Andrew Ford Lyons

Yesterday evening I launched the new Teacher Support Network’s group charity website. This has been a long time in the making with a number of revisions that reflects the pros and cons of the group process, but in the end, I think we came up with a stunning design that’s both unique and highly functional.

I worked with web developer Nigel Parry and designer Ken Harper (Iron Clad Images) over the last spring and summer to develop a new look and better navigation flow for the site as well as a number of tools designed to increase the usability and accessability of the site. The result is years beyond the previous one. We moved off of Drupal and over to Interactive Tools’ Article Manager 2.

Tags: Interactive Tools, Iron Clad Images, Nigel Parry, Teacher Support Network

I’ve been digital media manager for Teacher Support Network since the start of the year and currently we’re in the midst of a major website redesign. I’m working with Ken Harper of Iron Clad Images and web designer Nigel Parry. The image attached here is of the current website, a Drupal installation. Teacher Support Network consists of a collection of ambitious charities and social enterprises aimed at helpingover-worked, under-paid and under-appreciated teachers in the UK reach a more healthy balance between work and life.

Being a part of this project has given me a far better look at and greater appreciation of educators here and in the U.S., and a lot more empathy for those teachers who put up with me from primary school on.

We’re switching off of Drupal to a customised, independent cms, integrating the site with the RightNow crm and giving it an all-together different look and architecture. Transitioning from the current brochure-site look to something that approaches an actual online service-oriented tool has been a great case study in site usability dos and don’ts which I hope to illustrate here once the project is complete.

Tags: Iron Clad Images, Nigel Parry, Teacher Support Network