Sessions about Web Site Design

"Web Design!" "Web Development!" How do these fit together? Mike Atwell takes the Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation and Evaluation (ADDIE) model of instructional design and applies it to Web production. You'll learn a method for viewing your Web projects from a "bird's eye view" to handle them better.

In 2005, the LSU AgCenter launched a newly remodeled Web site driven by content management system (CMS) technology. Although this technology made it easier to add content, is the site addressing user needs? Learn about the results of a three-part study – a pop-up survey, a snail-mail survey and a usability study – to make a land-grant university Web site more valuable to clientele.

With the use of AJAX as a model for server/client interaction, new 2.0 user interfaces can reach heights never thought of on the web. This presentation focuses on how to use AJAX to exploit the asynchronous web to provide a rich user experience: one that is triggered by events versus page reloads. As we do this, we will look at performance, proper coding and encapsulation with JavaScript. The Publication Editor, a real application, will be used to showcase AJAX technology and to see how it has been used successfully in Extension. The editor is used by Extension field staff in publications like annual reports, newsletters, news columns and more. We will quickly look at the backend to see how XML can abstract a JavaScript application from the underlying server technology.

Participants will gain knowledge of the Structured Query Language (SQL) and learn how to utilize SQL in their web applications. The session will demonstrate how to create a basic database-driven web application and will cover database design, creating SQL tables, SQL field types, table joins, aggregate functions, code reuse and best practices. Examples will be presented using the open-source MySQL database engine and the PHP scripting language. The concepts and basic syntax will be applicable to other database systems and scripting languages such as Microsoft SQL Server and ColdFusion. Code examples will be available for download after the session. No prior knowledge of SQL is required but participants should be familiar with web development.

Ever wonder who is viewing your web pages? Are you curious about how visitors find their way to your site and how long they stay? WebTrends is a commercial product that allows you to answer these questions plus many others. By analyzing your traffic logs, WebTrends can tell you which pages are the most popular on your site, which Google keyword searches are leading people to your site, on which pages people are entering and leaving your site (you mean they don’t always start at my main page?!?), how much time visitors are spending at your site, and a whole lot more! The Alabama Cooperative Extension System has been using WebTrends regularly for about four years to provide figures for various assessment and accountability reports regarding our web traffic. Come see how WebTrends can help you learn more about the traffic generated by your state’s web site. You may be surprised at the results!

The barriers to building web applications have never been lower. Individuals and small teams can create, deploy and test a web application in as little as a few months, weeks or even days. This iterative process gives designers and developers a chance introduce small changes over time and constantly refine the end product. This is a look at web application development from a design and user interface point-of-view.

With the need for web services increasing and limited budgets, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Communications and Information Technology is developing a centralized web portal Content Management System that departments/units can easily adopt, customize and maintain. Web programmers and designers are developing a smorgasbord of web portals from which department web managers can select to address the needs of their audience. The portals will allow features such as calendars, news feeds, and faculty directories to be updated centrally but published globally. It will use Liferay Portal, an open source portal framework. Modules can work with existing databased systems to present targeted information on the Web, reducing the need for redundant input, or they may be developed to present new information. The system will provide a unified appearance and an intuitive information structure based on reader input. CIT is working collaboratively with UNL’s College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources to survey audience groups and identify their information needs and preferences.

The Illinois Manure Management Plan (IMMP) represents a big programming challenge. How do you get farmers, experts and administrators behind a computer to do something they used to do in paper? The answer is simple: it’s easier. This project uses heavy database manipulation coupled with logic and JavaScript, aided by Google Maps API and driven by four developers. The result is an application which complies with Illinois standards on manure management, is easy to use, is complete and is customizable to the last detail. In this session we will look at the design process, technologies used as well as the benefits and problems of the electronic adaptation of the plan.

The Gardening in a Minute radio program was developed through University of Florida Extension to reach out to the gardening community in an innovative, edutainment format. Gardening is the number one leisure activity in the U.S. and research shows that gardeners seek information. Edutainment utilizes a variety of media to incorporate educational messages within an entertaining format. In a short, fun format, Gardening in a Minute shows educate listeners through a variety of seasonally appropriate issues related to water, plants, pests, and wildlife; each show explores a different home gardening or lawn care topic. Along with the radio program, an integrated marketing communication approach was implemented to reach a broader audience. An interactive Web site allows program listeners and other site visitors to have hands-on learning experiences. Gardening in a Minute is currently being broadcast in 19 counties in Florida with plans to syndicate throughout Florida by 2008. More than 15,000 people listen to each broadcast. The interactive format of the program and the collaboration with county faculty has made the program very visible within internal and external audiences.

Are you looking for a solution to manage your institution's Web presence and content? Come learn from the experiences of ACES, AU's College of Agriculture and UGA's College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences as we examine, demonstrate, and discuss the Adobe Publishing System. This is a scalable content management system with both client-side and server-side components. It utilizes Dreamweaver to develop site templates, Contribute Publishing Server to manage a user database, and Contribute to distribute template access and edit content. In addition, Contribute provides a means for site administrators to assign roles and restrictions to editors, a method to distribute specific content and editing capabilities, and an internal review and publishing system. Various techniques, troubleshooting, and tips will be provided.

You have a vision for a redesigned Web site: new features, better graphics and updated content. But if you want to win rave reviews, don't neglect the human side of Web redesign. Use these ideas for planning your redesign, selling your ideas to stakeholders, testing with key groups and getting users involved in maintaining "their" site.

Editors from three land-grant university magazines (LSU, California, Purdue) share what they’ve learned about redesigning a long-time print magazine into an e-magazine. It’s a whole new project that requires more staff, teamwork and learning new skills. But the results greatly expand readership.

Section 508 requires that electronic and information technology be accessible to persons with disabilities. In keeping with this regulation, web sites should be designed with accessibility in mind. In this seminar, we will provide and overview of the Section 508 standards and how they relate to W3C Guidelines for web accessibility. We also will describe and demonstrate ways to implement accessibility requirements through the use of markup, CSS, and LIFT (a server-based tool that dynamically generates customizable text-only views of web sites).

Getting traditionally-minded Extension educators to embrace the web as a key educational delivery tool can be difficult, if not downright impossible. This presentation will cover how a team of communicators and web developers combined their sense of good timing with technology grant funds to help Extension faculty in one county office reinvent their county Extension website. The effort resulted in a more informative and user-friendly website that offers greatly enhanced educational delivery and information marketing opportunities. But even more important was the team’s success in helping Extension faculty and staff overcome some obstacles and prejudices about audience identification. Team members will describe their roles in the design and implementation of this web development project and how they worked closely with faculty and staff to help them rethink their use of the web. Ultimately the team intends that this will be a model project that all other county Extension offices in Oregon can learn and benefit from.