A Gathering Place for All Members and Beyond…

History and Rationale

POD has grown significantly over the past several years. The enormous membership increase raises multiple questions regarding how we best serve and stay connected to our members and their needs throughout the year. The POD web site potentially offers a major conduit for engaging our members with one another in continuous professional development and connection, sharing and expanding our resources and those beyond POD, and providing access to the amazing work of all of our POD committees. 

Professional development of members in our field is possible through our web site if it is a dynamic, updated, and easily accessed and navigated with searchable resources. Our web site can truly become a ‘gathering place’ by making several additions and revisions.  Additional content, provided by committees, Core members and POD members would further advance the web site in the future.

Based on the data gathered from the POD membership survey (’05), the POD conference session (’05) and the POD Core meetings, the following specific goals reflect the major concerns and requests of our members and were drafted by the Electronic Communication and Resource Committee (ECRC) after being charged by POD Core Committee to complete the enormous website redesign task.  Our ECRC efforts began in Spring 2005and are nearing completion, fall of 2007. These goals have served to guide the massive contractual and revision process, and to ensure that the “new” POD website is truly not only functional, but a frequent ‘gathering place” for members and visitors between annual conference events.

Our Goals

To improve the POD website in order to more effectively accomplish the following objectives through website functions, tool, resources, and content:

• Develop the POD Web site as A Gathering Place for all members         

• Use the Web site as an Effective Recruitment Tool            

• Use the Web site as an Effective means of New Member orientation and development

• Put in place structural and financial guarantees of effective maintenance     

• Provide organization, functions, tools, and features to improve overall effectiveness, attractiveness, and maintenance 

New POD Logo

The creation process of the new POD logo was lengthy, messy, and difficult. Numerous ideas and designs were created, reviewed, discarded and revisited.  It was difficult to capture our meaning, our essence and history, our work and purpose, and our differences as well as commonality.

The new logo is centered on the design of a growing tree, to symbolize development. at multiple levels, including individually, institutionally,  and as a field.  The colors were selected to give a fresh, dynamic and growing feel to the site and symbols. The three circles intersect, in different colors, to capture our differences, multiple spheres of development and work at individual, departmental, disciplinary, institutional, and international levels. The whimsical or informal line below the tree was incorporated to reflect the friendly, casual and dynamic nature and spirit still alive in POD. Even the blue Network was not an accidental (or effortless) decision. This word, Network, has been a core feature and element of POD since its inception, and continues to inspire much of our work in publications, conferences, institutes, collaborations, POD Listserv activity, and ever expanding resources. We have been and will always be a network, for you.

Your Role

We look to members, Chairs of committees, and visitors to provide ongoing new materials, links, What’s New? and resources so that our site is dynamic, growing, and reflects YOUR input and needs.   Have you submitted something from your professional practice? Send your input to the website to: Hoag Holmgren, POD Executive Director, and he will forward your input to the POD Website servicers.

The ECRC committee would like to express heartfelt appreciation to the many, many hands that worked endlessly to accomplish this task, including Hoag Holmgren, Conference Team, Sally Kuhlenschmidt, Frank Gillespie, DotInc., and POD Committee Chairs.

New Website Features, Functions and Additions

Our existing POD Website vendor, DotInc. was contracted by the ECRC per Core’s request and approval to add numerous and specific new functions to the existing website, redesign the look and logo, and incorporate additional text and changes. The process of updating the large content of the existing site is still underway, although much has already been completed.

Navigational Additions/Redesign

• Site Map

• Redesigned logo

• Redesigned main page and all subpages

• Internal Search Engine

• Site Search

• Created a Listserv button – Main page revamped instructions

• Created Joining and Renewing POD button – Main page

• New Sections:

  • What is Organizational Development?

  • Collaborations and Co-sponsorships

  • What’s New? (including current newsletter) Dynamic: Constantly changing info.

    • POD

    • Members

    • Higher Education

    • POD Institutions

    • Faculty Development

  • Members Only Section (directory information)

  • Created alphabetical Topical Resource List

• Reorganized: Publications, Resources and Useful Links

• Reorganized About POD, Membership and Joining and Renewing

• Template for POD Committee information (Current Projects, Membership, Contact, Links)

• Template for Grants/Awards (Seekers, Current Recipients, Past Recipients)

• Numerous internal cross links added

Appearance

• Added Photos

• Redesigned logo, main page and all subpages

Content Accuracy and Maintenance

• Increased content maintenance service

• Designed Template for Chairs/Four Main Page subpages – Core approved use: 2x annually

*Additional items and services from the actual contract are not listed here but is available from the Executive Director.

ECRC Activities Spring 2005 - Fall 2007

Chair: Connie Schroeder connies@uwm.edu

Members:
Sally Kuhlenschmidt
Ruth Harris-Barnett

Francine Glazer

Patricia Coward

 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - --

Frank Gillespie

Joe Grimes

Kevin Barry

Spring 2005         

• Reviewed Zoomerang Survey instrument for POD

Drafting New Policies for online Resources

Summer 2005     

• Zoomerang Survey instrument Policy Draft - approved

• POD Listserv Policy Draft – approved

• POD Member only Listserv Policy Draft – approved

Gathering Information for Website Re-Design

Summer 2005     

• Website Survey to members

Researched Websites/Contract Preparation

Fall 2005              

• Presentation of survey to POD Conference

• Collaborated on Website revision priorities

• Researched Websites

• Initiated POD/DotInc. Website revision contract w/DotInc and ECRC

Contractual Process

Winter 2006         

• Presented Contract to Core

Launching Logo Lunacy

Spring 2006         

• Facilitated online Core revisions, approval, and recommendations of contract

• Revised Contract with DotInc.

• Core approval of budget for DotInc website revision contract

• Researched Logos

• Initiated logo design process with DotInc.

• Previewed logo designs

• Present logo designs to Core

• Initiated new logo designs to Core

• Facilitated logo discussion and approval.

Facilitating Main Page Re-design

Summer 2006     

• Revised Listserv Instructions

• Revised Committee pages

• Redesigned major subheading pages:

  • Split Publications and Resource main subpages

  • Joined Resources and Useful Links

  • Developed new page, Collaborations and Co-sponsorships

• Developed new page, What is Organizational Development?

• Developed new section, What’s New In:  POD, POD members, Faculty Development, H.Ed

• To include POD Newsletter.

• Developed new section, Members Only section: to include Directory

Fall 2006              

• Presented request for Core and Committee page updates, photos, major headings pages

• Collected updates from Core meeting for website

• Collected and reviewed photos for website

• Reviewed multiple website revisions and updates to Main page design

SubPage Re-design (Waiting on Conference Site Re-design)

Spring 2007         

• Reviewed photos for website

• Reviewed multiple website revisions and updates to Main page design

• Presented draft of Main page design to Core (March, 2007)

• Updated and revised Major headings and subheadings to DotInc.

• Developed template for ongoing committee page twice annual updates

• Reviewed first website revision        

• Developed new, Topical Resources alphabetical list  (Org. Dev. Member resources)

• Collected updates from Core Spring meeting and routed to DotInc.

Content and Feature Additions (Waiting on Conference Site Re-design)

Summer 2007     

• Developed new, Google Site Search

• Extensive ECRC review of new content and revisions to subpages

• Refined new, Google Site Search

• Presented new content and headings to DotInc.

Revisions!

Fall 2007              

• Extensive ECRC committee review of new content and revisions to subpages

• Refined new, Google Site Search

• Reviewed multiple website revisions and updates to subpages

• Reviewed multiple website revisions and updates to content pages

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