To all Faculty, Staff and other interested parties: We are excited by the changes that will soon be occurring to the Ohlone College website. Below is a Website Project update which includes a summary of expected changes and how they may affect you. Please send me an email message with questions you may have. -Cheryl Lambert Web Designer Web Task Force member Learning Resources & Instructional Technology clambert@ohlone.cc.ca.us = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = OHLONE COLLEGE WEBSITE PROJECT UPDATE - May 17, 2002 Introduction ------------ Our Web Designer, Cheryl Lambert, was hired in January 2002. A Web Task Force committee was formed to assist Cheryl with details of the Ohlone College website project, which includes moving the College website to a new web server, preparing guidelines for content and appearance of web pages, implementation of new procedures, and more. The Web Task Force consists of representatives from many areas of the college including Deans, faculty, staff, the IS department, and the student body. The Process ----------- A proposal document, a set of guidelines, and a new site design were initially prepared by Cheryl and reviewed and discussed by the Web Task Force. Cheryl and Shirley Peck, Dean of Learning Resources and Instructional Technology, presented these items to the Instructional Services Deans group, the Educational Services Council, and TACO for feedback. Final approval of the proposal, guidelines and site design was recently given by the Web Task Force, TACO, and the Cabinet. Changes to the Website ---------------------- Many design, coding, hardware and software, and procedural changes will happen this Summer (end of May through August), including: * Implementation of a new site design and navigation scheme for "core" pages on the website, including the home page and several gateway or portal pages. * Formation of a Web Team consisting of Cheryl and one or two student assistants to manage the "core" pages of the website, as well as certain Division and Department websites that elect to be managed by the Web Team. * Implementation of a web content management system (called Zope) for use by the Web Team. Division and Department websites to be managed by the Web Team will be converted to the standard design templates and then updated by the Web Team. Until the Web Team can schedule a website for conversion and management by them, the website must continue to be maintained by the Division or Department. * Replacement of the currently-used Publisher's Workbench program (which is used to upload files to the current website) with a new program that allows secure transfer of files to the new web server. The new program resembles the Windows Explorer file manager program and allows drag-and-drop of multiple files. A Mac version is available. (See below for more information.) * Implementation of two new web servers: a development web server (for users to test and validate their pages in accordance with the established web page guidelines document) and a main (publicly visible) web server. Both will use the Linux operating system and the Apache web server software. * Implementation of a new Campus Directory to replace the current Staff Directory and Phone Directory. The Business Card websites are being replaced with the new Campus Directory. * Implementation of a new website directory structure. This is necessary because of the Zope content management system. Faculty and staff websites with current and correct information will be transferred to the new web server. At this time, there are approximately 33 faculty and 5 staff websites that will be moved to the new web server. "Business Card" websites will not be transferred since the new Campus Directory replaces this functionality. Timeline -------- You can expect to see the new site design and navigation scheme for the home page, gateway/portal pages, and other "core" pages of the website by the end of May. Major back-end server changes will occur in July, including moving the website to the new web server and implementation of the Zope web content management system. Change Freeze/Transition Period ------------------------------- Moving the website will require a minimum 2-week "change freeze" for the website in which *NO CHANGES* can be made to *ANY* page on the website, including faculty website pages on the "www" server. The website will still be viewable but updates to it cannot be made during this transition period to the new web server. During the transition period, the IS Department and the Web Team plan to: * move the "www" website to the new development and main web servers * change the names for some files and directories, including the URLs inside pages (change to lowercase letters; remove spaces and special characters) * implement a new directory structure * implement the Zope content management system for "core" sections * test to ensure that all pages and onsite links work as they do now * other related items now in progress such as replacing CGI scripts that integrate with HTML forms The IS Department will then change the Ohlone College domain name (www.ohlone.cc.ca.us) to use the newly-configured website on the new web server. ***IMPORTANT: STARTING IN JULY 2002 after the change freeze*** Because the Web Team/IS Department is making changes to *ALL* pages on the Ohlone College website, it is important that you download copies of your updated pages from the new web server before making changes your website. You must use the new secure file transfer program to download your pages (see below). If you don't make your changes to the pages on the new web server, YOUR PAGES MAY NOT WORK PROPERLY since the modifications made by the Web Team/IS Department will not be reflected in any other version of your website. What Do These Changes Mean to You? ---------------------------------- Deans will continue to be responsible for providing updated and accurate information on their Division and Department websites. Deans can elect to continue the "distributed model" of creating/maintaining their websites and bring them into compliance with the requirements of the new web page guidelines by January 2003. Or, they can elect the "centralized management model" in which the Web Team will manage the website using the standardized design templates. (See below for information about the new secure file transfer program.) Until the Web Team can schedule a website for conversion and management by them, the website must continue to be maintained by the Division or Department. Faculty, committees and other groups will continue to create and maintain their own websites and bring them into compliance with the requirements of the new web page guidelines by January 2003. (See below for information about the new secure file transfer program.) By Spring 2003, the Web Team plans to provide one or two template HTML designs that faculty, committees and other groups may use if they do not want to create their own design. New Secure File Transfer Program -------------------------------- When the website is moved to a new web server in July, Publisher's Workbench will also be replaced (it won't run on the new web server). The IS Department will install a new software program on campus computers of people who will be uploading files to the development web server. People desiring the ability to upload files to the development web server from outside the campus network must download and install their own copy of a secure file transfer program. Details regarding the on-campus and off-campus software still need to be worked out. People will upload their files to the development server, test them to ensure compliance with coding and accessibility standards, and then notify the Web Team that the pages are ready to be transferred to the main server. The Web Team will review the pages to ensure they pass coding and accessibility standards before transferring the pages to the main web server. Only members of the Web Team will have the ability to transfer files to the main/public web server. Procedures are still being worked out for the notification, approval-for-live-publishing, and transfer processes. Web Development Resources Website --------------------------------- The Web Team will create a Web Development Resources website where campus staff and faculty can find tutorials, how-tos, and other resources about web technologies used on the Ohlone College website. This project will start this Summer and be an on-going education effort.