vi family network presentation cu 2011 v97 2003
DESCRIPTION
Presentation for connecting up conference, Melbourne, 2011. How we used wordpress to connect families living with vision impairment.TRANSCRIPT
About me
Curriculum Media Designer
Responsible for: graphic design, promotional media, e-newsletters, website design and updates, e-learning course delivery, digital video production and filming
Interest in online community building
Overview of presentation
History
Planning through parent feedback
Tools for the job
Website overview
Feedback and future work
The vi family network: History
Australian Childhood Vision Impairment Register
National Database of childhood vision impairment in Australia
A resource for families to access information and share experiences
Online solution
Planning through parent feedback
Feeling isolated – who to ask?
Contact with other families
Emotional support with others who have been through the same experience
Access to Australian resources and service providers
Tools for the job
Full CMS
Simple
Free
Open source
Stable
Large user base +25m
Millions of amazing plugins
Customisations
Theme & design
Simple theme chosen - customised
Fast secure contact form
Theme my login
Members list
Plugins used
Cusomisations
Access Theme switch reloaded
Wordpress access control
Google analyticator
Plugins used
Vision Australia to help with full accessibility check.
Customisations
Forum Wordpress symposium
WP symposium forum
WP symposium mail
WP symposium members
WP symposium panel
WP symposium profile
WP symposium widgets
Plugins used
http://www.wpsymposium.com/
WP Symposium benefits
Simple clean design, no unnecessary text and lists
Easily choose components of the social network
Use with standard WordPress installation and any WordPress theme
Easy embedding output of components on pages in any WP theme
Do not need to know anything about .css files and stylesheets
Design to W3C AA compliance
WP Symposium drawbacks?
Still new – teething problems
buddypress much bigger and robust – good for larger networks
Symposium less extendable for developers – good for non developers
New plugins being developed – media libraries in April/May this year
Ongoing work
Web accessibility testing
Add more resources
Get people engaging online!
• Twitter updates• Email members for updates/reminders• Regular forum posts and ‘hot topics’• Encourage non-members to join
Feedback so far
“I am thrilled that you have made a site for parents to chat with one another, I live on kangaroo Island (SA) and it is hard to keep in touch with anyone, let alone meet parents with similar problems and challenges as ourselves”.
Feedback so far
“Thank you for giving us the opportunity to meet some other parents in similar situations and providing what I felt was the missing link in the care of my daughter, somewhere to get accurate helpful information, meet others, and to be kept updated on relevant issues from a reputable website. Well done!”
Feedback so far
“I am mother to an almost 4 year old who is vision impaired, and do feel that more of a parent network is needed desperately. The work by RIDBC, Guide Dogs and Vision Australia is wonderful.. but only another parent truly understands. I would really love to join the online forum, could you please let me know when it's up and running?”
Finally
A useful resource that will go some way towards bringing families closer together through sharing of experiences and knowledge within the VI community.
Contact
Dr Teresa Williamson Curriculum Media Designer
RIDBC Renwick Centre
Questions