Today's website consumers demand a tremendous amount of flexibility, responsiveness and interactivity from the websites they visit. People have become used to Web applications like Facebook, Gmail and Twitter which make heavy use of Web browser client-side programming in JavaScript and interaction with Web services using the AJAX programming model. This workshop will teach you the basics of Web browser client-side programming using Web standards. We'll take a quick tour of HTTP, DOM, Javascript, XML and JSON, then jump in with hands-on exercises using the jQuery Javascript library, building up an interactive website utilizing AJAX Web services. This year's session will closely resemble 2011's successful model, with different exercises. You should come prepared with a laptop, your favorite text editor and the latest version of the Firefox Web browser. Before the conference we'll also provide a list of Firefox extensions you'll need to install. A familiarity with JavaScript, DOM, HTML, CSS and some client-side programming is necessary for this session.
Presenter(s)
This popular HighEdWeb workshop is a great way to start off the conference! Using some of the cornerstone topics in communications and public relations, this workshop examines the development of good Web content. The second half of the workshop looks at research techniques available for developing and assessing websites.
Storytelling should serve as the framework for marketing and communications. In this workshop, you'll learn how great video storytelling includes a beginning, middle and end; strong images; clean sound; conflict; emotion and strong characters that tie into your university messaging and goals. You'll learn how to choose the right stories that will build credibility within your institution; discuss various documentary and promotional video shooting and editing styles; learn what kinds of video equipment and software fit within your budget and communication needs; get hands-on experience with video equipment and editing software; learn how to improve your videography, sound, lighting and interviewing techniques by watching specific examples; and outline how your videos interact with social media and your institutional websites. You can also submit your own videos prior to the start of the workshop to receive onsite critique and problem solving.
In the ever-changing world of marketing and communications, it is increasingly important to be agile in testing new media, setting key performance indicators, and evaluating your results. We will explain why this is so important and how you can ensure that your inbound strategy takes advantage of the flexibility that agile marketing techniques can afford your institution. We will start and end this workshop with an interactive discussion of inbound marketing strategies, and provide instructive presentations on the use of individual components of inbound marketing, including goal setting and measurement; content ideation and creation techniques; search engine optimization; the use of social media and how to incorporate analytics into your strategy. Beginners can expect to leave the workshop with a solid understanding of how these pieces fit together and how universities can leverage them to improve student application rates, enrollment rates, alumni engagement, student communications and donor conversions.
The Ruby on Rails framework can increase your productivity and happiness. It's right there on the official Rails website so it has to be true, right? In the Office of Geriatrics and Gerontology at The Ohio State University, we have leveraged the principles of high productivity and programmer happiness that Ruby on Rails promises to deliver quality distance education websites. The goal of this workshop is to expose you to the key concepts of the Ruby programming language and the Rails framework that make this possible. This workshop will be split into four parts: 1. Setup a Ruby on Rails Development Environment 2. Basics of the Ruby language constructs 3. RubyGems: reusable Ruby building blocks 4. Basics of Ruby on Rails framework. We will work towards developing a very basic CMS so that, by the conclusion of this workshop, you'll have a solid understanding of Ruby on Rails.
Is WordPress the right CMS for your department, or even your whole institution? How do you sell your colleagues on WordPress? What kinds of sites can you build with WordPress? We will discuss how WordPress's theme system is uniquely suited for campus-wide branding initiatives, and how you can create a single theme that allows your users to customize their own sites to the extent you allow. We'll do a quick walkthrough of installation process and the administration features, including some issues specific to campus networks. We'll talk about how to navigate the vast plug-in ecosystem, and how non-developers can evaluate plugins and themes.
With a conference registration, workshop rates are $120 for one and $200 for two. Without conference registration, workshop rates are $200 for one and $360 for two.
Sunday, October 7
Wednesday, October 10
