural and social biases. Gould begins his argument with Socrates. Socrates stated that people “should be educated and assigned by merit to three classes: rulers, auxiliaries, and craftsmen” (as cited in Gould, 1981, p. 51). However, Socrates knew that there was no “logical argument” for this creation of a societal hierarchy (Gould, 1981). In order to propagate his societal structure, Socrates “fabricates a myth” Gould, 1981). People were assigned a metal respective of their fabricated position. Gold was the highest metal. It was the metal of the ruling class. The next class was silver. Brass and iron made up the lowest class. This was for husbandmen and craftsmen. According to Socrates, citizens were to be told that “God has framed you differently” (as cited in Gould, 1981, p. 51). Glaucon expressed doubt that the fabricated myth of the God-based hierarchy would succeed. He tells Socrates that “there is no way of accomplishing this; but their sons may be made to believe in the tale, and their son’s sons, and posterity after them” (as cited in Gould, 1981, p. 51).
Gould focuses a lot on the ways in which science is used as a means to validate myth. Specifically, how biological determinism is used to create hierarchies via race, class, and gender. Gould (1981) says that “a principal theme within biological determinism” is the “claim that worth can be assigned to individuals and groups by measuring intelligence as a single quantity” (p. 52). Two ways in which this has been measured have been intelligence tests and “craniometry.” According to Gould, intelligence as defined by science, within the context of IQ tests, is fundamentally flawed due to the limiting nature of the tests. Gould (1981) emphasizes that “Socrates knew he was telling a lie” while the present “strategy has [been] altered” (p. 52).
Biological determinism is “based on two deep fallacies,” says Gould (1981, p. 55). The first fallacy is that science tends to reify concepts into things. This serves to take complex concepts and creates a simple construct for science to apply “standard procedures.”
The second fallacy is “ranking.” This is our “propensity” for creating hierarchies. In the context of biological determinism, this means that people need to be grouped in an ascending order.
The combination of both fallacies works to create hierarchies in which people are ranked in a hierarchy based on worth. It is in this fallacious structure that people in “oppressed and disadvantaged groups — races, classes, or sexes” are found to be “inferior” and deserving of their “status” (Gould, 1981, p.57).
Gould states over and over again that science does not operate outside of the realm of cultural subjectivity. Science cannot “shuck the constraints” of worldview and culture. According to Gould (1981), science should strive to “reduce the ratio of data to social importance” (p. 55). This means that science is highly influenced by the social structures in which it operates and that it should work towards a lessoning of societal pressures.
Thoughts:
I think that Gould’s writings are an excellent primer for individuals who are proponents of social justice. It gives insight into how science has been used as lever to create the dominant paradigm within our global society. The tactics of Socrates resonate with my public relations background. If you tell someone something over and over again then it ceases to be false and takes on a perception of truth. Various powers, including: the Romans, the colonial British, and the present day U.S., all relied on Socrates’ tactics.The cooptation of nature to uphold and create inequality is appalling. Science is a human endeavor and as such, it cannot ever strip away the subjectiveness of humanity.
In social justice work, self awareness is essential to a strong foundational starting place. Science, it seems, is a field in which self awareness has been denied in order to veil subjectivity with the guise of objectivity.
As a student affairs practitioner, I am constantly faced with modern day versions of the fallacy of reification. SAT scores and high school GPA’s are used as indicators for future success. However, these intelligence measuring sticks fail to showcase the breadth and depth of an individual. They usually serve to maintain the dominant paradigms membership in higher education while marginalizing people in subordinate groups.
Toward the Final Solution
This chapter provides a historical context for the rise of racism in eighteenth century Europe. Mosse writes about the struggle between the “Enlightenment” and Christianity and how both groups/ideologies contributed to European racism.
According to Mosse (1978), “Ever since ancient times the unity of man, nature, and God had been defined as a hierarchy which, like a chain, stretched from heaven down to earth” (p. 4). This “chain” is a consistent theme throughout Toward the Final Solution. The chain is the metaphorical equivalent of a power structure or hierarchy. The “chain of being” was the rationale for the need to find the “missing link” (Mosse, 1978, p. 4). The chain is inherently linked to racism.
An early form of racism, although not yet named, was the “belief that the ‘inner man’ could be read through his outward appearance.”(Mosse, 1978, p. 5). Europeans were light skinned and were seen as matches for the period’s “ideal of classical beauty.” Thus, a white, European person was seen as pure while a Black person, whose outward appearance diverged from the beauty ideal, was seen as ugly and inferior. This chapter talks about early fears of miscegenation and “a crystallization of racial feeling” (Mosse, 1978, p. 14).
