Adding Third Party Applications

Google Calendars

Let's add a Google Calendar to your website for EVENTS. To see what an embedded calendar looks like in a webpage:
http://www.mesacc.edu/about/ia/staff/trisha_brazda.html

I especially like this calendar because I can edit it from any location and the changes are shown immediately on the website.

To do this you will need to sign up for a Gmail account. If you already have one I would suggest getting another one with which you can send emails regarding school business to keep those "official" emails seperate from your personal email.

Go to http://www.google.com and click on Gmail in the top left menu. I would choose a username like mccnameofdepartment@gmail.com or mccstudenthelp@gmail.com - something that would differentiate it from your personal.

Picasa Photo Galleries

Once you have a Gmail account you can also sign up for Picasa which is an online photo storage and display area. I use Picasa to post photos of stuff I want to share with my friends and family - you can post photos of interest to students showing class projects, field trips, events - that sort of thing.

When you create a Picasa gallery you can either place the link on the webpage or embed the slideshow directly into the pages. I have embedded a slideshow on this page. These are photos posted on my Picasa site. The Music Department has a huge number of galleries on their department's Picasa site which are linked not embedded. See what the linked galleries look like: http://www.mc.maricopa.edu/dept/d28/. Click on Galleries in the leftside menu.

Facebook

Many departments, committees, and groups are adding a Facebook page to connect with their visitors. Facebook sites are a more robust way of social networking that allows your changes, additions or observations to be immediately reflected on your page. Any "friends" or "fans" can be notified when these changes occur so they do not miss out on anything new or exciting.

If your Facebook page is going to be used for official college business (Recycling & Sustainability, or Mesa Community College as examples) please consider the name and branding of the site so it is readily identifiable as an MCC facebook page. The email contact for these sites should be a service email account or a non-personal email dedicated to the contact and access of your Facebook page.

If you need help in setting up a Facebook page - just let us know.

Twitter

So what's a Twitter? And why do you need one?

Here is Twitter's explanation of the social communications phenomenon they have become:
"Twitter is a real-time information network powered by people all around the world that lets you share and discover what’s happening now."   Visit the Twitter "about" page to explore and learn more.

The same cautions regarding Facebook are applied to Twitter or any other social networking tool. Be aware of the College's reputation and how we are perceived in the community when choosing a name and posting tweets. Keep access information private and use a service email account.

Check out a couple of MCC based Twitter pages: MCCRecycle, or MCC's site. Ask us if you need help or more information.

Just a few more ways to connect with your website visitors. If you need help with any of this - let us know!