January 13 , 2004
Members present: Jamie Bethel, John Chandler, Tom Harmon, Charlie Kerlee, Jill Lenz, Mary Pridgen, Sallie Varner.
Sallie Varner, Chair, began the meeting at 9 am.
Old Business
Redesign -- The committee to develop a proposal for Craig Spooner (and other potential html programmers) did not meet due to possible restructuring of CVMBS computer support. We have been requested to keep the proposal on the back burner for now.
Tom and Charlie gave a brief update on the situation. It involves the VTH medical records system being programmed in-house vs. buying a commercial product. A proposed product was evaluated but didn't meet all the needs. The two full time programmers will migrate to the VTH and a junior level programmer will pick up a portion of their remaining duties. This new position has been initiated and it is hoped this person will have the skills and time to possibly contribute to the next redesign.
Jill mentioned that she will be shifting the focus of her web accessibility duties from committee participation to modification of our key college web pages. This is in anticipation of the proposed CSU Web Access Policy and revolves around the idea of our webmasters as "content managers" vs. advanced web designers and coders. "Content managers" should be responsible for content only and not necessarily have to deal with code or additional tools. The modifications planned include the behind-the-scenes mechanics of the web pages: the markup of editable vs. uneditable regions, use of HTML Tidy to convert from HTML 4.0 to XHTML 1.0, and code and accessibility validation and correction, with no change in content. The focus will begin first on the college home page, then the four department level pages, then critical or frequently used pages from the hospital and Deans Office. Owners of these pages will be notified when their page(s) are in the modification process and given assistance with using the new pages. Jill will ask for guidance from the committee to help identify critical pages, prioritize tasks and create a timeline for this project.
Encryption programs mentioned by Jamie at the last meeting -- Jill tried a couple on a recent page she produced: http://www.cvmbs.colostate.edu/webmaster/reports/protected_03atorig.htm. The trial version of the encryption tool HTML Protector puts a blue line across the top of the page but all the features seem to work. You can't right click on images to save or view the source. Encrypt HTML version at http://www.cvmbs.colostate.edu/webmaster/reports/03at_encrypt.htm.
Jamie mentioned these products are pretty equivalent to each other and are best used for disabling the printing of WebCT quizzes and in general a good tool for WebCT designers. Under a new version of the copyright law for the web, copyright items may be used if protected from downloading with tools such as these encryption programs. For more information on copyright law, contact Karen Kaminski at Karen.Kaminski@ColoState.EDU. Let Jamie know if you have a need for this product. Most likely he will send a college-wide mass email to gather interest for the purchase of multiple copies through a site license.
New Business
Tracey Castaneda passed along some magnets and bookmarks from a recent PDI session she attended presented by CSU's Cooperative Extension. It was regarding their new question and answer forum--AnswerLink located at http://www.answerlink.info. We explored the FAQ section, and found some college-related topics such as health & care of large and small animals, biotechnology and West Nile Virus.
Demo of Photoshop CS: Jill Lenz reviewed the NAPP's resource center for members ($100 annual membership) with overviews of the version CS and we watched a few Total Training videos by Deke McClelland on new features such as the Crop & Straighten Command, Photomerge for stitching multiple images into a panorama shot and Custom Keyboard Shortcuts. The Total Training Video Workshop for Photoshop CS is available for checkout from Jill. It contains over an hour of videos on the new features. Visit the Adobe web site at http://www.adobe.com for a 30 day trial out version and more reviews of the new features.
Related question from Tom: how does one calibrate monitors to match the colors from a network laser printer? Suggestions included designating one monitor/computer station as the print station, using photographic quality paper, contacting John Eisele or anyone in Office of Instructional Services Photographic Services at 491-5471 for monitor to printer calibration services, or investigating color management tools on your own.
Jill gave an update on the proposed CSU Web Access Policy. Pat Burns suggested it be rewritten to be more user-friendly and to get detailed feedback from webmaster Chris Weller from University Relations. Chris reviewed the policy and met with us to give the following suggestions. 1) Break the guidelines into two categories, a very short list of easy to understand "rules" or " requirements" and a longer list of "guidelines" that may be vague or easily opened up to disagreements and mixed interpretations. This "requirements and guidelines" structure would be similar to that used for the Colorado State University Web Administrator/Developer Web Pages at http://webdev.colostate.edu/. He believes this breakdown works well as a "best effort" policy for vendors and beginner web designers. 2) Distinguish between web pages used for coursework vs. marketing. 3) Talk to RamWeb, campus WebCT and portal people to ask if our newly defined requirements can be implemented with their products.
Tom gave an update on spam. The AntiSpam Law requires spam senders to include opt out links in their email messages. Per a recent conversation with Stew McPherson from ACNS, Tom warned us not to use the opt out links or respond to the sender, it won't do any good. Just delete any spam emails.
Jill brought a 4x5 Wacom drawing tablet for folks to try at the meeting. It is available for check out. More information on this product is available at http://www.wacom.com.
The meeting concluded at 10:20 am.
The next meeting will be held on Tuesday, February 10, 9:00-10:00 am, W1 A/Z.
Minutes submitted by Jill Lenz.
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