Gena Asher | Sept. 6, 2007
You are looking at it now: The School of Journalism launched this new Web site Friday as a strategy to accommodate more multimedia and to continue to serve its diverse audience.
A team of School of Journalism developers and designers worked with IU’s Office of Creative Services most of this year to prepare the new site. It sports an updated design and more user-friendly architecture, according to Communications Director Beth Moellers, who headed the project.
"We’re constantly improving the site, and this redesign is in that spirit,” she said. “We think the new features and design will help us better serve current and prospective students, alumni and others who use our site."
For example, students may use the “Current Students” tab to find out what meetings are on tap for the week or to read important announcements. Students shopping for a journalism program may read about the admission requirements and classes. Faculty and staff may update their own bio pages so that hours and contact information are current.
Also, alumni can use a special tab to learn about special events or to get involved with their alma mater. Even area residents, with no firm connections to the school, may use the site to find out about special programs open to the public, such as the Speaker Series.
Moellers said satisfying these audiences resulted in some new features on the site. For example, each time a user logs onto a page, he or she may see different info boxes feature facts about the school, notices about upcoming events or alerts about upcoming deadlines.
The site also dedicates space to more multimedia features. Student blogs already are posted, but users may look forward to videos, interactive chats and narrated slide shows in the near future.
“This design is innovative and will give us a chance to incorporate more multimedia features to better tell the exciting story of journalism at IU,” she said.
Journalism students already are producing materials in classes and for special projects, and Moellers said she plans to capitalize on this type of content.
"The new site creates spaces for us to feature our current students and the work they do inside and outside the classroom," she said.
Parts of the old site still will be accessible, at least for a while, according to Web Developer Jeff Johnson. Faculty or staff with concerns about their pages on the old site should contact him for assistance.
