As a follow-up to my planning for a new intern application, I have made quite a bit of progress on getting the process online. First and foremost, I developed an online application using Google Forms to take the place of the applicant information sheet and short answer questions. I have also put together a checklist with instructions on what materials are required and how they should be submitted.
I think these are pretty solid, but I also expect there will be some hitches. For instance, we are requiring that all e-mailed components (essay, lab report, recommendation letters) be in PDF format. I would not be surprised at all if that causes some issues, as I'm sure some applicants will disregard that requirement or perhaps won't have access to software that can create PDFs (which is a lame excuse, because there are most certainly free resources available, not to mention libraries). I am also not 100% confident with the Google Form; although I think it is set up very well (if I do say so myself), there could be some unforeseen technical difficulties, or perhaps applicants will want to save their progress along the way so that they may come back to it later (this is not currently an option).
But for every potential hiccup I think of, I can think of multiple solutions, so I should hope that our applicants can figure it out for themselves. After all, independence and problem solving skills are critical to being successful in the intern program; so if an applicant can't even figure out the application, that doesn't bode well for their chances of survival here anyway (sorry to be so blunt). Still, I expect I'll receive phone calls from confused/concerned/overinvolved parents, which I will do my best to address.
Speaking of addressing concerns, this past year's application due date met with some anxiety since it was the Friday after students returned from February break. If they hadn't already asked their schools and teachers for transcripts and letters of recommendation, they were finding it difficult to get them submitted on time. Naturally, my initial reaction is, "Applications have been available for nearly 2 months - you should have started before February Break," but that doesn't get me anywhere in the Nice department. (Note, this due date was set in reaction to 2012's due date being a week earlier and too close to February break; so apparently if it isn't one excuse for procrastinating, it's another.) So, this year I made the due date even ANOTHER week later, and we'll see how that goes. I may learn that there's just no pleasing anybody, but with any hope this later due date will cut down on frantic phone calls.
Anyways, all of this work on the intern program application has caused a new concern to arise: how CIS will even be able to support the program next year. I can't say too much about this yet as we have yet to discuss it in detail or organize a plan on how to proceed... I can only say that there will be some changes coming to how we offer the internship program. Stay tuned...
Meanwhile, if you have any helpful feedback on the new application form and checklist, please comment! Perhaps there are some glaring issues I have overlooked, or some wording is confusing. Constructive criticism is welcome!
Friday, October 25, 2013
Friday, October 18, 2013
Happy Anniversary, Xerography!
It was just brought to our attention that Tuesday marks the 75th anniversary of Chester F. Carlson's invention of xerography! (Hello, why wasn't anyone paying attention? We are the Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science...) Anyways, better late than never, I quickly made up a banner that will hang in the building:
It's not much, but at least we are doing something to celebrate the anniversary of this momentous breakthrough!
Also, we were able to get DVDs of locally-produced documentaries about Chester F. Carlson and Xerox, so we will be showing one of them during our normal seminar time slot:
It's not much, but at least we are doing something to celebrate the anniversary of this momentous breakthrough!
Friday, October 11, 2013
Turn on, tune in
Right around a year and a half ago I took control of the screen downstairs in the lobby so that it would display a slideshow of various CIS media - videos, announcements, seminars, important dates, etc. Over that time I have added content and kept it up to date, but it was becoming an arduous process since the method to remotely take control of the desktop was clunky and laggy. Content was updated more slowly than it should have been, and seminar announcements went the wayside. Well, I am happy to announce that thanks to some really serious help from Carl and Phil Salvaggio, we now have a new and improved kiosk!
Actually, I suppose the user experience will be more or less exactly the same. But my process for uploading content has now greatly improved, so the display will now include more timely information, as well as the return of important dates and seminar announcements (so long as the speakers actually send me their info... but that's another story.). I'll have to get back into the groove of remembering to add new content, but expect to see some good (new!) stuff to start appearing on the screen at any time. Don't just walk by assuming it's the same old things you've seen before!
Oh, and I also acquired one of those hanging wall files, which I hope to mount so that I may leave some Imaging Science brochures inside for the taking. You never know when someone might stop to watch the kiosk, get really interested in Imaging Science, and wish they had more information they could take with them...
Actually, I suppose the user experience will be more or less exactly the same. But my process for uploading content has now greatly improved, so the display will now include more timely information, as well as the return of important dates and seminar announcements (so long as the speakers actually send me their info... but that's another story.). I'll have to get back into the groove of remembering to add new content, but expect to see some good (new!) stuff to start appearing on the screen at any time. Don't just walk by assuming it's the same old things you've seen before!
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| Look who's back... Important Dates! |
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
Update on the new CIS website
It's been nearly three months since I mentioned updating the CIS website. So, what's the progress?
