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Redesigning the Teaching Resources Center's Web Site

Like many Web sites, the Teaching Resources Center (TRC) site grew by accretion rather than in accord with a general plan. Instead of progressing in a reasonable order from infancy, through childhood, adolescence and adulthood, the site, it seemed, had grown too fast and developed a mind of its own.

In re-designing the site, we tried to preserve what we knew worked well. This was done in an old-fashioned manner, using plain HTML. Simple medicine. No Frontpage elaboration nor DreamWeaver animation; not even Composer or Word. I had learned how to write HTML from Faust Gorham at the CAIT, and I had acquired other Web publishing skills at TRC's Summer Institute on Technology and Teaching. Ellen Guttadauro and Jon Gorroño of Creative Communications gave me a lot of design information when I was starting out developing my own course pages.

The re-ordering of the old produced a relatively new site. It still has the familiar markers of where to find out about workshops and grants; and direct lines to all the resources for Teaching Assistants (listed under resources for graduate students). A new direction is Active Learning -- to encourage involved classroom teaching and learning.

We decided to put our reports and publications online. A number of applications, that formerly had to be submitted on paper or by email message, can now be quickly filled out online using a browser that supports forms. Hard copies of some of the longer applications will still need to be picked up in 17 Wellman, or sent via campus mail.

We are working on the program for our 6th annual Summer Institute on Technology in Teaching. It will soon be online where resources from last year's conference are already available (see http://trc.ucdavis.edu/trc/sitt/).

We hope the Web site will make our services readily accessible to the instructional community. The colors and layout are intended to communicate information in a clear and aesthetically-pleasing manner.

The pages continue to be a work in progress. We welcome comments and suggestions for improvement. Please send them to basommer@ucdavis.edu.

Barbara Sommer is the Interim Coordinator for the Teaching Resources Center.