Tuesday,
June 26, Penn Stater Conference Center
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Sessions: Web 2001 Conference Program
Concurrent with Web 2001, the Center for Academic Computing (CAC) Visualization Group invites Web 2001 conference registrants to attend a 3D Computer Graphics Open house from 3:30 to 8:30 Monday June 25, and from 5:00 to 7:00 on Tuesday June 26 in room 140 Computer Building. More information...
Keynote Address
C. Lee Giles, David Reese Professor, Professor of Computer Science and Engineering
The World Wide Web is larger than most people realize. Furthermore, search engines index only a small portion of the Web. Professor C. Lee Giles has conducted research that shows that no search engine indexed more than 16 percent of the Web’s at least 800 million pages, and that 11 search engines together indexed no more than 42 percent. Giles will discuss the vastness of the World Wide Web, the development of new Web search techniques and tools, and other Web issues.
Conducting a Usability Analysis
Frank
Ritter, Assoc. Prof. of Information Sciences and Technology, School
of Information Sciences and Technology; Assoc. Prof. of Psychology, College
of the Liberal Arts
Michael D. McNeese, Assoc. Prof.
of Information Sciences and Technology, School of Information Sciences
and Technology; Assoc. Prof. of Psychology, College of the Liberal Arts
Usability is very important because this is one of the determiners of how well a Web site accomplishes its goals. Accessability is also important because Penn State pages are subject to ADA requirements and it's the right thing to do. We will discuss technical and design issues that affect the usability of a Web site. We will introduce the idea of usability analysis and provide further information about how to learn more.We, with Gerry Santoro's help, will also include information about Web site accessability and ADA requirements.
Improving the Visibility and Marketability of Your Web Site
Bob Conn, Webmaster/Database Administrator,
Agricultural Economics and Rural Sociology
Giovanna M. Genard, Assistant Director
for Electronic Communications, Alumni Association
This introductory session is designed for managers of Web sites who want to better enable potential visitors to find their sites and to hopefully keep those visitors coming back. Attendees will gain a better understanding of Meta tags and how to use them, search engines, search engine submission tips, as well as effective marketing tricks to entice visitors and return visits.
On-line Materials for this Presentation
Visibility and Marketability of Your Web Site Part I
Visibility and Marketability of Your Web Site Part II
PowerPoint Presentation
Presentation Outline
Building a Portal Framework: The Penn State Student Portal Project
Jim
Vuccolo, Lead Research Programmer, UNIX Systems and Technical Solutions
Group, Center for Academic Computing
Jim Leous, Manager, UNIX Systems and
Technical Solutions Group, Center for Academic Computing
The presenters will discuss some of the workings of the framework for the Penn State Student Portal, including design goals, decision making, and technology needed to make a scaleable, customizable Web application. This session will include discussions about databases, programming, and DCE/DFS. It is intended for those considering developing Web applications in general and portal applications specifically. The Penn State Student Portal will also be compared and constrasted with commercial and other open source portal initiatives.
On-line Materials for this Presentation
Building a Portal Framework: The Penn State Student Portal Project
ColdFusion for Database/Web Integration
Brian
Panulla, Web Developer and Information Technology Consultant, Elmwood
Media Group, State College
Christian Vinten-Johansen,
Database Administrator/Webmaster, College of Agricultural Sciences
ColdFusion, a product of Allaire Corporation, is a rapid application development tool that allows the creation of interactive and dynamic Web sites. Best known for enabling output to Web pages from database queries, it also incorporates capabilities of traditional programming languages such as variables and functions; conditional execution and looping; high-level output formatting; string, file and system functions; code reuseability; debugging; and more -- lots of power implemented with a simple <tag> syntax similar to HTML. In this session we will discuss the tools you need to start using Cold Fusion for your Web site. Knowledge and experience writing HTML is recommended.
