The month of September 2006 was a month of huge changes and upheavals in so many ways. September is always an interesting time as old equipment is retired and new equipment is acquired and put into place.
New software images give the promise of better things and more enhanced learning opportunities for students.
But, sometimes favourite titles somehow forget how to work and the chase is on to find the magic combination that will let over 100 software applications play nice on the same network with each other. Backups are put to the test as they are restored so that the best things can move from year to year.
In among this, the District decides that we need an overhaul of our web presence. The new look reflects current design and thoughts about accessibility of information, disclosure and just what should go onto a web site.
Over the years, new technologies have emerged that have had profound impacts on just what your web identity could or should look like. Our new look is optimized for speed and hopefully easier access to exactly what the visitor to the site is in search of. Rather than organizing the information to conform to organizational units, the information is targeted to increase the usability for students, parents, teachers, etc. Lest you still can't find what you're looking for, a new search routine lets you find what you desire. A website conveys the current ability of the webmaster to implement the best of the best.
Access to our information hasn't always been this easy. In fact, it's downright funny to look back and see just how far we've come.
In the beginning, there were two boards. The webmasters had obviously (at least by today's standards) learned how to create webpages with a text editor! I can say that because I was one of them. According to the Wayback Machine, we've certainly come a long way.
Windsor
Board of Education (May 7, 1997)
Essex
County Board of Education (May 9, 1997)
Apparently, dark backgrounds were in vogue. So, it becomes no surprise that the freshly amalgamated board looked like this. It would have been the first time we'd heard of the colour "teal"!
Greater
Essex County District School Board (December 6, 1998)
But, we got better. Gone was the dark background and up until a couple of weeks ago, we looked like this.
And now, for the new look.
We're definitely getting better and better all the time.
Time marches on and it's a testament to what we do as Greater Essex County teachers and employees. We're doing out best to stay on top of the latest and the best.
Websites have matured, and so has the quality of the software and the way that we use it.
Huge kudos go to Ed Janzen, our web programmer for the new look and on a parallel, to all educators who contemporize and move with the times. It's not just the board's main website that stays with the times; it's our school sites as well. In the classroom, we're staying on top with new software. Just as we can't continue with a web presence that dates back to the mid-90s, our students can't stick with old, dated software packages.
Newer technology just lets us do better and more effective things.
