Higher Ed Experts little logo guy in bacon by @tsand
I spent 3 hours reading and reviewing ALL the #heweb12 session descriptions, selecting the most interesting ones and putting together an even shorter list for this post.
While I won’t make it this year to the High Ed Web conference (but I’ve already booked my ticket for heweb13 in Buffalo, NY :-), I’ve spent all that time to prepare this post to keep up with a little tradition 3 years in the making. My 2011 selection had 2 red stapler sessions including the best-of-conference presentation (ok, I’m bragging a bit ;0).
Anyway, I hope you’ll find this list helpful to get ready for the big conference.
Don’t forget to check out the poster sessions as well on Tuesday at 4PM. It looks like some of the most interesting topics (besides the usual suspect of RWD maybe) will be addressed in the posters this year by lots of good presenters.
[disclaimer]
It was tough to choose, so I looked for either interesting topics, new angles on hot trends or entertaining seasoned presenters. There are some really great sessions that are not in this list. So if yours is not on my list, just go ahead and add it to this post by posting a comment.
[/disclaimer]
10 must-attend #heweb12 sessions
Monday, 8:30-9:15AM
Mobile is so 2011. Make all your campus sites & apps look great on any device
by Brett Pollak, Campus Web Office Director, UC San Diego
Responsive web design, anybody? I attended the session Brett presented at eduWeb this summer. This was a great overview of what was done at UCSD – beyond the homepage – using responsive design techniques. According to the description, it looks like the session presented at #heweb12 will also include some lessons learned you can apply at your institution.
Monday, 8:30-9:15AM
Guerrilla Usability: Implementing user experience testing with little (no)budget
by Jonathan Davis, Usability Specialist / Information Architect, Illinois State University
I’ve always been a believer in web usability testing. But, now that I’ve conducted my first tests for our upcoming redesign, I’m an addict. What looks interesting in this session – beyond the fact that the presenter is a Usability Specialist (kind of a rare bird in higher ed) is the promise to get some tips to involve students and faculty members.
Monday, 9:30-10:15AM
WordPress to the nth Power: Multisite and Beyond
by Curtiss Grymala, University Webmaster, University of Mary Washington
Curtiss is a seasoned (not the salt & pepper kind) presenter – and I have to say that I have never heard about the multi-network approach (aka a single install with several multiple-sites) for WordPress before. Intriguing.
Monday, 9:30-10:15AM
The Future of Higher Ed? A Canary In The Coalmine of Online Learning
by Lori Packer, Web Editor, University of Rochester
Lori is a great, smart and super nice professional. She went above and beyond doing research for this presentation by attending several online courses offered by the new kids on the higher ed block (edX, Coursera, etc.) including Prof Kevin Werbach’s course on gamification Lori, I and our 69,998 classmates are currently taking. In her presentation, she will help you understand that if you don’t care about MOOCs or online courses yet, it’s definitely time to learn more about your (our) future.
Monday 11:45AM-12:30PM
Inbound School Marketing: Is Your Website Helping the Bottom Line?
by Kyle James, CEO, nuCloud
I’ve known Kyle since he launched eduGuru and first met him at the 2008 eduWeb conference. Kyle is a great presenter and knows inbound marketing inside out as he used to work for one of the biggest agencies out there (whose name starts with “Hub” and ends with “Spot”).
Monday 11:45AM-12:30PM
Reach Out and Touch Someone: Marshall McLuhan and the Tactile Web
by Aaron Rester, Senior Manager of Electronic Communications, University of Chicago Law School
I was intrigued by this session description. Aaron used to write some very interesting posts and by watching my 3-year old play with the iPad, I know touch is going to become really big for the Web.
Monday 3:00-3:45PM
Designing for next steps (a forward moving user experience)
by Nick DeNardis, Associate Director of Web Communications, Wayne State University
I have a huge amount of respect for Nick. He is a great professional and a fantastic presenter with whom I had the pleasure to work on several occasions at Higher Ed Experts. This session focuses on the “next step” you want your website visitors to take. Anything that can help us design with a purpose is a must. So, make sure you don’t miss Nick’s presentation.
Tuesday 8:30-9:15AM
#uwrightnow: Integrating your social, web, editorial and marketing networks
by John Lucas, Social Media Manager and Nick Weaver, Director of Web Services, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Last April when I heard about #uwrightnow, I really fell in love with this project – so much energy and a fantastic example of how a well-planned social media campaign can engage your community.If you want to find out how they pull this off, make sure you don’t miss this session.
Tuesday 8:30-9:15AM
The New (Responsive) World Order: Lessons from a 500,000 page Responsive Design
by Seth Meranda, User Experience Architect, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
I first met Seth at High Ed Web 2007 in Rochester, NY. He is a fantastic presenter and a great professional. UNL went responsive last spring and they rolled out the approach to ALL their pages – not just the homepage and a few secondary pages. So, if Responsive Web Design is in your future, attending this session will definitely be a smart move – even if your website doesn’t have half a million pages ;-)
Tuesday, 9:30-10:15AM
Campus Change Agent: Build a Campus Web Community Where There is None
by Matt Herzberger, Director of Web Communications, Florida International University
I will always remember the first time I met Matt, it was at High Ed Web 2007 – before Twitter caught us all up. I was just stepping out of the elevator – and this big tall guy I didn’t know walked toward me and said: “Are you, Karine Joly?” I did wonder for a moment if I should yes or no ;-) I worked with Matt on several occasions for Higher Ed Experts events – and he is a great well-prepared speaker. I’ve seen him grow these past few years in one of the best web professionals out there. He’s seen a lot, he’s done a lot, so there is no doubt that you’ll learn a lot in a presentation that looks like a kind of “Chicken Soup for the Higher Ed Professional’s Soul” session.
Tuesday, 9:30-10:15AM
Web Accessibility: 30 Tips in 45 Minutes
by Terrill Thompson, Technology Accessibility Specialist, University of Washington
Didn’t you know? Attending a session on web accessibility at High Ed Web is a requirement (yep, check out the fine print). More seriously, this is so important in our profession and industry, that 30 tips in 45 minutes sound like a good deal to me.
So, here are my picks.
What is the session YOU absolutely don’t want to miss?
You’re presenting? Why should folks attend YOUR session?
Tell us by posting a comment!