On-line Materials for this Presentation
Introduction to ColdFusion
Resources for ColdFusion Development
OAS E-commerce Processing Initiatives
Richard
Dumm, E-commerce Project Manager, Office of Administrative Systems
Bob O'Connor, Senior Systems Engineer,
Office of Administrative Systems
The presenters will focus on initiatives related to E-commerce in the Office of Administrative Systems. This session is intended for audiences of all skill levels.
WAP: Why It's Not Just for Stock Trades
John Kalbach, Manager, Networking & Advanced Systems, Center for Academic Computing
The Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) enables wireless device users to easily access information such as news feeds, stock quotes, and weather forecasts. WAP applications can extend the functions of a telephone, allowing us to answer a phone message with an e-mail, for example. This session will address the current state of WAP at Penn State and possible future implications.
On-line Materials for this Presentation
Penn State Web Strategies Implementation
Fred
Loomis, Director, IST Solutions Institute; Leader, Web Strategies
Initiative Team
Ann Dodd, Senior Consultant, Center
for Quality and Planning
The objectives of this session are to provide an overview of the projects that are underway for Web strategy implementation at Penn State, and to seek input from Web2001 conference participants about the direction these projects should take. Provost Rod Erickson has charged a team with implementing twenty priority Web strategies, with the overall goal of enhancing access, quality, and service for the Penn State community through the innovative use of web technologies. This session is intended for anyone who is interested in learning more about University-wide Web strategy implementation, and anyone who would like to provide input or share innovations in this area. For more information, see the Web Strategy Center at http://www.web.psu.edu/ on the Web.
On-line Materials for this Presentation
Streaming Media Services at Penn State
Kaspar
Stromme, Research Programmer, Center for Education Technology Services
Kim Winck, Information Technology
Associate, Center for Education Technology Services
This session will provide an overview of streaming and general digital video resources at Penn State, including the streaming service offered by the Center for Academic Computing (CAC) and Center for Education Technology Services (CETS). For more information about streaming technologies, see the CAC/CETS Streaming Service home page at http://ets.cac.psu.edu/projects/streaming/www/index.htm on the Web. The session will cover the basics of video streaming and is intended as an introduction to the topic. There will be time for questions at the end of the session.
On-line Materials for this Presentation
Introduction to Database Design
Gerry Santoro, Asst. Prof. of Information Sciences and Technology, School of Information Sciences and Technology; Aff. Asst. Prof. of Speech Communication, College of the Liberal Arts; Lead Research Programmer, Center for Academic Computing
Databases provide much of the power behind modern information systems, including dynamic Web sites. However, a poorly-designed database can lead to unnecessary expense or even total failure. The key to database success lies in understanding the nature of data/information and how it influences database design. This session will examine the fundamentals of database design, with the focus on relational databases. Attendees will learn how to view a database as a solution to an information problem, and how to design the structure of the database according to that solution.
On-line Materials for this Presentation
Web Server Security Basics
Jeff Wolfe, Research Assistant, College of Earth and Mineral Sciences
As we move more of our daily lives onto the Web, we cannot lose sight of the need to ensure privacy and security of the systems that handle our online data. The session will break the issue of Web site security down into several parts, including current threats, methods and approaches to hardening your system, sources of current security information, and how to respond to an incident. To get the most from this session, attendees should be familiar with the basic operation of a Web server and the general landscape of the Internet.
SAS-Enabled Web Sites
Jeanne
Spicer, Manager of Programming Services, Population Research Institute
Dave Steven, Senior Research Programmer,
Center for Academic Computing
Vince Timbers, Associate Director
of Research, Enrollment Management and Administration
SAS/Intrnet software is being used for academic research to give investigators the ability to manage large data collections, to coordinate data, information, tasks, and results for inter/intra university research projects, and to perform statistical analysis over the Web. This session will provide an overview of SAS software and services at Penn State and show examples of how SAS/IntrNet is being used for data and database analysis and presentation in the Admissions department and at the Population Research Institute. SAS/IntrNet software extends SAS software's powerful data retrieval and analysis functionality to the Web. This session is intended for people that have database, data collection and analysis and data presentation needs on the Web and want to see if SAS is a viable solution. This session will be presented at an intermediate level where a knowledge of databases, data analysis and SAS would be helpful but not necessary. More information about SAS/IntrNet can be found at http://www.sas.com/rnd/web/intrnet/ with examples at http://www.sas.com/rnd/web/intrnet/demos/index.html. Information about SAS at Penn State is available at http://www.sas.psu.edu.
