HighEdWeb Advances Web Professionals and Standards in Higher Education
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An address to share the state of the profession and of the Higher Education Web Professionals Association, as delivered by HighEdWeb President Colleen Brennan-Barry on October 18, 2016.
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HighEdWeb Advances Web Professionals and Standards in Higher Education
- 2. HighEdWeb strives to advance Web professionals, technologies and standards in higher education.
- 3. Image courtesy Wikimedia.org is a wish your heart makes.
- 4. Image courtesy HighEdWeb it’s all about
- 6. means joining our to do the that needs done. Arms to hold us up when we falter. A circle of . Someplace where we can be free to try. - Starhawk
- 7. Image courtesy Wikimedia.org that toolbox
- 9. Image courtesy Wikimedia.org the missing bits
- 11. Image courtesy Wikimedia.org in your own backyard
- 13. Image courtesy netopsummercamp.com you’re never too old for
- 14. Image courtesy scilogs.com taking time for a
- 15. Image courtesy commons.wikimedia.org (remember when this thing meant “number?”)
- 19. Image courtesy static.englishdictionary.education oh the you’ll go
- 27. @highedweb.org
Editor's Notes
- Good afternoon! I’m glad to be here with you today, to talk to you a bit about HighEdWeb.
- The HighEdWeb Association mission is to advance web professionals, technologies and standards in higher education.
- I love a mission statement, don’t you? So official. I think a lot about that mission statement. I think about it, as the president of HighEdWeb. I think about it as a working, real-life higher ed web professional. And I wonder the same thing I wonder about most mission statements: What does it MEAN? I believe that the job of HighEdWeb, the reason we exist as an Association, is to support, inspire and connect the smart, dedicated, innovative humans who are creating a better web, every day, for millions of people around the world. What you do is important. What you do supports the future of our institutions. What you do supports the future of our profession.
- And so HighEdWeb exists to support the future of YOU. Your Board met on retreat this past spring to talk, for several intensive days, about how we can continue to improve that support. First, we realized that to have a healthy community, you have to have a healthy Association. So we spent time on administration. Many of you know the history of HighEdWeb. You know that we started as a few small groups of web pros — a handful of developers meeting in Indiana and a few web folks in NY — who eventually came together to form the beginnings of the non-profit group we know today. And as we’ve grown, so too has the need for structure and support. This past year, the Board & volunteers have worked to update a number of our working processes to better assure the stability and future of HighEdWeb. This includes things like overhauling our financial processes and documentation; re-considering and revising our Code of Conduct statement to be more inclusive and reflect the welcoming, respectful ethos of our community; and revising our Association Bylaws to formalize important administrative points such as expectations around Board service, term lengths, and voting processes. And then, as we met together, the Board also worked on really thinking through what it means to be a member and part of HighEdWeb. Membership, as a thing, is nice. It looks great on a resume — which is no small thing when you work in an environment that heavily values titles and credentials. But a core value of being a HighEdWeb Member — which you all are, as part of your attendance here at HighEdWeb 2016 — is connection.
- Through membership, we are dedicated to creating opportunities for you to freely connect with other HighEdWebbers. We believe that the strength of a community — OUR community, THIS community — is that we welcome everyone, from all areas and specialities and institutions and professional backgrounds.
- Through membership, we want to reflect that you are a part of something greater. We embrace one another’s differences, we respect one another’s skill sets, we value one another as professionals, and as humans. This is a place of inclusion. There is a place for you. If you work on the web in higher ed, you are welcome here. You belong.
- Of course, one cannot build the web with community alone — and so we also want provide real tools, data, resources that will help you succeed. We want to help you keep growing as a professional.
- Tools like LINK online journal. As many of you know, the LINK staff and volunteers are here this week live-blogging sessions as we go. This caps a great 2016, when LINK published articles on content, web tools, social algorithms and — a bit of favorite — a great article on the really smart and somewhat hysterical Bangor Maine Police Facebook account. If you don’t know that account, go read the article and check them out. It’s a great example of how LINK is always looking to help us make connections, in many spaces, inside higher ed and out. Huge thanks to the staff of LINK for making that possible.
- And HighEdWeb is always looking to help you make connections, across communities and organizations. One way we’re looking to do that is to partner with other groups working in web, digital and higher ed who have a shared vision. When we partner with an org, it does not mean the we merge but that that means we support one another and share resources, connections and information to benefit all of our members. You could think of it as helping you pull together more of the pieces of your professional puzzle.
- Or you could, you know, think of these partnerships the way we think of them. However you look at it, we’re stronger together, and we’re really exited to announce our first formal partnership is with our great friends at WPCampus, who provide a wealth of knowledge for anyone who’s interested in using WordPress in higher ed. There’s a lot going on with WPCampus, including their first virtual conference this January, so be sure to learn more.
- Of course, we have some events of our own that we’re looking forward to in this next year. Our Regional events were created to bring affordable, smaller, easy-to-attend learning opportunities right to you, across many regions throughout the year. As we’ve grown into our Regionals program, we’ve talked to members and considered our original goals. It became clear that to stay true to our commitment to supporting ALL of higher education web pros, we needed to find some ways to reach even more folks, with more frequency, less cost, greater geographic range, and increased flexibility. To do that, in 2017 we’re going to pilot a new model for HighEdWeb Regional events. Regional events are going to be structured less as small multi-day conferences, and more as extended learning meetups. Each event will be just three or four hours long, with time for both networking and a strong learning opportunity — a speaker or two, a panel, lightning talks. This revised format will lighten the burden of complex event planning on our Regional volunteers, and we’re hoping that will mean more events hosted in more regions, so more folks can take the time to learn and connect with colleagues in their area.
