Life consists of a series of firsts.  From our first breath, to the first time we ride a bike, drive a car, hold hands with a sweetheart; it’s nearly unavoidable. As living, learning individuals ricochet off of each "first" we encounter, the experience of these firsts enable us to grow and adapt to our surroundings.

What does this have to do with Early Adopters of the university’s new content management system (CMS)?  For starters, the CMS Early Adopters are those brave souls ready for yet another first, and their experience paves the way for others to follow.

In starting the CMS Early Adopters project, the IT Web team aimed to create a learning environment where both the teacher and the student could learn together.  As the Web team works with all Early Adopters on their Web sites, both groups combine efforts to define and refine the migration process.  The tangible outcome from an Early Adopter’s work is a finished Web site, and for the Web team, it is a process streamlined for further migration across campus.

For some Early Adopters, this is the first time their department has ever had a web site, as will be the case for University Marketing. “Because we are developing a Website from inception (navigation, content, imagery, etc.), we have learned together how to combine all of the elements for an effective presentation of purpose and function,” says Heather Taylor, Director of Communications in University Marketing.

Heather’s team in University Marketing and seven other Early Adopters were selected from a pool of nearly two dozen applicants.  Early Adopters were selected based on a number of different criteria, all aimed at providing a cross-section of Valpo’s Web presence.  The goal in assembling a diverse group of Early Adopters is to give the Web team a little taste of everything.  Understanding how to address a wide range of variables will allow for faster turnaround and better documentation.

As with any new software, training on the content management system has introduced some brand new words and concepts to our Early Adopters.  Joan Steffen, Administrative Assistant in Mathematics and Computer Science, shares, “This is the first time I’ve encountered words like metadata.”  Understanding what aspects of the system are foreign or complex enables the Web team to develop learning materials to minimize the learning curve.  Items like a glossary and demo screenshots greatly aid in the instruction of the content management system.

As we head into the semester, the CMS Early Adopters are hard at work learning the CMS and developing their Web sites.  The Web team has also finished producing its initial training materials.  As Early Adopters become familiar with the system and launch their redesigned sites, opportunities arise for others to join in the process.

For information on how you can sign up to migrate your Web site into the CMS, contact Mark Sharp at extention 6973.