Presented by: Stephen Blyth
The purpose of this session is to help people to get the most out of CAN's website.
The CAN website fits in a network of other sites- where does it fit?
Have set up a "Sand pit" group on the webiste- just for learning how to use the site.
Discussion of what's working:
- Made home page; bookmarks; recent posts
- finding CAN
- info on how to do things- local groups, submissions
- supporting committee- repository of docs, photos
- communication with others, with history
- can do live minutes
- renewal for members
- collaborative planning for Chainlinks
- quick response from other members via forums
- events calendar- knowing what's coming up
- contact point
- public face
- legitimacy- being part of a network (for small groups)
How can the CAN website support your local group?
Do you need it if you also have a Facebook group? Yes- they serve different purposes. Facebook can be good for last-minute notification of events, not document repository etc. Facebook goes to you- for CAN website, you have to go to it.
Options for getting notification of new content on the CAN website:
- Email notifying new content. Configure via My Account.
- Can cancel them all if you don't want them.
- RSS, My Recent
- Can select 'Do not notify' when creating content.
Creating content
- e.g. Create content- article
- Create title and body; save (3 steps)
- Can go back to edit. Can include photo, fix formatting etc., add log message, attach files
- Gets added automatically to the group page.
- Good to have a descriptive title. Can also use tags.
- Book 'Writing for the Web'- Rachel McAlpine
CAN website also has FAQs and tutorials to help learn how to use it.
Questions: (to be answered via Sand Pit group) how to:
- set default settings for notifications
- make text/ subject lines for notifications more specific
- deal with forgotten username/ password
- paste from word processors
- set availability of e.g. local group documents content type for all users
- upload/ use photos
- put up 'sticky' articles