This training module will introduce faculty and staff to the structure of the new Unit Office websites. It is one of a series of modules to train

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Cody Webb
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1 This training module will introduce faculty and staff to the structure of the new Unit Office websites. It is one of a series of modules to train faculty and staff how to use the Ensemble Content Management System. 1

2 This is the home page of the new Unit websites, using Bedford county as an example. You will notice that the site uses the beige and green color scheme that was adopted for new VCE public website. several years ago. In addition the logos of both Virginia Tech and Virginia State are prominently displayed and are clickable links. Let me point out the key features on the home page. Starting at the top, there is a very useful Google search engine that can be set to search the unit or the entire VCE site. The key navigational feature is the bar just below the top banner. This navigation bar contains links to all of the key sections of the Unit web site, including the Programs page, Staff page, Get Involved page, Calendar page, Links page, News page, Contacts Us page and last, a link to the main VCE website. Below the navigation bar is a short introduction to explain what the Unit extension office is and it s mission. This piece is generic for all offices and cannot be changed. There is also a staff photo that you must add. A key piece of information is the contact information for the unit office including address, phone and fax numbers, office hours and a state map showing the unit location. There is also a link to more detailed directions to the office. The contact and directions information are pieces that you must add. The last section of the home page is what is called the What s New section. The purpose of this sectionis is to highlight upcoming programs and events that are more fully explained on another page deeper in your site, and to highlight successful programs and events that have already taken place. Only the Unit Coordinator and the UAA have authority to make changes to the Home page. They are responsible for setting and maintaining the office contact information, staff photo and the What s New section.

3 Another feature of the What s New section is that anytime your local content is less than three items, it will be automatically populated with state level content from the CALS Office of Communication and Marketing. This is to insure that the section always has items in it. When you start work on your unit site, it will contain three state content items. As you add your unit level items, they will replace the state content. By the way, the footer at the bottom of each page in the unit web siter, contains all of the links to the required statements related to Privacy, Equal Opportunity/ Affirmative Action, Accessibility and Browser Compatibility.

4 Let s go back to the What s New section of the Home Page for a minute. This will be a good time to demonstrate how the What s New section can serve as a bulletin board of the hot topics associated with your office. In the What s New section, you can post short announcements that stand on their own, such as this announcement about a beef conference. Or you can post a brief introduction to a topic that links to more complete information on another web page such as this ServSafe course. To see the complete article, the user just clicks on the Read More link. It s important to be concise and brief in this section. Full explanations and details should be posted on a webpage elsewhere in your site.

5 The Read More link takes you to the full article concerning the ServSafe course. 5

6 Let s go back to the What s New section of the home page one more time. You notice that you can add images to items that you place in the What s New section. You can also provide links to other websites from this section, such as this link to the Skelton 4 H center.

7 A critically important page is the Programs page, which provides details about the program offerings of the unit. While this initial page has set content that cannot be change, each program block is designed to contain a link to your more detailed program content.

8 The program area specific pages are where agents can customize the content to specifically match their program offerings. Each agent can think of these pages as their own Agent s Home Page. Agents indicated they wanted a place with fewer design restrictions so that they could customize pages for their materials and information. This is the place. There are no restrictions on the depth of this section. There are two main purposes for this section: one is to highlight agents and their programs. In this section, let people know about the work you re doing, and the scope of your program efforts. Secondly, use this section to post subject matter materials that are of help to your clients or links to those materials on the main VCE website or elsewhere. Remember it is important to organize your information in a way that makes it easy for people to find things. Consider using the sidebar feature on the right hand ih h side of the page as a way to organize your information. At a minimum, you should include some text about the specific types of programs offered in your unit. Beyond that, you could build a page for each program specialty if you want. Thinking about ANR, that could be a page for your animal agriculture programs, a page for horticulture/master gardener programs, etc. FCS agents might want a page for each of the three pillar programs: food, nutrition, and health; family and human development; and family financial management. 4 H agents might want to build a page for each club and pages for other activities iti they are involved din. If you don t think you have enough information for a separate page for each area, then put them all together on one page, divided up by headers. Remember, the purpose of this section is to let clients, stakeholders, and others know the important work you are doing and how they might engage with VCE. A note to remember about subject matter materials: NEVER download and re post material that is already available on a VCE website, onto your site. You should alwayslink to those materials, so you can be sure that as the material changes, your material is up to date. VCE peer reviewed and non peer reviewed content may not be copied onto any other web pages, including unit office pages. You must link to this content.

