Our website now has a brand new updated look. We’re delighted with the transformation – and we hope you like it, too. It was developed this past summer in collaboration with a talented team of Algonquin College students.
The College’s Interactive Media Management (IMM) Program gives post-graduate level students real-life experience by having them develop media-related client projects for non-profit and educational organizations. The organizations first submit proposals which are evaluated and, if accepted, are assigned to a student team for a three-month period.
Realizing that the Club’s website could benefit from an updated, rejuvenated look to attract new young members, we developed a proposal to create a new web presence and a new Facebook page. We were delighted when the IMM program accepted our proposal. With Iris ten Holder, the Media Club’s webmaster, as the primary contact, and me as the secondary contact, we started brainstorming with Media Club president June Coxon, to come up with initial ideas to present to the students. Since COVID-19 was still very much in play, it meant that all meetings with the students had to be over Zoom and that any exchange of texts, photos or concepts had to be electronic.
By mid-May 2021, we met the team of three students assigned to work on our project: Patrick Leblanc, Daisy Kimutai, and Xiyue Zhang. Although all three were residing in the Ottawa-Gatineau area at the time, Patrick is originally from New Brunswick, Daisy had arrived recently from Nigeria and Xiyue had come from China, so we had an international team bringing an interesting perspective to our project. (Please refer to their photos and bios to learn more about the team.)
We were immediately impressed by the professionalism and skills of the team members. They were well organized with a clear work schedule, and commitment to regular meetings with us. They were also client-oriented, taking the time to address any issues or questions that arose and proposing designs that responded to our objectives. We felt confident that the end product would be highly satisfactory.
As agreed at the outset, the website was developed as a WordPress product. Iris ten Holder points out that this is a real advantage since, in the long run, it will make it easier for her and others to manage and update the website. As a secondary element, the team developed a banner and design for the Facebook page so that it would complement the new website and provide a direct link to the website. Also, although we had not requested a new logo, the team offered to design a new one for us as part of the package. (Please see a separate article about the new logo.)
Over the course of the three months, our initial favourable impressions were confirmed as the product evolved. There was a lot of back and forth as we explained our needs, the team made suggestions and we indicated our preferences and supplied text and photos. The team actually produced two versions of the website, one that’s designed for desktop computers or laptops, and another that opens up on mobile phones.
In early August, each of the seven student teams, including ours, made 20-minute presentations via Zoom, describing their objectives and challenges, and showing the final products to their professors and to their clients. Iris, June and I were delighted with the final results. It’s not an exaggeration to say that the students not only met, but exceeded, our expectations. As they begin their job search, we hope this experience will contribute to each of them receiving interesting employment opportunities and we wish them much success in the future.
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