Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2009

Modesto schools redesign Web site

More user-friendly for both viewers and the district

Modesto City Schools unveiled a new Web site Monday, offering easier navigation and more updated information for students, parents and staff.

The site currently gets about 1,000 visitors a day. When surveyed, employees said the site did not have up-to-date information and needed to be easier to use.

The No. 1 complaint was that school and employee details were not current, such as staff phone numbers and e-mail addresses.

The site will be updated continually, described as a "living" page that changes a lot, said Stan Trevena, the district's director of information and technology services.

To increase usability, the Web page uses Microsoft's SharePoint platform, which allows nontech-savvy people to add information on the site through templates. The new design is more user-friendly for outsiders.

"If parents navigate through the site, they'll have a consistent experience," Trevena said. "We want to make it as easy as possible."

Fewer clicks

Designers focused on getting people where they need to go on the site with fewer clicks of the mouse. For example, the district's schools are listed on the site's main page -- people don't have to go through several pages to find information about campuses.

The third goal of the face lift was to advertise the district's achievements and programs.

"We don't have a lot of money to do our own promotion," Trevena said. "We want to let people know what we can provide for them."

Another new feature is an RSS feed for notifications the district sends out in the case of an emergency. The alert can be sent to anyone's RSS readers, like iGoogle.

Officials hope to eventually send out similar notes whenever something new is added to the Web page.

To view the new Web site, go to www.monet.k12.ca.us.

Bee staff writer Michelle Hatfield can be reached at mhatfield@modbee.com or 578-2339.