Web Graphics Tips and Techniques
Giovanna
M. Genard, Assistant Director for Electronic Communications, Alumni
Association
Cyndi Carey, Multimedia and Design
Specialist, College of Agricultural Sciences
This session is designed for the intermediate Web designer. Presenters will provide a Web imagery file format overview (JPEG, GIF, PNG) and discuss secrets to achieving smaller file size, while maintaining the best quality compressions. The latest graphic power tools will be used to demonstrate Web graphics tips and techniques that aid Web developers in speeding the graphic production process. Attendees will learn how to use custom Web safe colors, dithering, transparency, smarter image maps, and slicing images to optimize their Web graphics and add polish to their sites.
On-line Materials for this Presentation
Getting Your Content in the Penn State Student Portal
Jim
Vuccolo, Lead Research Programmer, UNIX Systems and Technical Solutions
Group, Center for Academic Computing
Jim Leous, Manager, UNIX Systems and
Technical Solutions Group, Center for Academic Computing
This seminar will discuss methods, technologies, and best practices for using Rich Site Summary (RSS) to deliver content. RSS is an implementation of XML, the eXtensible Markup Language, for making content available to other Web sites. We will discuss creation and publication of RSS channels for use in the Penn State Student Portal. In addition, we will suggest best practices for maintaining, updating, searching, and publishing information.
On-line Materials for this Presentation
XML Usage at Penn State
Carl Seybold, Lead Programmer, Advanced Technologies and Special Projects Group, Office of Information Systems.
XML (eXtensible Markup Language) is derived directly from SGML (Standard Generalized Markup Language). In fact, XML is an abbreviated version of SGML, which makes it easier for Web developers to create and define their own markup language. The ATSP staff will present an overview of XML and the ways that XML can be used for data transfer. The discussion will focus on heterogeneous systems using XML as a common communication format. Also to be presented is the use of XML within OAS for data access. This session will be presented at an intermediate level for developers and managers. Knowledge of HTML, HTTP and any programming language will be beneficial.
3D and Telecollaborative Technologies for the Web
George
Otto, Manager, Visualization Group, Center for Academic Computing
Jack Gundrum, Senior Applications
Programmer, Visualization Group, Center for
Academic Computing
Elena Slobounov, Lead Applications
Programmer, Visualization Group, Center for
Academic Computing
This panel session will offer an overview of the current state of the art in 3D and telecollaborative Web applications, development tools, and standards. Telecollaboration, in this context, involves user to user interaction with a common graphical database, or multi-user coexistence and interaction within a shared virtual world. Our intention is not to provide in-depth how-to or to discuss at length a successful "application exemplar." Rather we will offer a tour of possibilities for development of web-based interactive 3D graphics and virtual worlds, for those who may be interested in doing such things, and touch on the current state of languages and standards for the same. On-line resources for follow-up will be provided. Tools and applications discussed in this session also will be demonstrated in a 3D graphics open house in Room 140 Computer Building on Monday, June 25, from 3:30-8:30 p.m. and Tuesday, June 26, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
On-line Materials for this Presentation
Streamlining Administrative Processes Utilizing Web-Database Applications
Eric
Richardson, Smeal College of Business
Shelley Petrie, Database Programmer,
Smeal College of Business
Programmers from the Smeal College of Business Administration will share the lessons they have learned in creating three customized solutions involving Web-to-database interfaces done in SQL and DB2. One project was a "bridge" solution to the problem of getting data from a commercial third-party online application system into a Student Marketing System in the MBA admissions area (data formats between the two were incompatible). Another project allowed students to sign up for an alumni mentor via the Web, rather than in person. The third project enabled students taking exams on laptops (E-Testing) to begin scheduling these exams dynamically and conveniently via a Web-database interface. This presentation will address the technical approaches undertaken, unanticipated difficulties, lessons learned, benefits gained, and probable enhancements in the future of these three solutions. This will be an excellent forum for anyone wrestling with these issues or contemplating a customized Web-database interface of their own.