Thoughts:
Power over “others” seems to be the presiding theme with this chapter or at least, the act of finding ways to have power over. The power of myths and symbols is astounding. The dissenting voices of the period must have been squashed by those who were power hungry. The next piece, and its reflections on capitalism, seems to forecast the need for a power hierarchy. Race is a social construct that has been wrongly created and willfully abused.
The Ideology of Power
The Ideology of Power is a chapter that summarizes the structures of baroque capitalism and the power structures that maintain said structure. Mumford (1961) states that “the two arms of this new system are the army and the bureaucracy” (p. 363). These “arms” represent the “temporal and spiritual support of centralized despotism” (Mumford, 1961, p. 363). The shift toward capitalism occurred when the economy changed from a “goods economy to a money economy” (Mumford, 1961, p. 363). The strategies to increase capital were to increase land as well as population. Expansion was seen as a good thing. In fact, this period provides the historical context of the “notion of an indefinitely expanding economy” (Mumford, 1961, p. 366).
An important aspect of the baroque ideal was the association of time, space, and motion. This represented a change in the “entire conceptual framework” (Mumford, 1961, p. 364). Time became mathematical.
Thoughts:
It is fascinating how a chapter like this can illustrate the flaws of present day, U.S capitalism. Imperialism, hegemony, militarism, trade imbalances, I could go on and on. I think it’s important to recognize the importance of time within this system.The section on law, order, and uniformity really resonated with me. I agree that the law exists to keep power for those who have power and to maintain privilege. I appreciate the contradictions of uniformity within bureaucracy.
Movement and the Avenue
The avenue was a means of access for trade and armies. Medieval cities were not equipped for wheeled vehicles nor were they convenient for marching armies. Capitalism needed “rapid transportation” to transport goods while armies needed “straight lines” to march. According to Mumford (1961), “To achieve the maximum appearance of order and power on parade, it is necessary to provide a body of soldiers either with an open square or a long unbroken avenue” (p. 369).
The avenue played an important role in control. An army could more easily control an urban environment if it contained avenues. Mumford (1961) states, “To rule merely by coercion, without affectionate consent, one must have the appropriate urban background” (p. 370).
Avenues also created class distinctions via transportation options. The rich went down the center while the poor were on the margins or sidewalks.
Thoughts:
It is amazing to me how the simple creation of a seemingly innocent urban structure can perpetuate further injustices. Having been to London, I can attest that it is indeed difficult to travel in a non-grid-based city.The literal nature of the class imbalance of an avenue was very striking to me. Persons with money were in the center while people in lower economic strata were forced to the margins.
References
Gould, S. (1981). The mismeasure of man. New York: WW Norton and Company.
Mosse, G. (1978). Toward the final solution: a history of European racism. New York: Harper and Row.
Mumford, L. (1961). The city in history: its origins, its transformations, and its prospects. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World.
OSU SEO and Google
Here’s an article from the Portland Business Journal about some of the work that I have been involved with during my OSU graduate assistantship. The nice thing about search engine optimization is that you increase your page rank while also increasing your site’s accessibility. I think this article will drive a few more visitors to the OSU Admissions Blog.
http://portland.bizjournals.com/portland/stories/2006/04/17/story5.html
OSU finds road to success goes through Google
The Portland Business Journal – April 14, 2006 by Aliza Earnshaw, Business Journal staff writerIn an effort to reach prospective students where they spend much of their time Oregon State University has revamped its marketing efforts, employing techniques familiar to the business world.
By redesigning some of its Web pages so they appear higher in Internet search results, and paying other Web sites for links back to OSU’s site, the university hopes to make itself more visible to prospective undergraduate and graduate students, as well as drawing more out-of-state and international applicants.
Both search engine optimization and pay-per-click are familiar tools for businesses looking to increase their online visibility.
These tools and techniques are much less commonly used, however, in the world of higher education, except among for-profit institutions.
OSU is in the vanguard of public institutions adopting these Internet marketing techniques, said Kent Lewis, president of Anvil Marketing Inc., a Portland search-engine optimization firm that has been consulting with OSU on its Web site overhaul and marketing campaign.
A history of web projects
The official title of my OSU Graduate Assistantship is “Student Affairs Web Specialist.” Here are a few of the projects that I have worked on since I arrived in Corvallis in 2004.
OSU Admissions old
When I first started my assistantship at OSU, the Admissions web site looked like this:
The site was in need of an overhaul. The first few months of my assistantship were spent fighting fires. Various issues would arise that would need taking care of, and a complete overhaul of the Admissions web site would not happen for a long time.
OSU International Admissions
The primary project that I was assigned to was managing the re-design of the International Admissions web site (the version that is currently up is a progression from last year’s design.).
The International Admissions web site was re-designed using web standards and user feedback. The site was easy to navigate and loaded quickly due to its css-based layout.
The re-designed International Admissions web site received positive reviews from the OSU community and from several external audiences.