- And speaking of events, there’s this little set of things we have going on this week. This is one of the best weeks of the year, bar none. There is nothing quite like HighEdWeb Annual Conference, and HighEdWeb Academies. For those who might not be familiar with the Academies, these are a more intensive set of three cohorts, in Integrated Marketing, Leadership and Technology, that start the week with two days of diving in, exploring deeply, and learning advanced techniques. Members of the Academies learn not only from other higher ed leaders but also professionals from companies like Facebook and Google. If you’ve not attended an Academy, it’s an incredible way to hone focused skills, and I want to thank co-chairs Sara Clark and Cheryl McKay for their work to make these happen.
- “Geek Camp” is a term I’ve heard a number of times this week. And I’m not going to lie — one of the reasons I love the Annual Conference is that it’s just FUN. It’s fun to see old friends and make new. It’s great to attend cool events each day. It’s a blast to not sleep enough, to eat great food that I do not have to cook, and to laugh until I lose my voice.
- And it’s FUN to see, first hand, what some of the great minds of our industry are doing. Here we get to share a joy in talking about the Web, and learning about the Web, and dreaming about the web. At HighEdWeb we want you to recharge and get a refill of inspiration to boost you as you do great work.
- And there is a LOT to fill up with. In 2016 there are: 75+ presentations 100+ presenters 2 keynote presentations 25+ vendor partners 700+ Moon Pies ordered
- And, by request: 70+ lbs of bacon We want only the best ingredients for you, and for our Annual Conference. Literally 1000s hours from dozens of volunteers go into the recipe for HighEdWeb Conference, created completely BY and FOR higher ed web pros. I want to take this chance to thank our 2016 conference leader, Tonya Oaks Smith, vice leader Sven Aas and the whole conference and program committees for their dedication to creating this incredible experience. In the earliest days of Annual Conference planning we begin with city and site selection, using certain criteria. Among other things, we consider proximity to colleges and universities so we can reach a critical mass of web pros. We think about the personality of the city and how it fits with all of you. And — and this is a biggie — we consider affordability, both for the Association and, critically, for attendees. Are travel and food prices reasonable? Will the hotel cost be within the majority of professional development budgets?
- So. #heweb17.
- In 2017, we are doing a Thing. And we’re pretty excited.
- We hope you will be, too. And that you’ll join us as we go someplace we’ve never, as an Annual Conference, been.
- As you probably know, the HighEdWeb Annual Conference travels the US on a very set rotation of regions. In 2016 we’re obviously visiting the Southern region. I know that because the words “Y’all” and “Bless their hearts” are now a very real part of my vocabulary — and I’m from NY. We just don’t say that.
- For 2017 we’re scheduled to go into the Northeast — so we asked ourselves, North. East. October.
- Our minds turned, naturally, to thoughts of fall, and crunching leaves, and apples and maple syrup and brilliant fall colors.
- Someplace with a sense of time, a deep history, and a rich culture to be uncovered.
- And yet, a place that is deeply modern, with a strong connection to business and technology. And a great, state-of-the-art venue that will be an ideal setting for us to address the big questions of our profession.
- And so we’re really pleased to share with you that in 2017 we will be doing fall in a traditional style, with a HighEdWeb twist: HighEdWeb is going to Hartford, CT. New England folks, we appreciate your hospitality in advance. Please begin stockpiling your cider and other local delicacies accordingly.
- I’m pleased to report, overall, that the state of the Association is a healthy and growing one. If any of that excites you, I’d like to share that we’d LOVE for you to get involved. Host a regional event, work on membership, even consider Board service — there're opportunities for every fit.
- On a personal note, I can only tell you that being a part of HighEdWeb has been an incredible force for good, for me as a professional and as a human. When I came into HighEdWeb I was very new. The WEB was still a bit new to most people. My position — “Web Content Creator” — was the first of its kind for my college, and no one knew what that meant or what I should be doing. I had just moved into higher education from working from a pharmaceutical research group. Spoiler: working in higher ed was nothing like working for pharma. I knew pretty much no one & nothing when I walked into my first Annual Conference. I was a lot nervous, and a little intimidated. And then I went to a session with Stephanie Leary about WordPressMU. I knew very little about what she was talking about but I was interested, and she was gracious. She took a great deal of time to talk with me after her presentation to answer all of my questions. And here’s the part that changed me forever: I mentioned I really liked a very specialized feature she had implemented and Stephanie said, easily, simply “Oh, no problem. I built that. I’ll send you the code. Let me give it to you.” Let me give it to you. That generosity floored me, but that collegiality is the norm at HighEdWeb. I may have come in new and nervous, but I left with the real knowledge that I had found my home. And that’s what I wish for each of you. This week marks my 10th HighEdWeb Annual Conference. And I can honestly say that I have never been more proud to be a part of this community and Association. I watched, in these years, our profession change and evolve at a breathtaking rate. I have met wonderful humans from across the country, and the world. I have built relationships in virtual spaces, and cemented them forever over late night conversations and too much barbecue. I have seen you all do so much, rocket the web and digital in higher education forward, often in adverse conditions and with limited resources, and yet with incredible grace, and humor, and kindness. It is one of the great honors of my life to be here, and to be a part of you. Thank you for all you do, for being who and what you are, and for letting us work to support you. You are incredible. You are the heart of our profession. You are the future. You are, truly, HighEdWeb.
- Thank you.