OS6+-+Salon+D

This page is for notes from Open Space #6 in Salon D.

**Portal Pages Show and Tell**

http://etherpad.whipplehill.com/ZeFbDsnzcj

Show us what your portal page looks like before parents log in and after parents log in!

North Shore Country Day School (nscds.org): Parent Portal, a public view and an internal view Durham Academy (da.org): A to Z index page, a list of links to exsisting page Cluttered portals can be "helped" by having them colapsed by default, with some exceptions being media. Worcester Academy ( [|http://www.] [|worcesteracademy.org)] : Wordle.net to create a word cloud, interesting way to make a graphic out of text The Fessenden School (fessenden.org) Latin School of Chicago (www.latinschool.org)
 * "Parents & Students: Links to Other Resources" at top of CampusConnect portal after logging in
 * relevant links for the week behind the password in a table (columns: conversation starters, too good to be missed, just between us parents)
 * Middle School week at a glance, Upper School week at a glance
 * Student and Parent Handbook downloads
 * Upper School and Divisional downloads
 * Just a Click Away: image links "click here to volunteer" and "got questions?"
 * Welcome New Students: public portal for Parents of New Students ( [|https://www.worcesteracademy.org/podium/default.aspx?t=126971)]
 * "Get More Information" channel - broken down to Middle School, Upper School, International, and Boarding
 * Banners at top of screen - change out 3-4x per year
 * use of graphics (that are also links) to breakup the text
 * Public view of portal: []
 * Got rid of the clutter complaint by teaching parents how to filter their content
 * Left column: Sign-In Information, Announcements, My Forms & Downloads, My Links, My Groups, Group Type (Key), Fessy Tech Help Center (a feed that opens up from Jing)
 * Center column: Fessy Flickr, Twitter Feed, News, Photos, Video, Audio, Blog
 * Right column: Academic Schedule, Upcoming Assignments, Performance,, Class Notes, Agent Letter, Upcoming Events, Weather
 * Fessy leaves all their channels open
 * RomanNet -public: []
 * Other portals: Tech Center, Alumni Intranet - public, __
 * Quick Links/Find it Fast - links to
 * MBS Direct
 * US Athletics
 * quick guide to RomanNet []
 * Re-enroll online,
 * pay tuition bill online
 * calendars (printable 2011-2012 Year at a Glance calendar)
 * spirit shop
 * directory
 * news/magazines/upcoming events
 * student newspaper
 * student email
 * TIP: I (Latin School) show parents the NYTimes website before I show them RomanNet. I tell them that RomanNet is Latin's NY Times. NY Times has international, nation, local news, sports, videos, photo galleries, etc. Similarly, RomanNet has public school news, all school news, divisional news, class and group news, sports, video and photo galleries. It has a lot of information, just like the NY Times (which I know our parents read and can make sense of). I think it helps them have the proper mind set before viewing our site. (I started this after a few parents asked why RomanNet didn't look more like FaceBook)
 * ANOTHER TIP: Set the channel heights. If you don't want to collapse a channel, it is a good idea to simply limit the height of the channel. This helps lock in a solid design that is pleasing to the eye.
 * Alumni Portal - connect and network, get involved... circle graphics

Cranbrook Schools (http://schools.cranbrook.edu - home page, http://crannet.cranbrook.edu - redirect to Portal)
 * Summer Portal features:
 * summer reading lists for the various divisions, as well as summer work for AP classes
 * "Quick Links" section links to push pages sent during the summer, health forms, printable School Year Calendar, athletic pre-season info, etc.
 * a channel devoted to the community read - book read by the community during the summer
 * Everything below it is the same as the School Portal
 * School Portal:
 * "CK College News" - news from the college counseling office
 * Photo gallery of various photo albums shared out from community groups, academic groups, etc.
 * "FYI" channel highlights big events; photo channel with HTML gallery selected - flips through images and can use HTML to create links to event registrations for users to click on
 * We have the Senior Systems integration, so the School Portal includes links for parents to edit their profile, change password, view grades/comments, view attendance reenrollment, online billing
 * Faculty Portal links to various resources, training guides, professional development/grant applications, etc.
 * Library Portal links to general library resources and also serves as a "hub" for the four divisional libraries' pages
 * Alumni Portal includes class notes, links to Reunion information, photos