Wednesday, February 4, 2009

We've Moved - NCCU Web Services Presents EagleBlogs

NCCU WebServices Presents EagleBlogs!

See the prototype now online at http://web.nccu.edu/eagleblog

Q: What’s the big deal? It’s just another “Web Log”, right?
A: Wrong. It’s YOUR blog! They’re our blogs… All of them in a single place, where the Eagle Family goes to find and to make stuff that affects our world. Your EagleBlog can work for you, no matter who you are:

  • Students can easily journal their experiences for their family and friends back home.
  • Faculty can best utilize the “Websites for non-Techies” approach for which blogging has become famous. Effortlessly and effectively communicate with your students, colleagues and the planet!
  • Staff, use your EagleBlog to impress your friends (who don’t yet have one). Share your thoughts, your pictures, your interests, or any web nuggets you determine worthy of sharing. It’s all about you.

It’ll work like this: Simply Log-In (via the Intranet, or at the EagleBlog-In page). That will automatically activate your blog, sending you a confirmation e-mail with your EagleBlog address and instructions to get your started! Furthermore, you can easily import your existing blog into the family of EagleBlogs. Lose the ads, and gain the esteemed “nccu.edu” Web address (URL). We did.

MOST IMPORTANTLY:
The Walkaway - We want to join us!
Get your very OWN EagleBlog site. It’s yours for the asking.


Friday, January 23, 2009

Bigger Is Better

We've upgraded the look of our at-large site (www.NCCU.edu)!

"What? Didn't you just finish launching y'all's redesign" Well... Yes, we did that, over the Christmas holidays.

"So then, what up with your 'upgrade'?" It's a graphic/UI enhancement optimizing the template for 1024 x 768 screen resolutions.

"So, what does *that* mean? And why did you do it?"

Good question - Using our previous smaller screen optimization, users with larger screens, saw a site that looked "well, aiight, I guess... a little 'skrunched up'... " You see, 800 x 600 was the standard several years ago. But today, that standard of 1024 x 768, is universally acknowledged within the Web Development/Usability communities [e.g., the W3C, among others].

While our initial impulse was to accommodate those with sub-standard computer gear, our analytics simply did not justify it, as only about 3% of our visitors used 800 x 600. By far, most of our site visitors, use today's standard screen settings. We concluded that there were too many folks who ended up sacrificing the quality of their NCCU web site experience, for the benefit of too few. Is was a tough decision to swallow, but at the end of the day, that decision enhanced your overall web experience.

This way, we think the site looks a lot better... for a lot more people. Now, the content has a little room to breathe, as it were. More room for Mikey Render, our graphics ace wunderkind to blast you.

But what do YOU think? We really really do want to know. Go to the site www.nccu.edu and click the "Feedback" tab, always floating in the lower right corner of your screen.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

New Training Application

ITS Web Services has created a centralized location to find and register for training at NCCU. If you would like to build your business process skills, learn how to use a new computer application, increase your productivity, or simply fuel your passion for learning, then visit http://www.nccu.edu/training/ to see what training courses are available!