Issue For April 21, 2005
UPDATE: OWL Redesign & Purdue OWL News
Dear Purdue OWL News Readers,
This is an exciting and busy time for the Purdue OWL. I have been working long hours to produce a custom Content Management System (CMS) for the new version of the Purdue OWL. (If you haven't seen the new Writing Lab portion of our site, which is concerned with services available only on Purdue's West Lafayette campus, check out http://owl.english.purdue.edu/writinglab/). We have a growing number of Writing Lab staff who are currently revising the content on the current OWL pages, and we're hoping by mid-summer to have a functional version of the new OWL. Once the bulk of our current content is revised, the stage is set for an explosion of new content that will be more accessible and user-friendly than ever before.
Some of the planned features of the new OWL at Purdue will include:
- A new customization service called MyOWL, which will allow registered users to save links to favorite resources, which appear in a special area for easy access and reference.
- An easier, form-based system for requesting use of OWL materials and for telling us about links to our pages.
- An extension of MyOWL for instructors, which will allow instructors to create custom resource pages for their classes; instructors will even be able to leave comments and instructions for students, and create a list of materials specifically tailored to their needs.
- Rich-media versions of our PowerPoint workshops, in which you can hear a Purdue Writing Lab tutor give the spoken counterpart to our PowerPoints (we're revising those, too).
- Powerful, on-database searching that will provide far more accurate search results than the current site search engine.
In addition to these OWL features, we're also going to be making changes to the way Purdue OWL News is produced. Specifically, the Purdue OWL News will take advantage of the new Website, where it will be easier than ever for our readers to respond to questions, submit questions of their own, and otherwise be involved; we're also looking to revise our format, and increase the participation in the editing and production of Purdue OWL News. And for our blogger friends out there, Yes, there will be a Purdue OWL News RSS Feed!
Unfortunately, this is all going to take a bit more time to complete; and until the system is in place, there will be no Purdue OWL News (as there hasn't been all this semester). A big Thank-you to our many readers who have written to inquire as to what's happened to their subscriptions; rest assured that we at the Purdue OWL are working harder than ever to bring you the best free writing help on the Web, and that the Purdue OWL News will return in a better form than ever this August. Watch your email.
Enjoy your summer,
Karl Stolley
Purdue OWL Webmaster
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/writinglab/email/webmaster
Thanks for reading our newsletter. You can contact the OWL webmaster, Karl Stolley, using the form at http://owl.english.purdue.edu/writinglab/email/webmaster; OWL Coordinator Chris Berry can be reached via http://owl.english.purdue.edu/writinglab/email/owlcoord.
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