Every year, you look forward to the big HighEdWeb conference. You count down the days until October and then, high on that wonderful feeling of community, networking, and professional development, you return to your campus, ready to kick-start all of your new ideas. But the fun doesn’t have to stop just because you left Milwaukee. Conferences are a wonderful outlet for igniting your creative and collaborative juices, but you don’t have to be limited by your budget, and one or two annual trips, to engage with -- and find inspiration from -- your peers. You can have your own mini-conference every month by starting your own web professionals community right on your own campus. In this presentation, Rachel Carden will share how she started a web professionals community at The University of Alabama that went from a ten-member group that met every couple months at the campus coffee shop to a seventy-plus member community that meets every month to hear from presenters and discuss topics ranging from social media to crisis communication. All with no budget. This year her community, WebTide, also hosted and organized the HighEdWeb Alabama regional conference. Rachel will share what she did right, what she did wrong, and what she learned along the way, as well as tips and resources to start your own community and to help it flourish.

1. #MPD3
IT TAKES A CAMPUS
To Raise A (Web Professionals) Community
Rachel Carden, Web Developer/Designer, The University of Alabama
@bamadesigner

4. - Established in 1831
- 13 Colleges and Schools
- Over 37,000 students
- Close to 5,000 faculty/staff
- Almost 2,000 acres

7. Professional
Development
Sharing of
Ideas /
Innovation
Communication
and Networking
Institutional
Knowledge
Collaboration

8. YOU HAVE THE POWER!

9. Bringing University of Alabama web professionals
together to educate, inform, discuss, innovate, and share
https://webtide.ua.edu - @bamawebtide
#MPD3 @bamadesigner

10. • Formed January 2014 - almost 2 years!
• Has 78 members from over 30 departments across campus
• Meets the third Thursday of every month to discuss
institutional knowledge, campus projects, and professional
development topics ranging from social media to
accessibility to crisis communication.
#MPD3 @bamadesigner

11. • UA is large, web services are decentralized.
• No main web shop, comprised of smaller and
one-man teams.
• Wanted the opportunity to share ideas and “talk
shop” with other web professionals on campus.
#MPD3 @bamadesigner
WHY?

12. Saw a need and opportunity to crowdsource
resources and professional development for
all web professionals on campus.
#MPD3 @bamadesigner
WHY?

13. #humanatwork
#MPD3 @bamadesigner

14. Helping your university by
helping your people
#MPD3 @bamadesigner

15. Community building allows you to
empower others to
improve through
professional development
and relationships.
#MPD3 @bamadesigner

17. In its first iteration,
WebTide was simply a blog.
#MPD3 @bamadesigner

18. • Was called “College Web”, 10-15 person group
that met every other month at campus Starbucks
• Went overkill on unneeded/unused tools
• Was too informal / no structure/topics/agenda
#MPD3 @bamadesigner
MY FIRST ATTEMPT

20. • Designed a more formal meeting process - had a plan!
• Only implemented tools as needed - one page website
• Implemented better communication tools
• Pulled in more help - great planning committee
#MPD3 @bamadesigner
REBORN

23. GETTING STARTED

24. • Environments are different for each campus
• There will be trial/error. Prepare to change.
• Technology is not the answer to everything
#MPD3 @bamadesigner
THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND

25. • Start small, scale as needed
• Keep things simple
• Be transparent
#MPD3 @bamadesigner
THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND

26. • Don’t do it alone Can’t do it alone
• Surround yourself with support
• Embrace different ideas
• Be available
#MPD3 @bamadesigner
THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND

27. • Set realistic goals
• It never hurts to ask
#MPD3 @bamadesigner
THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND

30. #MPD3 @bamadesigner
WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?

