Online Support + Web 2.0 = Access + Availability

August 31, 2010 - 3:10pm | by rtbrown
Presenter(s)
Clark Shah-Nelson (SUNY Delhi, US)
Session Information
November 5, 2010 - 11:55am
Track: 
Student Services and Learner Support
Areas of Special Interest: 
Open Educational Resources
Major Emphasis of Presentation: 
Practical Application
Institutional Level: 
Multiple Levels
Session Type: 
Individual Presentation
Location: 
Curacao 5
Session Duration: 
35
Concurrent Session: 
8
Abstract

How, on a shoestring budget, can your institution implement a cutting edge 24/7 online support portal? Using tools such as Twitter, GoogleVoice, Wimzi, a wiki, DimDim, and web forms, SUNY Delhi has. We'll show you the one we developed and give you a Creative Commons licensed version to customize!

Extended Abstract

SUNY Delhi has developed a rich cutting edge portal for 24/7 support for online students and faculty using tools such as Twitter, Google Voice and Calendar, Wimzi chat, Confluence wiki, DimDim screensharing, RSS, and web forms. From getting up-to-the minute updates on system availability via RSS to seeing the most popular or most recently edited knowledgebase pages in the wiki to chatting live with support staff, the portal offers a one-stop shop for information and help that users can search 24/7 or receive via live support during business hours. The easy to use format guides users through either finding their own answers, getting live help, or submitting a ticket. This session will present the evolution of the portal, design principles, and user responses, such as "The help here is already about 1000 times better than the college I transferred from. It's awesome." Participants will not only take away ideas for functionality and usability that your users will appreciate to add to your own institution's support site, but you will also be able to download a Creative Commons licensed version of the portal which you can customize and re-mix to meet your own needs.

Lead Presenter

Since 1994, Clark Shah-Nelson has developed, designed, taught, and coordinated distance and online learning programs. He is currently Coordinator of Online Instruction at SUNY Delhi in the Catskills of New York, where he oversees strategic planning, faculty and policy development, as well as instructional design of online courses. Other current projects include working with a small team on a grant with the SUNY Center for Online International Learning (COIL) with the European Humanities University in Vilnius, Lithuania. Past awards include a 2006 Excellence in Online Teaching award and his German learning videos from MyGermanClass.com were one of the top 100 People's Choice Video Podcasts from Apple's iTunes. He was a featured presenter at the New Media Consortium's 2007 Online Conference on the Convergence of Web Culture and Video and has recently presented at SLOAN-C ALN, Educause's NERCOMP, and the SUNY CIT and COIL Center Conferences. Prior to his move to New York, he spent over seven years teaching online German for Colorado Online Learning, and seven years building the Denver Public Schools' Distance Learning Network. He has a Master's in Instructional Technology from the University of Colorado. For more info and media, check out clarkshahnelson.com