Eric Stoller’s Blog
Initially, the ESB was used to house my technology workshop lessons/links. The focus shifted when I decided that the blog could serve as my portfolio for CSSA as well as a personal journal. I blogged about life, school, and work. Eventually, my social justice posts became the primary focus of the blog. I think this is probably due to the fact that my passion for social justice came to the forefront of my life while I was in the midst of a life changing experience. I built the blog using WordPress. The theme was a free theme that I shaped to my own devices. I’ve added plugins for subscribers and recent comments/posts. The flexibility of a css-based design has allowed me to change colors, font sizes, etc. The php include construction of WordPress enabled me to add search functionality and comment functionality to posts/pages where it did not normally appear by default.
I have had quite the experience with the blog. It is personal. It is professional. It is a portfolio.
OSU Precollege
I was given this project as a quick and easy web re-design. The folks over at OSU Precollege needed a web presence that reflected a consistent look and feel of the overall OSU web. I utilized a template from OSU Publications and created a basic web site.
The biggest challenge with this project was the lack of “client” communication. The site was created by yours truly in a design vacuum. It’s not usually the way I would like to work. I prefer a collaborative process in which stakeholder involvement drives the project. The previous Precollege site had not been updated for a long time, and I fear that the current site design will exist for far to long. Unfortunately, I think this reflects the belief that as long as a site is online it is functioning. I believe this creates a static, cob web ridden presence that does not involve the actual users of the site.
OSU Success
This site was designed by an external vendor but I had a large role in the accessibility and usability of the site. The site was initially constructed in a format that was deemed to be boring for its intended audience. First-year students need a site that encourages participation as well as incentives for return visits.
I learned a lot about working with an external vendor on this project. There was a lot of planning, communicating, designing, and thinking that went into this project. The final project was accessible as well as standards compliant. The student response was very favorable and the site differed from similar sites.
A blog was created to compliment the student OSU Success site. Students were selected from the orientation staff and trained in the art of blogging. Site statistics showed that we did not have the best results with regards to visitors. However, I believe that the blog was a great experience for the student writers as well as for the students who read it.
OSU Success for Parents and Family
A companion site for Parents and Family was created to compliment the student version. Parents and family were given content which was relevant to their experience. The site design that was used was simple and easy to use. Once again, the site was accessible and highly usable.
Basecamp
While working with the OSU Success vendor, I became aware that the amount of email correspondence was becoming unmanageable. I had recently discovered the 37 Signals project management application: Basecamp. OSU staff and the external vendor utilized Basecamp for file transfer, deadline creation, and intergroup communications. The tool became an online archive for everyone on the project. Basecamp became a key component to our overall communications and project management strategy.
I’m really glad that I suggested Basecamp. For me, this clearly represented how online applications can be used to streamline group processes and communications.
OSU Graduate School
OSU Publications designed a new web site for the OSU Graduate School. I stepped in and was able to manage the interface between the folks from Publications and the Graduate School. I taught the GS folks how to update the new site as well as how to navigate a site that was structured using css and includes.
The Graduate School now uses online forms for a variety of data transmission functions. This should save them a lot of time, money and effort. The new GS site and online forms provides a heightened user experience for student users due to increased accessibility, usability, and functionality.
OSU Admissions new
The OSU Admissions web site re-design project was a terrific experience. It was a collaborative experience in which OSU Publications and OSU Admissions joined forces to create a standards compliant, user-friendly site. The site utilizes css and includes. We focused a lot on separation of content from the design. The new site includes a blog that has received a lot of visits. Written by an Admissions staffer, the blog showcases OSU Admissions as well as the accomplishments of the OSU community. I created the blog using WordPress (my personal blogging experience enabled me to set up the blog). The Admissions template encloses the new blog so that the user experience is seamless. The new Admissions site continues to grow and search engine optimization will increase as the site expands.
OSU Document Management Project
The OSU DMP is using a blog (another WordPress blog that I created) to transmit information to key stakeholders as well as enable users to interact with the site. The project is enormous in scope and will utilize the blog to maintain a constant stream of communication with users.
OSU Student Affairs
I am in charge of re-designing the OSU Student Affairs web site. The current version (pictured below) is not standards compliant and it is due for an overhaul. The primary users of this site are internal users. The site will serve as a central hub of information. I plan on using code from the OSU Admissions site design. The Admissions code is accessible and the site structure efficiently separates content from design.
OSU Student Affairs – redesigned
*One of my last projects will probably involve the creation of a wiki for OSU Enrollment Management IT. The wiki will serve as a repository of techie tips and experiential histories. I’ve never created a wiki before so I will need to research the wiki options that exist. OSU CWS currently uses a wiki and I will probably see if their site wiki would work for OSU EM IT.