31. YOU HAVE TO CULTIVATE

32. #MPD3 @bamadesigner
RELATIONSHIPS
RELATIONSHIPS
RELATIONSHIPS

33. • Invite everyone to watch together
• When conferences stream their presentations
• Webinars
#MPD3 @bamadesigner
TAKE ADVANTAGE OF
ONLINE RESOURCES/MATERIALS

34. • Share learning materials/online resources
• Share your educational discoveries with your
community
#MPD3 @bamadesigner
TAKE ADVANTAGE OF
ONLINE RESOURCES/MATERIALS

35. • In person
• Online
• Webinars
#MPD3 @bamadesigner
DIFFERENT WAYS TO “MEET”

36. • Slack / IRC
• Skype/Google
Hangouts
• Blackboard
• Social media
• Websites
#MPD3 @bamadesigner
RESOURCES/TOOLS TO USE
• Subject matter experts
• Live examples
• Listserv
• Vendor presentations
• Goodies

37. #MPD3 @bamadesigner
Take advantage of
free or inexpensive
academic licenses!

39. It never hurts to ask.
#MPD3 @bamadesigner
FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

40. • “If you feed them, they will come.”
• Ask departments or vendors to sponsor a meal.
• Grants or sponsorships for training, resources, etc
#MPD3 @bamadesigner
FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

41. • Accessibility
• Social Media
• Branding
• Crisis Communication at UA
#MPD3 @bamadesigner
TOPICS

42. • Usability
• Security Awareness
• The Role of the Web in Higher Education
• Alternatives to a Traditional CMS
#MPD3 @bamadesigner
TOPICS

43. • Effective Project Management
• Tools and Resources For Your Job
• A Different Perspective: I Am A Higher
Education Professional Who Is Also A Web
Professional
#MPD3 @bamadesigner
TOPICS

44. • Video for the Web
• News and Events at UA
• Legal Issues Relevant of Higher Ed Web
• Various department projects/environments
#MPD3 @bamadesigner
TOPICS

45. • Front-End Frameworks
• Student Workers
• Dealing with faculty and the web
• Writing Content for the Web
#MPD3 @bamadesigner
OTHER POSSIBLE TOPICS

46. • Utilizing Campus Resources
• Marketing
• Measuring Web Performance
• Campus Politics
#MPD3 @bamadesigner
OTHER POSSIBLE TOPICS

47. • Community members
• Other campus staff/faculty
• Area professionals
• Company reps
#MPD3 @bamadesigner
POSSIBLE SPEAKERS

48. Sharing your work means
playing an active role in
improving your community
#MPD3 @bamadesigner

50. wow
such benefits
omg networking
much development
many shares

51. Professional
Development
Sharing of
Ideas /
Innovation
Communication
and Networking
Institutional
Knowledge
Collaboration

52. WE ALL
DO BETTER
WHEN WE ALL
DO BETTER.
#MPD3 @bamadesigner

53. Tuscaloosa Web Professionals is a community and meetup group
for anyone in the Tuscaloosa (and surrounding) area who makes a
living building the world wide web. Whether you're a designer,
coder, writer, sysadmin, or other web-related specialist, we invite
you to join us to network, learn, and share your expertise.

55. http://wpcampus.org - @wpcampusorg - #WPCampus

56. A community (and proposed conference)
focused on using WordPress
to improve the world of higher education
and higher ed web.
#MPD3 @bamadesigner

57. • Launched 7 weeks ago today
• 284 people have visited wpcampus.org and shown interest
• Attending: 275 (97%)
• Speaking: 157 (55%)
• Planning: 98 (35%)
• Sponsoring: 47 (17%)
• Hosting at your university: 59 (21%)
• 185 people in our Slack account.

59. Learn more about WPCampus
http://wpcampus.org
View WPCampus Planning Data
http://wpcampus.org/planning/data/
#MPD3 @bamadesigner

60. WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD FOR
#MPD3 @bamadesigner
?

62. Any questions?
Rachel Carden
@bamadesigner
http://bamadesigner.com
http://wpcampus.org
http://tuscaloosawebpros.com/
https://webtide.ua.edu
#MPD3 @bamadesigner