For the new site, I worked with web developer Nigel Parry and designer Ken Harper (Iron Clad Images), and you can read more about that here as well as at Nigel’s site. The judges said teachersupport.info “addresses a critical need. The site has a great architecture with interactive content served upfront. You can sense the passion behind this site, in spite of a modest budget. The judges admired the written entry submission which was passionate and clear and the great use of social networking tools.”

The relaunch ensured that our website became an even more useful and easy way for teachers to access our services. More details about the award are given at teachersupport.info.

(Photo: From left we have Hannah Essex, Head of Communications & Business Development; Julian Stanley, Chief Executive; Sally Baker, Client Experience Manager; and yours truly, Digital Media Manager)

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.

For more on this project, visit Nigel Parry’s website.

To see more about the creation of this site, visit the Article Manager forum thread here.

Website builder sought for Great Teachers Remembered

Overview

Teacher Support Network seeks a builder for a website to be located at greatteachers.org.uk, which will be a companion to its main site at teachersupport.info. Design and content have already been assembled and we are looking for a quick, independent and solid website builder to bring it online on deadline and to design specification.

About us

Teacher Support Network consists of a group of independent charities and a social enterprise in the United Kingdom that provide practical and emotional support to staff in the education sector and their families. You can find out more about us at teachersupport.info.

Background

Great teachers remembered is a web based product to help remember and celebrate the lives and careers of teachers who have died. The site allows colleagues, friends and relatives to post a tribute to remember a great teacher. Others that knew the teacher can also visit the site and add messages and photos. This will serve as a fundraising tool as a donation is required to post a tribute or to add a comment or photograph. The site also is intended to be opportunity to raise awareness of Teacher Support Network and information on the charity will be included in the site. We also believe that the site is important to furthering Teacher Support Network’s aim in promoting the importance of teachers in society.

Our needs

You should be proficient in php, java, creating clean, clear css and be familiar with methods of semantic markup and MySQL database structure. You should have experience in creating sites with heavy interactivity and user-generated content, creating custom forms and integrating secure payment methods that will operate through WordPay (www.worldpay.com). The site should contain RSS feeds, search engine-friendly tagging

Your build must be able to run on either Windows or Linux servers. You should be familiar with W3C Web Standards and comfortable in creating websites that comply fully with Web Standards requirements as well as UK’s disability requirements. Proprietary systems will be considered, but you must work within the scope of the budget. Open source solutions are encouraged.

In your RFP (request for Proposal), please include:

1. Information about your company or yourself (if an individual)

2. Examples of websites you’ve built that are still in use today (those that include interaction similar to this project’s are preferred)

3. References and testimonials

4. A list of tools you most often use to build: platforms, CMS systems, code language, etc. and what you envision using to build this site.

5. An outline of your working process.

6. Copy of personal resume or company literature

7. A copy of your work guarantee

Candidates who submit these materials will receive a pdf of the site design. Please contact andrew.lyons@teachersupport.info with your application packet. PDF attachments preferred.

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.