Web-Enabled Automation Systems
Dave Thompson, Energy Management/Environmental Systems Consultant, College of Engineering
The paradigm "Networking of Open Protocol Web Enabled Building Automation Systems Statewide and Beyond" provides for efficient management of Commonwealth facilities. The audience will view real-time control and monitoring of building HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) energy management systems operation on the Web. This method is less costly to implement, easier to operate, and offers simpler problem resolution than traditional single user or LAN based systems. The seminar will be an overview of WACS (Web Accessible Control Systems) with a focus on Multi-Vendor Interoperability and a WACS demonstration. The WACS demonstration uses JAVA and XML technologies inside of embedded Web devices.
Legal and Ethical Issues for Web Site Administrators
Gerry Santoro, Asst. Prof. of Information Sciences and Technology, School of Information Sciences and Technology; Aff. Asst. Prof. of Speech Communication, College of the Liberal Arts; Lead Research Programmer, Center for Academic Computing
Web sites are an amazing tool for publishing information and supporting human communication. They can be used to gather information, to sell products or services, to entertain, or to persuade. Along with these capabilities come a number of legal and ethical issues of concern to Web site administrators. This session will describe a subset of these issues. Their importance, particularly with regard to the University Community, will be discussed. Resources for further study in this area will also be provided.
On-line Materials for this Presentation
Penn State Graphic Standards: Why are They Important on the Web?
Jeffrey T. Hermann, University Editor and Director of University Publications, Department of University Publications
This session will present an overview of the Penn State graphic standards and what is required for a Web site. The presenter will discuss the importance of good design and why it is important to use sound design principles to reach your audience. Topics discussed will include: common design problems, usability vs. design issues, basic Penn State site requirements, and navigation and consistency within your site. This session is targeted to anyone who designs or manages a Penn State Web site.
On-line Materials for this Presentation
Penn State Graphics Standards: Why are They Important to the Web?
Technology for Better Accessibility
Bill
Welsh, Director, Office for Disability, Services
Rey Junco, Director of Disability
Services, Lock Haven University
Michelle Mitchell, Disability Specialist,
Office for Disability Services
Presenters will discuss the use of technologies for better accessibility. Topics will include classroom design that can benefit all students, including those with disabilities; the new accessibility laws; Web site design and accessibility; and technologies used in the classroom, such as PowerPoint presentations, electronic notes, Web sites, and electronic textbooks. Various assistive technology software and hardware programs used by students and Office for Disability Services employees will also be demonstrated.
On-line Materials for this Presentation
3D Computer Graphics Open House
Center for Academic Computing Visualization Group
Monday,
June 25, 3:30 to 8:30
Tuesday, June 26, 5:00 to 7:00
Room 140 Computer Building
The Center for Academic Computing (CAC) Visualization Group invites Web 2001 conference registrants to attend a 3D computer graphics open house. Several approaches to cross-platform, networked, interactive 3D graphics and virtual reality will be shown, using display contexts ranging from 3D graphics in a Web browser to stand-alone virtual reality applications using the CAC's Immersadesk large-format, projection-based VR system. Come out and see some novel approaches to using 3D in research, instruction, telecommunications and e-commerce. Times and locations follow:
The Visualization Open House will complement the session "3D and Telecollaborative Technologies for the Web" to be presented at the Web 2001 conference on June 26.