High Ed Hangout

We delve a bit deeper into Daniel’s trip to the HighEdWeb conference in Memphis. He shares the take-aways, and we chat about how all of us can implement some of the things talked about (centralized web support across campus – pay vs. no-pay). Daniel sums up HighEdWeb in Memphis http://wso2.com/ WordPress API being developed (very... Read more »

This episode is all about conferences. How do we get funding? How often do we get to go? How do we select a conference? We also reminisce (again) about how great SXSW used to be. Daniel at HighEdWeb in Memphis Fienen’s Totally Topical, Terrific Tutorial to Tag Manager Double-ken What makes a good conference? SXSW... Read more »

How do we social? What channels do we all use personally and what do our universities use? How do we keep up on the current social trends and use social in a way that is befitting to an institution of higher education? Social Snapchat Is your school on it? How do they use it? My... Read more »

HTML emails are hard to make! We chat about the process we use to build and send email as well as how we track our users and advertise our schools. We also look into using students and classes for help. React.js vs AngluarJS Using student/classroom work GVSU technical writing class UALR prototyping Working on mentoring... Read more »

We list the tools we use on a regular basis for various development tasks and general use, including coding, password management, utility/productivity, package management, and image optimization. Coding/Development Firebug (Firefox Plugin) Chrome Developer Tools Firefox Developer Edition GIT and SourceTree Tower ($$) Password Management 1Password Wiki for internal passwords LastPass mSecure Passwo...

We talk about languages, which are the most popular, and which ones we like the best (and why). Iowa launches a new admissions website. How we use content types, and ways we could use them better. Why does Dan love (hate?) Cold Fusion? Why not just PHP? http://www.tiobe.com/tiobe-index/  (CF is not in the top 50)... Read more »

GVSU launches their new site and get a lot of comments (some good, some not). We talk about what went into the new site, and the process taken to launch. We also discuss how we use our CMS to assign rolls and edit across different audiences. GVSU Homepage Launch (www.gvsu.edu) How did you launch? (this... Read more »

We add our comments to an article criticizing university websites, and then add even more comments to a response from Michael Fienen to the original article. Original Article: University websites: The so-so, the bad, and the egregious Michael Fienen Response: Dear Higher Ed Administrators Urban Dictionary: ParaText

School colors and how they’re used on the website. What does that mean for link colors and accessibility? What sort of branding policy is in place? How does it work. The guys take different stances on the best way to brand a university website. What are your school’s colors, and what issues do you run... Read more »

How we got into tech (and our embarrassing first websites). Some Hangout members purchased the Squatty Potty and they want to talk about it. Plus the first ever HEH topic lightning round. Intros: How we got into web/tech/job (our history with tech) Our First Sites: Dave: https://web.archive.org/web/20000229152442/http://www.greedyfly.com/ Dan(iel): https://web.archive.org/web/20010802034103/http:/...

Page-turn PDF viewers, smartphone apps, virtual tours, and how The University of Waterloo protects its students from geese. Magazine page turning (PDF viewers) Not accessible “If we use it we could be sued” Create dynamic web content as an alternative Re-purpose source material into new and interesting interfaces (tablet/smartphone/magic new device) University Smartphone Apps Use... Read more »

Highlights from the Smashing Conference in New York, Custom 404 pages, beautiful calligraphy and more. Smashing Conference Update from Scott and Dan http://smashingconf.com/ny-2016/schedule Design for touch Future input devices (touch+keyboard/mouse, voice, etc.) Design everything bigger: touch first Can’t assume based solely on screensize alone anymore SVG Responsive SVG Shared pattern language T...

Learn how the (high ed) hangout got started with the HEH! origin story. Site performance: Dan spills his guts on how he got a 100 on the Google page-speed test. UrbanDictionary Word of the Day: Breastie? Origin Story (SXSW 2007, 2008) Mobile admission application experiences How do you plan for web groups Audiences Presentations? Site... Read more »

This episode takes a deep dive into accessibility and how we try to keep our sites accessible. Accessibility WCAG 2.0 AA is the rule for all our schools SiteImprove (GVSU, UALR) Compliance Sherif (Iowa) We need a tool that checks on the fly for content editors – or an API into existing checkers. Training should... Read more »

Site search options, browsers, computer platform of choice, and more… Site Search (what do you use?) Google Custom search with a Google Appliance at GVSU Library Search (collections vs. website) Firefox or Chrome? Safari is the new IE Everyone uses Chrome now (except for Scott, who likes his plugins) What machines do the Geeks use?... Read more »

OK, here we go… the very first hangout! The geeks talk web carousels, site navigation and how to determine your site audience. Carousels Homepage Audience? Prospective students? Current students? Athletics fans? Alumni?