HighEdWeb 2018 pre- and post-conference workshops are half-day classes that let you explore a topic more deeply, with the expert guidance of an industry pro. Workshops are $175 for one or $250 for two.
See our below list of workshops and register today.
Pre-conference workshops: Sunday, October 21, 1-4:30 p.m.
Post-conference workshops: Wednesday, October 24, 1-4:30 p.m.
Pre-Conference Workshops
The Generational Workshop … Exploring the iGeneration and Late-Millennials
Douglas Tschopp, Augustana College
This top rated session becomes a workshop. Technology, life events, socioeconomics, significant events and cultural trends all affect us as we grow up. We will explore these factors and learn how they shape generations. With a focus on current research on the iGeneration (GenZ) and Late-Millennials, the workshop will present a tool set that will help shape your communication strategies.
From Strategic Plan to Content Strategy
Alaina Wiens, Flint & Genesee Chamber of Commerce
You want to do things right. You feel like the Lorax, speaking for the strategy while people demand more and more home page and social media real estate. Tragically, passion doesn’t always equal productivity when it comes to the web. You may not have the authority or budget say-so to make things happen, but you do have the tools you need to make your case. You’ll find them in those dusty binders labeled “strategic plan”—even in the mission statements you fight to keep off your website. And when you use these tools effectively, your work will be all the better for it.
This workshop explores the value of your organization’s strategic plan in your content strategy. Using real higher ed examples, we will:
- Unpack strategic planning documents
- Identify content problems and solutions
- Make business cases for new ideas or approaches
- Apply vision and values to content problems
Web Governance Starter Kit
Shelley Keith, Modern Tribe
“Governance” sounds like work. Like bureaucracy. Like “no”. It doesn’t have to be this way.
Governance is most effective when it looks like help and sounds like “yes”. Governance should be empowering, enlightening, supportive of goals, and flexible enough to allow innovation. But where do you start? How do you go from the wild wild west to cozy compliance when resources are tight and people are overtasked? In this workshop we’ll talk about starting where you are – chaos in the content, stakeholder struggles, buy-in bellyaches – to build a non-invasive governance environment where stakeholder wish-lists and attainable goals are shaped into best practices and reasons to continuously improve together. Together we’ll walk through frameworks, tasks, and training to help guide your stakeholders away from being people who put stuff on the website and toward being stewards of a mission critical institutional resource.
Goals and Goal Values: A Google Analytics Deep Dive
Alan Etkin, British Columbia Institute of Technology
Monetizing Google Analytics goals unlocks a level of insight that will help you understand which web features and user behaviors are contributing value to the business of your institution. This workshop will help you: 1) identify which goals to track, and explore various techniques for tracking them; 2) detail how to calculate goal values, for both simple and complex conversion events; and 3) provide examples of how to use goal values in your reporting and analysis. To get the most out of this hands-on workshop, you’ll need familiarity with Google Analytics, access to your institute’s GA account, and an understanding of the business of your college. Ideally, come as a team, with a developer and someone from marketing.
Post-Conference Workshops
Copy That! Crafting Ad Copy, Headlines, and Other Content That ‘Clicks’ with Your Audience
Donna Talarico, Hippocampus Magazine
Copy is an important element of what we do in higher ed web and marketing, from the headline to the call-to-action button. Yet, sometimes these words feel like an afterthought. This hands-on copywriting crash course will put those clever and compelling words and sentences front and center. We’ll break down the basics of copywriting, show you some techniques, and allow you to put some ideas into action. Whether you’re looking to create urgency with a display or social ad, or want to liven up your viewbook and postcards with punchy vibrant copy, this workshop will help. Be prepared to flex your writing muscles and, perhaps, bring along a work-in-progress. This workshop is ideal for beginners, but anyone with a hand in creating or editing copy will benefit from this generative session.
Marketing and Engagement Campaigns: Your Strategic Roadmap
Ashley Budd, Cornell University
If you work in higher education, you’re almost always in a campaign. You spend your days growing communities, raising awareness, attracting prospective students, and soliciting donor dollars. Mapping campaign plans help lay the foundation for your content strategy.
In this workshop, you’ll learn the elements of strong marketing and engagement campaigns. Then, take advantage of this time to design your campaign roadmap. Strategies used in this workshop support collaboration and guide content strategy.
If you’re ready to tackle your next big campaign, join this workshop and leave with a roadmap to:
- Raise awareness
- Cultivate audience participation
- Drive engagement
- Support retention
Modern CSS Layouts
Erik Runyon, University of Notre Dame
The web has moved through several phases of layout over the years. Absolute positioning, table-based layout (and the mighty spacer gif), and floats. Well now we finally have the specifications that were created specifically for layout. During this presentation we will dive into Flexbox and Grid. We will discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each, and where and how you should use them. We’ll also look at some layout patterns common in highered, and how to re-create them using Flexbox and Grid.
Campus Web Services and the Publishing Principle of Least Effort
Rachel Cherry, WPCampus
We all know what it’s like to manage the web in higher education. You have a lot of information to publish, and keep up-to-date, with limited time and resources. If your web ecosystem is disorganized, your job becomes harder as you struggle to provide support and ensure unified and fresh messaging. Not to mention the College of Arts and Sciences website can’t be updated because their web developer left and no one knows Coldfusion.
Join me to discuss the service challenges we all face as web professionals in a university setting. Learn how to maximize communication and support with the least amount of duplicated effort.