By David Teisler, CAE
I love technology, not the coding and back-end stuff, but the front-end stuff made possible by all that back-end stuff. And it was the front end that was on display at NYSAE's April 20th Technology Summit at the University Club.
Presenters were past winners of NYSAE’s Synergy Awards, who addressed what improvements they've made to their sites, which had already been recognized as top tier.
Technology Summit Panel (starting from the left) Raphael Badagliacca, Advanced Solutions International; Bill Valentine, Director of IT and Digital Communications, American Guild of Organists; Crista Earl, Director of Web Services, American Foundation for the Blind; Iana Aranda, Director of E4C Programs Engineering For Change; Adam Hoftater; David Teisler, CAE, Director of Communications and Deputy Executive Director, Association for Behavioral and Cognitive TherapiesIana Aranda, Director of E4C Programs, Engineering For Change (recipient of NYSAE’s 2014 Outstanding Information Technology Leadership), stressed sharing and integration as she showcased various aspects of her site. When I signed into her site (www.engineeringforchange.org), I found one of the driving principles in evidence. Said Aranda, "You can customize your E4C experience simply by signing in. The more content you engage with, the more relevant we can make it for you!" In essence, the more you share, the more you get back. E4C's mission is to harness the cooperative spirit of individuals and companies to create practical and inexpensive solutions that can be implemented in poor areas, where they are needed. One simple solution I found interesting was clean dung-burning stoves.
Crista Earl, Director of Web Services, American Foundation for the Blind (recipient of NYSAE’s 2012 Outstanding Information Technology Leadership), shared the dais with Iana, and talked about the many accommodations that computers and tablets now offer, which make life easier for the sight-impaired. Some were extraordinarily simple, such as reversing type and background from, for example, black on white to yellow on black, which increases contrast (yellow bleeds and expands), while others are far more complex, such as Braille-enabled tablets.
Bill Valentine, Director of IT and Digital Communications, American Guild of Organists (recipient of NYSAE’s 2015 Digital Excellence Award), urged attendees to make sure to give their viewers what they want. After tracking time spent and usage by web visitors, for example, he learned they visit his site (www.agohq.org) primarily for jobs. Please be sure to visit the page of instruction for organ techniques where you will be bathed in Bach and Brahms; there’s nothing better.
We finished with David Teisler, CAE, Director of Communications and Deputy Executive Director, Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies (recipient of NYSAE’s 2012 Digital Excellence Award), and Vice Chair of NYSAE’s Technology Committee, who provided a case study on changing the focus of a site from audience-centered to one focused on answering questions. Visit www.abct.org. Please see the accompanying article for details.
Raphael Badagliacca, Advanced Solutions International and a member of NYSAE’s Technology Committee, was an unusually engaging and entertaining Technology Summit moderator, no more so than when he attempted to revive an attendee who had gone into shock after being removed from the stimulation of FaceBook and UTube. (Read Raphael’s posting on LinkedIn
After the individual sessions, the speakers were joined by Adam Hostetter, Practice Lead Design & Development, American Technology Services, who answered questions from attendees. Highlights included the recommendation to not be afraid to get out there, even if that means losing control, to share with other organizations and cross-pollinate, and to think as if there were no box at all.
2016 NYSAE Technology Summit and the Synergy Awards Luncheon Gallery
David Teisler, CAE, is Director of Communications and Deputy Executive Director, Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, and Vice Chair of NYSAE’s Technology Committee. He can be reached at 212-647-1890 or teisler@abct.org.