The Virginia Tech Web Development blog is shutting down, in favor of a new site we have launched for our enterprise CMS project: www.ensemble.cms.vt.edu.

This also is my last entry as Virginia Tech's director of web communications. I am leaving the university and moving to a small farm my family owns near Roanoke, Va., about 65 miles from Blacksburg. The commute was too far to consider staying at Tech, so I have accepted a new position at Carilion Clinic in Roanoke as its director of interactive media.

The silver lining: I will continue to work closely with my Tech colleagues as we prepare to open the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine, located in Roanoke.

Thank you all for your support!

University Relations is offering a symposium intended for anyone at Virginia Tech who works on university Web sites. Web developers and content contributors will find this symposium to be of particular interest.

This four-hour session will focus exclusively on the university’s new enterprise Web Content Management System. Our Web CMS – powered by Rhythmyx CMS, a product of Percussion Software – will allow users to create Web sites without needing to know how to write website code, and to apply workflows to quickly create, edit, approve, and publish content to the Web.

When: Thursday, Nov. 1, 1-5 p.m.
Where: Alumni Assembly Hall, The Inn at Virginia Tech

Topics to be covered include:

• An overview of the CMS and its technical infrastructure
• A live demonstration of the CMS
• Presentation of the CMS Migration Guide
• Training opportunities and the CMS certification program
• Available CMS resources and consulting services

To aid in our planning, those interested in attending are encouraged to register prior to October 27th. Go to https://www.fdi.vt.edu/public/?term_pk1=4760#5017 to register.

Last week, a got a letter from CASE notifying us that Virginia Tech's institutional website (vt.edu) has won a Bronze Medal in the 2007 CASE Circle of Excellence competition.

There were 41 entries in the category, and judges awarded two silvers and a bronze. CASE will announce the full list of winners in mid-June.

Earlier this year, we won two Awards of Excellence in the 2006 CASE III regional competition for home page design and overall website implementation.

I must thank my fantastic Web Communications staff and our support network (IT colleagues, New City Media, our redesign pilot partners, colleagues in University Relations, and other groups I'm sure I'm forgetting) for making these awards possible. They're remarkable validation that we're moving in the right direction with the redevelopment of the university's Web presence.

The position of Web Developer within University Relations has opened up. Details below.

Web Developer
University Relations

Virginia Tech’s award-winning Web Communications team is seeking a motivated Web Developer to conceive, develop, and produce web layouts and templates, graphic identity elements, and interactive features for the university’s Web presence. This person will help ensure compliance with university guidelines for Web design, content, and functionality, and help improve production efficiencies by working closely with web developers across the university community in the development of vt.edu.

• Bachelor’s degree or educational background in a related field such as web design, graphic design or fine arts, or related work experience.
• Excellent art direction and design skills specific to the online medium.
• Strength in user interface design with an emphasis on creativity, usability principles, information architecture, navigation and the end-user experience.
• Proven experience in creative and conceptual problem solving.
• Extensive experience programming, scripting and coding with XHTML, CSS, HTML, XML, PHP, Dreamweaver, and JavaScript.
• Expert knowledge of the Adobe Creative Suite and Flash.
• Accessibility proficiency; should be able to apply Section 508 and W3C guidelines.
• Excellent communication skills.
• Strong attention to detail.
• The ability to work well in a team environment.

Access the Virginia Tech Jobs website at http://www.jobs.vt.edu to submit an application (resume or cover letter also requested). Search on posting number 070453. If available, please include a link to an online portfolio documenting strong creative and design principles for the Web.

Individuals desiring assistance/accommodation in the application/interview process should contact us at 540/231-9331 voice or 540/231-6258 TDD.

AN EO/AA EMPLOYER COMMITTED TO DIVERSITY.

Greetings everyone.

Since updating the look of the VT Event Calendar earlier this year, I've been asked how other groups can get the same look for their calendars too. I've also gotten some questions about Survey.vt.edu.

So, without further ado, here's how to make your calendar and/or survey look like calendar.vt.edu:

Read More ››

The new web site covering the Branding initiative, the new Virginia Tech Identity Standards and Style Guide, and downloads of logos, etc. et al has been launched: http://www.branding.unirel.vt.edu/

This site updates the look of the previous Branding site, pulls in several sections from the University Relations site, and makes available the new and updated information from the newly-published Style Guide.

The downloads site, now including PowerPoint slides, newsletter templates, and brochure templates, is still protected and requires faculty/staff status and a valid PID to log in for access. http://www.branding.unirel.vt.edu/downloads/login.php

The Web Development Toolkit, with access to the variety of templates, is linked from the site but remains on the University Relations website: http://www.unirel.vt.edu/web/

Greetings everyone,

I was doing some research the other day and remembered this fun HTML slide show on layout tables and web standards.

Two caveats before you read:

1. This slide show was put together in 2003 when the web standards debate was really heating up, so they're really trying to make a point. If you're already familiar with this information, just file it away as something you can use to convince others if needed.
2. Though the slide show touts the benefits of accessibility, there's no text describing the background images (comic strips)!! Just goes to show that it's possible to create a page that is valid, but not necessarily accessible.

Enjoy!

Hello everyone,

I was looking at the VT web templates the other day (because I use them too), and realized that the copyright year in the footer was still set to 2006 (!). Needless to say, it should be 2007, or the current year. So, if you haven't done so already, now's the time to change that year from 2006 to 2007.

Read More ››

We have some good news to share.

At the upcoming CASE District III Awards banquet next month, Virginia Tech is a finalist for a Grand Award in two Web categories: Web Home Page Design and Implementation, and Overall Web Site Design and Implementation. A complete list of winners is available at http://www.casethree.org/documents/1/Award%20Winners%20for%20Web.pdf. The finalists in the Web categories did some absolutely fantastic work this past year, so just being among them is an honor.

These are two of six categories in which Virginia Tech has been recognized in this year's competition. Three of us from University Relations, including myself, will be attending the CASE III conference in Nashville, and if we win any Grand Awards, I'll be sure to post an update!

Video/Broadcast Services at Virginia Tech has completed production of our Web Development Symposium held Nov. 9, and all presentations are now available online at http://www.vbs.vt.edu/content/adhoc/fall2006/web_symposium/.

To recap the event and the presentations available for viewing:

On Nov. 9, 2006, University Relations held a campus-wide symposium intended for anyone at Virginia Tech who maintains or contributes to university web sites. The four-hour session covered myriad topics, including:

• University branding architecture
• The website redevelopment process: Creating goal-oriented site architecture
• Case studies: Financial Aid and Undergraduate Admissions
• Implementing university web templates
• What's ahead for My VT / VT Search
• An update on the enterprise CMS

The discussion videos require RealPlayer® and Javascript. Download the free RealPlayer® for Windows, OS X, OS 9, or Linux.