9 The Staff page is where all of the faculty and staff in the Unit can be listed. It will let people know who is in the office to help them and what their roles are. The Staff home page provides a name, a title and each person s phone number and address. In addition each individual can have a specific biography page to provide more detailed information. To get to the biography pages, you just click on a staff members name. We ll use Scott Baker as an example. 9

10 All staff are encouraged to have a biography or bio page. Every agent is required to have one. A Bio page will include the basic contact information, but should include much more. Beyond the basic information, you should include a couple of paragraphs that describe your work responsibilities, your education, professional experience, awards, professional affiliations, etc. This is the place to let visitors know that you are a professional with education and experience. It is not the place to let people know about your personal life and hobbies. This is not a Facebook page. A sentence or two about your personal life is acceptable, but rememberthis page is about your professional life. Please include a recent professional photo of yourself. Agents can get photos made, at no cost, at the Virginia Tech photo lab. We recommend a close up photo, one that centers on you from the shoulders up. This is not the place for your latest vacation photo use a photo that shows you for the professional you are. If you don t have a professional looking photo, now is the time to get one made. 10

11 This is the Get Involved page. VCE depends on volunteers, and this is the section to encourage the public to get engaged with you and your programs. This page should include an outline of all the ways people can volunteer for VCE: Extension Leadership Councils, 4 H clubs, master gardeners, etc. We hope that your unit ELC will have enough information to warrant a page of its own, linked from this page. A unit ELC page could include a list of members, a meeting schedule, minutes of previous meetings, a mission/vision statement, etc. 11

12 The Calendar page link takes people to the calendar for your unit. Even with a new web site that can effectively list program offerings, the Calendar is still the most comprehensive onestop listing of your educational programs. Don t forget to continue to maintain the Calendar. 12

13 The Links Page. Use this page to link visitors to the organizations and activities that relate to our work. Remember that you want to guide visitors to those sites that relate to VCE and our mission. You are not building a replacement for Google. The links you provide should be very relevant to your clients. Also remember that links can be listed on your program area pages. In general, when thinking about a link, think about whether or not you d like for that organization to link to your pages. If you would be happy with this organization referring visitors to your website, they are probably a good choice for you to link to also. Examples of good links are other state agencies (like VDACS, Department of Health and Human Services); national organizations/agencies (like CYFAR and the National 4 H) and local organizations and agencies with similar missions (like Social Services, health departments, public libraries). You ll need to manage your links to be sure they are not broken. Nothing is more frustrating to visitors than following a broken link. Periodically check the links you ve posted to be sure they still work. Website addresses change all the time, particularly for smaller, local organizations, so you should expect that links would need to be updated frequently. The Links page will initially be set with this group of links. They will always remain on the page. The links you add will be posted above this group. 13

14 The News page. The primary purpose of this page is to tell the story of the good work that is going on in your unit. Unlike the What s New section of the Home page which is more for announcements of upcoming events, use the New page to highlight accomplishments and newsworthy achievements. For example, post a photo of a recent program and write a paragraph describing what the participants did and learned. Show your 4 Hers H ers in action and have one of them write a synopsis of what they were doing. Not every item needs a photo, but a photo will dramatically increase the likelihood of someone reading your words. Ask your volunteers to submit photos of programs and a short description of what took place. You might even recruit an interested volunteer to be your reporter and to submit photos and text of VCE happenings for you to post. Maybe a 4 H er would like to take on the task of reporting recent events to you. Remember that this page is titled News. So keep it current and up to date. The links that are already provided on this page are only there to be sure the page is not blank. The best news is going to be the news you post. Initially, your News page will contain this set of News story links. They will always be listed. Items that you post will be displayed above this set of links. A nice feature of the CMS is that you can set expiration dates on items that are posted so that the site is automatically kept current. Make clear how this page differs from What s New 14

15 The Contact Us page provides your clientele with specific information on how they can reach you. You must provide all of this information, but the good thing is, it already exists in your old Unit web site. You will just transfer it from there to the new web site. It includes the office address and location, the office hours, phone numbers, and mailing address. 15

16 The Contact Us page also provides driving directions to the office. You will also copy these directions from your old unit web site. A nice added feature is a Google map which can aid people in visualizing the office location. 16

17 Another nice feature is the Questions and Comments form that provides clients a convenient way to communicate with you. Clients are encouraged to direct their questions to a specific agent and are provided a link back to the Staff page so they can identify that person and get an address or phone number. But perhaps the client has a question but do not know who to direct it to. Or maybe they want to alert you to a problem with a link on your web site. They can use this tool to do so. After entering their name, address and their question or comment, they submit the form, and an note will be sent to the staff member that was set up to receive those s. 17

18 The new Unit websites are a vast improvement to our old system. The CMS system provides Unit staff with much more local control of information. Of course with that control, comes greater responsibility. A website that is not current and useful reflects poorly on that Unit, VCE, and our state university partners. Properly managed, your new Unit website will help market your programs, be useful to your clientele and will project a professional, modern image. 18

19 This concludes our training. If you have questions about what you learned in this training module, you can consult with one of the Support resources found on this page. 19

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