I wrapped up drafting the document mentioned in that previous post, which I sent along to The Wallace Center with a request for a timeline and budget estimate. By the start of August, the project was approved!!! This is huge news, as a new website has been a long time coming, and it was not necessarily an easy sell. And there was much rejoicing - yaaaaay!
From there it was time for me to start developing a full site map that detailed every page that was to be built. Around a month ago I had a webpage created that basically dumped all of the node numbers and page titles for every page on the CIS website - of which there are over 1200 - into a table. I imported this table into an Excel document and have been going through each page.... one by one.... determining what the page content is, whether it is still relevant, and how it would fit into a new structure. A fair amount (about half) of the 1,200 pages are news entries, events, and seminars, which will more or less be a straightforward port to the new site. There are a bunch of pages with content that would be more appropriate as a viewable/downloadable PDF rather than a webpage, which both saves work (having to transfer over) and creates work (having to convert all these things to PDF) - but that will come later. A few pages can be archived, while a handful of others should be downright eliminated. After thumbing through each one of the 1,200 pages, I have ended up with a list of ~90 that will actually comprise the new website.
I have incorporated these 90-ish pages into the requirements and expectations document as a full sitemap, organized into several menu categories. However, this overall layout will still need to be reviewed page-by-page with the web designers so that they can determine how the structure of the site will play out, and also what the layout of each page will be. They also may suggest to rearrange/combine/eliminate some pages or categories, which I'm totally fine with since they're the professionals. This will be a very, very long process - probably months-long. (I'm ready.)
In the meantime, from the site map we will pick five pages for initial design mockups. Before those can be done, though, we need to hone in on design preferences (general color scheme, layout, etc), which is where we are at right now! Additionally, we need to have a meeting that includes the new designers as well as the folks here who are familiar with the current database setups, so that we can determine how the new website will incorporate all of our ultra-important databases. This, I think, will be one of the most challenging aspects of the overall project... but perhaps I just think that because I am not too familiar with database management. (Note to future self reading this: look into database classes.)
So, what happens from here? After we meet to discuss the databases, the design preferences, and do an initial run-through of the sitemap, the five mockups will be created by the design team. I can't wait to see what they have in store for us!
I wrapped up drafting the document mentioned in that previous post, which I sent along to The Wallace Center with a request for a timeline and budget estimate. By the start of August, the project was approved!!! This is huge news, as a new website has been a long time coming, and it was not necessarily an easy sell. And there was much rejoicing - yaaaaay!
From there it was time for me to start developing a full site map that detailed every page that was to be built. Around a month ago I had a webpage created that basically dumped all of the node numbers and page titles for every page on the CIS website - of which there are over 1200 - into a table. I imported this table into an Excel document and have been going through each page.... one by one.... determining what the page content is, whether it is still relevant, and how it would fit into a new structure. A fair amount (about half) of the 1,200 pages are news entries, events, and seminars, which will more or less be a straightforward port to the new site. There are a bunch of pages with content that would be more appropriate as a viewable/downloadable PDF rather than a webpage, which both saves work (having to transfer over) and creates work (having to convert all these things to PDF) - but that will come later. A few pages can be archived, while a handful of others should be downright eliminated. After thumbing through each one of the 1,200 pages, I have ended up with a list of ~90 that will actually comprise the new website.
I have incorporated these 90-ish pages into the requirements and expectations document as a full sitemap, organized into several menu categories. However, this overall layout will still need to be reviewed page-by-page with the web designers so that they can determine how the structure of the site will play out, and also what the layout of each page will be. They also may suggest to rearrange/combine/eliminate some pages or categories, which I'm totally fine with since they're the professionals. This will be a very, very long process - probably months-long. (I'm ready.)
In the meantime, from the site map we will pick five pages for initial design mockups. Before those can be done, though, we need to hone in on design preferences (general color scheme, layout, etc), which is where we are at right now! Additionally, we need to have a meeting that includes the new designers as well as the folks here who are familiar with the current database setups, so that we can determine how the new website will incorporate all of our ultra-important databases. This, I think, will be one of the most challenging aspects of the overall project... but perhaps I just think that because I am not too familiar with database management. (Note to future self reading this: look into database classes.)
So, what happens from here? After we meet to discuss the databases, the design preferences, and do an initial run-through of the sitemap, the five mockups will be created by the design team. I can't wait to see what they have in store for us!
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
Summer Imaging Connection Now Available!
Staying true to this four-week-behind holding pattern I seem to be stuck in, the Summer Imaging Connection newsletter is now finally available. Highlights in this issue include:
- Our NEW video about the Innovative Freshmen Experience class!
- Interns 2013
- Student Conference Presentations
- Alumni Giving Back
...and more. Check it out!
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