Our so called web life

After researching about 300 existing learning center websites, I came to the realization a few months back that our website could be much more than an online brochure or bulletin board, as is most of them. It could substantially augment the services that we provide. Well, our new website, the product of this thinking, is up and running, although it needs to be populated with content. One of the drawbacks of having it take much longer than anticipated is that I’m already thinking about what I want for website 3.0. Some ideas in the chute are to make it web 2.0 compliant; designing in a more seamless conceived from the ground up experience rather than accessing several different websites to provide blog, forms, and slideshow, etc., which comes across as clunky; reducing the number of pages by creating accessible pagelets on the homepage; and creating more integration with tutortrac across different pages on the site. We certainly don’t have Amazon cash to throw at web development but I’m not above stealing a few good ideas. For instance, it would be nice to make available dynamic student evaluations of our resource material in the same way that Amazon users rate books and other for purchase items. In any case, please let me know if you come across any websites that impress you or has features you think would be useful here.

Protecting your online reputation

A recent article in the New York Times exposes the increasingly common practice of employers conducting internet searches on new applicants. Employers are looking for evidence of bad choices and ethical lapses. Interestingly, they consider the very act of recording your misdeeds for the world theater as in itself evidence of poor decision-making skills. It’s likely that legal-minded employers won’t ever inform you of their search, especially if they find offending material that scuttles your otherwise pristine application. It’s very important, then, for you to conduct your own search beforehand. If you locate information that you would rather consign to youthful indiscretion, then contact the relevant website(s) and ask to have the offending material removed. If things don’t go well with that strategy then contact our own Career Development Center about how to proceed. Click NPR and College Journal for more suggestions.

RU student blogs

Increasingly tech-savvy students are demanding more tech-literate institutions. Schools are responding by using web technologies such as blogs to further their educational and institutional goals. Among these goals are increasing recruitment and admissions rates. A 2005 Symposium for the Marketing of Higher education included among its seminars, Blogging Lessons from the Corporate World: How You Can Use Blogs to Market to Your Most Important Constituencies. The Rutgers University Student Blog features profiles of current students and links to their blogs. Since prospective students have many questions about what their experiences will be like here at RU, having current students chat up the University seems to be an ideal way of informing them. The idea of using student bloggers is not unique to RU. The University of Dayton, Colgate University, Simmons College, and Hastings College are other example institutions.

Make a global difference

Sustainability is a key word when it comes to charitable giving. Heifer International has been at the forefront of this movement since 1944. Heifer provides animals and training in animal husbandry to people who need a means to generate a sustainable income. Once the gift recipients become established they give back by donating offspring animals and training to other community members who in turn do the same. In this way, your initial donation cascades through a community far beyond the initial gift of honeybees, chickens, or oxen, etc. Kiva provides microloans to “qualified low income entrepreneur[s] in the developing world” who are looking to start businesses in their local communities. Visit the Kiva website where you can search through a list of proposed business ventures and see pictures of potential recipients. With as little as $25 dollars you can become an important positive change for good in someone’s life and an international powerbroker at the same time. Interestingly, Kiva reports a +96% repayment rate. Unitus is another similar international microfinancer. Estimates place the number of modern day slaves around 27 million. While it’s far from being the most egregious host nation, the United States is among those countries where slavery exists in the form of forced labor and prostitution. Free the Slaves is an international organization that provides research and support to partner organizations who are working to end modern day human trafficking. Click here for a National Geographic report on 21st Century slaves.

Note: Charity Navigator evaluates charitable organizations and provides a breakdown of expenses and the percentage of each dollar that goes to programming, as opposed to advertising and administrative expenses.

Update: Grameen Bank, a microfinancier operating out of Bangladesh, was awarded the Nobel Peace prize in 2006 for its work bankrolling the world’s poor.