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Web Task Force (WTF) - Agenda

Kickoff Meeting: Tuesday, February 12, 2002, 2-4pm

(updated after meeting to reflect additional topics of discussion)

Outline

Introductions

  • Cheryl - intro & background
  • Committee Members - intro & primary interests in the website
  • Web Team: Cheryl and any future co-workers and student assistants with responsibility for managing the official Ohlone website

About the Web Task Force

  • Frequency of our meetings (twice a month)
  • Frequency and method of communication among ourselves (once a week on about Thursday)
  • Choose a name for this committee
    • Web Committee (WebComm)
    • Web Advisory Committee of Ohlone *or* Web Access Committee of Ohlone (WACO)
    • Web Advisory Committee *or* Web Access Committee (WAC)
    • Web Strategies Committee of Ohlone (WeSCO)
    • Web Task Force (WTF) - our selection
    • Ohlone Web Advisory Committee (OWAC)
    • Web Technology Committee of Ohlone (WTCO)
    • Web Initiatives Committee of Ohlone (WICO)
    • Web Initiatives Committee (WIC)
    • Other

Tasks and Goals of the Web Task Force

  • Define the "levels" of the website, determine which will be "required" to implement the new site design and which will have the option to implement the new site design
    • Official pages (home page, what else?)
    • Division pages
    • Department pages
    • Faculty pages
    • Student pages (future)
    • Other
  • Define and develop a style guide to set the "look and feel" for Ohlone College's website and other online communications
  • Determine process and procedures for implementing the style guide
  • Determine the order in which Divisions/Departments will be converted to the new website design (high-profile first? if yes, which are high-profile?)
  • Can a Division/Department decide to *not* maintain their own site?
  • Educate and communicate to college staff and faculty (WebComm section of the website; announcements email distribution list; memos/notices in mail room boxes)
  • Define the design and organization of the site
  • How to determine who is responsible/takes ownership for maintaining a site and then recommend appropriate resources (people)?
  • How do we get approval for our decisions? (1) TACO, (2) Cabinet and Senate, etc.
  • Possible different treatment for these Department sites: Theater (artistic; heavy graphic intro), Multimedia (multimedia content), Newspaper (heavy and varied textual content), Newark Campus, ESL (strange characters display in the pages), Fine/Performing/Language Arts (heavy graphics), Smith Center (artistic design with heavy graphics)

Ohlone Site Statistics

  • 5,625 HTML files + @19,000+ images and other files
  • 675 MB of data (just over 1 CDROM)
  • Includes backup copies of files, duplicate files, files "deleted" using Publisher's Workbench, orphan files, outdated files

Overview of Web Technologies

  • HTML ==> XHTML; deprecated HTML tags and attributes
  • Separate style from content <==> Style Sheets (aka CSS)
    • Accessibility, easier updating, consistent look and feel
  • Web standards by W3C (http://www.w3.org)
  • Standards-compliant browsers
    • IE 5.5+, Netscape 6.1+, Opera 5.5/6.0+
  • Fast loading pages <==> less graphics (use graphics where it adds value)
  • Ease of maintenance <==> use text navigation (not graphics), use include files/templates
  • Accessibility coding techniques
    • Standards-compliant browsers are more accessibility friendly
  • Validate (X)HTML and CSS

Templates / Content Management System

  • "Include" standard template files into pages (PHP, SSI)
  • Dreamweaver Templates and Library items
  • Recommended instead: use a Content Management System

Determine Audience and Their Needs

  • Who is our audience?
    • Students already here
    • People thinking about coming to Ohlone
    • Deaf, Blind, Deaf-Blind and other disabled individuals
    • General public
    • Faculty
    • Board
    • Staff
    • Other colleges evaluating Ohlone's courses for 4-year transfer considerations, etc.
  • What type of computers do they have access to? What type of browsers?
  • What Internet devices are they using (personal computers, cell phones, PDAs, etc.)? Do we want to eventually offer content over these devices? (standards-based coding and a possible content management system will help in this area)
  • What information is our audience interested in? How should the site be organized to assist our audience with locating the information they need?

Processes and Procedures

For Update/Maintenance Requests to Web Team

  • Possibly use a form-based tracking system like the HelpDesk
  • Considerations:
    • Who requests?
    • Who approves?
    • "Working" files should be located on a network drive only (not individual computer hard drives) so that there is only one version of the website that can be worked on (this prevents some copies of sites/pages from becoming outdated when other copies of the site are modified)

For Implementation of Redesigned website

  • Enable people to create/manage their own websites by creating a website containing how-tos, tutorials, and references to resources to learn more

  • Publish set of Web Guidelines on the Ohlone website
    • Use valid HTML markup and CSS
    • Validate each page
    • Use consistent header, including link to Ohlone home page
    • Use consistent footer, including link to form to complete for problems, questions, etc.
    • Use consistent navigation
    • Avoid flashy or graphics-heavy pages
    • Model after other colleges, such as:
      • Rio Hondo College (http://www.rh.cc.ca.us/web_style_guide.htm - link broken 1/2003) - excellent
        (http://www.rh.cc.ca.us​/web_style_guide.htm)
      • Loyola - excellent
        (http://www.loyola.edu​/campusresources​/technologyservices​/webdev/)
      • Rensselaer - excellent (they use XHTML/CSS)
        (http://www.rpi.edu​/About​/resources.html)
      • Selkirk College - excellent
        (http://webcom.selkirk.bc.ca​/cs-2​/index.htm - page gone 12/2002)
      • Springfield Technical Community College (STC)
        (http://www.stcc.mass.edu​/campuswebsites​/webpolicy.html)
      • Special Note: New York Public Library Online Style Guide - excellent example of a public institution implementing web standards. This document has become well-known among web designers and developers.
        (http://www.nypl.org​/styleguide/)

  • Workflow for review and approval of web pages created outside the Web Team
    • Create, post on development (aka staging) area, review by Web Team for approval; if passes, then Web Team will post to live server; if doesn't pass, corrections must be made then resubmitted for review; individuals with proven skills will be given permission to post to live server
    • Other options

  • Web Server Items
    • When switching from NT/iPlanet to Linux/Apache?
    • Need a development directory or development server (aka staging area) with same server software/configuration as live web server
    • Recommend install PHP and enable SSI on web server
    • With Linux/Apache server: Discontinue use of Publisher's Workbench for posting files to website; use FTP (secure FTP is available); look into WebDAV

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