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Depending
on your comfort level with computers and technology in general learning
and working with something like Joomla can be challenge. But as long as
you have an interest and an open mind it's amazing what can be
achieved. The following provides an interesting perspective about a self
described "technically
challenged" Administrative
Coordinator learning and working with Joomla.
Becoming a
Website Administrator
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Could
you tell us a little about yourself?
My
name is Shelleena Thornton and I am Coordinator to the CAO for the Town
of Windsor.
We, my husband, two daughters and me
moved from BC five years ago. Prior to our move to Nova Scotia, I only
had about 4 years administration experience; before that I was a
drilling foreman in the Specialized Workers' Union.
I work
full-time, am taking courses part-time and live at the ice rink, soccer
field, or gym courts the rest of my time.
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How
would you describe your comfort level with technology?
Ha Ha Ha, I am technologically
challenged. I know my way around computer software programs; to me,
they're all easy enough to figure out. But as for the "behind-the-scenes" stuff to make it all work; no way.
In other words, I have NO comfort level; at home I'm still trying to
figure out how to use our universal remote to switch from HDTV to DVD.
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What were you thinking when you were
asked to maintain Windsor's website using the content management system,
Joomla?
My first thought, "you've got to be kidding," then I kept trying to recall where
in my resume or interview process I claimed to know how to do this sort
of thing.
In all honesty, at first, I was
not that impressed…it definitely put me out of my comfort zone. I had
never done anything remotely close to updating websites; my thought was;
that's what IT people are for.
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How
did you find the training sessions?
I
found the training sessions very difficult at first (and now, looking
back, it's because I had "my
back up." I was intimidated;
therefore, I don't think I wanted it to be easy, nor did I want to
understand).
The best thing about the training
session is that it was hands-on; I'm a hands-on person, especially if it
pertains to something that I know nothing about.
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What
was easy or difficult to do when you started using Joomla?
Easy…well, I'd have to say working
in Joomla from the "front-end" that I seemed to grasp on to fairly
quickly. I also found it easy to put events on our calendar; but only
from the front-end.
Now, for those reading this and
not familiar with Joomla yet; you're probably thinking, HUH; what is the
front-end - - - oops sorry; but trust me, it'll all be clear after a
training session.
Difficult…well, that would have
to be the terminology. Me …I'm a say-it-like-ya-see-it person. For
example, if I wanted to upload a document, I'm all for a visual of the
words, "upload a document" so I really struggled with the
terminology process of "components", "DOCman", etc., etc.
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Now
that it's been over a month since you've became the municipal
webmaster, how have things changed?
It's
EASY & FUN. I was so stressed
out about "messing" up the website and doing something
wrong. The one key thing I had to remember was that if I messed
something up, Les could fix it - - - so that kept me somewhat stress
free and it gave me the opportunity to "play
around" with the website; which
really helped me learn quite quickly. (By the way, the Tutorials helped
a lot).
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What
advice would you give to municipal administrators starting in Joomla?
Keep an open-mind, practice & experiment (especially using the
Tutorials), and when in doubt, get clarity from Les. Don't be afraid of
the computer, after all, it only does what YOU tell it to (and if you
mess-up, it's okay, no one has to see it - - that's what "unpublish"
is for).
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Could
you say a few things about Windsor's new website and the kind of
feedback it has received?
The
feedback has been remarkable. Everyone is commenting on how appealing
and user-friendly it is.
Our CAO had a vision as to how
it should physically look, while I, being technologically illiterate,
envisioned what someone like me would like to see while trying to
navigate through a website; literally, a website for dummies approach.
Because nothing was "obvious" to me, I took the step-by-step
approach to our website and the feedback has been VERY positive.
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How has Windsor benefited by becoming a
partner of the Municipal Website Venture?
It
has the advantage of deploying new website technology….and now, for the
installation of the upgrade module - - - -AHHHHHHHHHH !!
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Are there any plans in place for
Windsor's website?
Yes…
- the upgrade module (allows
more interactive communications with our citizens)
- intranet
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