LAPS Website Status Report

1. LAPS Website Status Report Date Range: July-December 2007 Prepared by: Jaime Kephart, LAPS Website Director January, 2008

2. History & Purpose During the 2006-2007 SY, LAPS began to transition to a new website content management system (CMS )powered and hosted by the company Schoolwires. The new site launched in July 2007. To measure the effectiveness of this website, a status report will be generated on regular basis using data collected through stakeholder surveys, website analytics, and visitor feedback. Subsequent reports will be generated at the end of each school year. This is the first of the status reports and will serve as a baseline by which future progress is measured. Because there is no previous basis for comparison, the data contained in this report is intended only to guide the website team’s improvement efforts and does not reflect shortcomings or deficiencies on the part of any school or individual. This is a district-wide report meaning that much of the data is not broken down by school. Administrators and webmasters interested in obtaining site-specific data not provided here are encouraged to contact the District Website Director at lapsweb@laschools.net to set up a time to meet.

3. Analytics “Web Analytics is the measurement, collection, Analysis and reporting of Internet data for the purposes of understanding and optimizing Web usage” Official Web Analytics Association Definition • LAPS Uses Web Analytics to… • Verify usage and popularity of our sites • Understand visitor traffic patterns • Develop navigation and layout based on popular content • Optimize sites based on visitor platform and browser use

4. AnalyticsUnderstanding Web Analytic Reports • Analytics provide an excellent overview of website use and traffic. • Many factors can affect the actual number and types of visits reported. • Browser cookie settings • Browser refresh/reload settings • Default home pages on school browsers set to our site • Links to our site from referral sites • LAPS websites are used primarily for communication and not for e-commerce. Therefore, visitor traffic patterns considered desirable for a consumer website may not apply to a non-profit organization. • The true value of web analytics is realized through long term trending. • This report provides only a very small portion of data available. If you would like more detailed data or would like to learn more about interpreting analytic reports, contact the District Website Director at lapsweb@laschools.net. Webmasters can get access to view their school’s data on-line using a Google account.

5. AnalyticsUnderstanding Web Analytic Reports: Definitions Visits The number of visits your site receives is the most basic measure of how effectively you promote your site. Pageviews A pageview is an instance of a page being loaded by a browser. Pages/Visits Average number of pageviews per visit. Bounce Rate Bounce rate is the percentage of single-page visits or visits in which the person left your site from the entrance (landing) page. Average Time On Site Average amount of time a visitor spends on a site before leaving. New Visits New visitors to the site.

6. AnalyticsStatCounter: District-Wide Traffic From July to October 2007, LAPS used the program “StatCounter” provided by Schoolwires. Because the reports could not be separated by school, we switched to “Google Analytics”. Google Analytics was being tested on the LAHS and District sites during this period, therefore, their traffic is not reflected here. July-October 2007

7. AnalyticsStatCounter: Popular Pages July-October 2007

8. AnalyticsGoogle Analytics • LAPS has used the free Google Analytics program from October 2007 to the present. This report provides the following data: • Visits • Pageviews • Pages/Visits • Bounce Rate • Average time on site • Top Content • Most Used Browser/OS Combination • Network Locations • More data is available upon request. Please contact lapsweb@laschools.net

9. AnalyticsGoogle Analytics: Visits October - December 2007

10. AnalyticsGoogle Analytics: Visits (Cont.) October - December 2007

11. AnalyticsGoogle Analytics: Top Content District-Wide October - December 2007

12. AnalyticsGoogle Analytics: Browser/Platform Combination October - December 2007 Top 4 Combinations

13. AnalyticsGoogle Analytics: Platform/Operating System October - December 2007 PC vs. Mac

14. AnalyticsGoogle Analytics: Platform/Operating System (Cont.) October - December 2007 Top PC OS Combinations

15. AnalyticsGoogle Analytics: Platform/Operating System (Cont.) October - December 2007 Top Mac OS Combination

16. AnalyticsSummary • The majority of visitors are looking for teacher pages or information. • There is an almost equal distribution of Mac/Firefox users vs. Windows/IE users. • Our LAMS and elementary school visitors are primarily Mac/Firefox users while our LAHS and District Office visitors are primarily Windows/IE users. • Most of our PC audience is still using Windows XP rather than Vista. • Most of our Mac audience is still using OS 10.0-10.3

17. Time Requirements How much time are Webmasters spending on website related activities?

18. Time Requirements * Based on Webmaster submissions to the Website Status Report Survey - December 2007.

19. Time RequirementsSummary • On average, approximately 33% of the time Webmasters spend working on the website is spent helping other staff. • District-wide it takes Webmasters no less than 92 man hours/week to maintain the website at the current level. • The district office, LAHS, and LAMS sites require a significantly higher amount of time to maintain at approximately 73% of the total required maintenance time.

20. Technical Problems What kind of technical problems have been identified?

21. Technical ProblemsMost Frequent Problems Experienced by Webmasters Other: CMS system messages are often blocked by LAPS e-mail filter. * Based on Webmaster submissions to the Website Status Report Survey - December 2007.

22. Technical ProblemsWebmaster Editing/Access Problems Between August and December 2007, how many times have problems with the LAPS or school network or problems originating from Schoolwires prevented Webmasters from updating the site? Which platform/browser combinations are Webmasters using to edit the site and is there a combination that seems to experience more problems? • Of the 11 respondents… • 7 - Mac/OSX/Firefox • 3 - PC/XP/Internet Explorer • 1 - PC/XP/Firefox Problem With LAPS or School Network (i.e. power outage) 24 times Problem Originating from Schoolwires (i.e. Schoolwires server upgrade made sites inaccessible) 7 times The District Webmaster, who uses both Mac/OS X/Firefox and PC/XP/IE, seems to experience more problems when using Firefox than when using Internet Explorer. However, the other webmasters indicated no such problem. * Based on Webmaster submissions to the Website Status Report Survey - December 2007.

23. Technical ProblemsAuthentication Problems • What kind of authentication problems do Webmasters experience? • Forgotten usernames and passwords • Staff don’t know they must sign in to view restricted content. • Because of e-mail filtering, the District Webmaster is not notified when new users register so staff viewing privileges are not assigned quickly. • Staff using the wrong browser. * Based on Webmaster submissions to the Website Status Report Survey - December 2007.

24. Technical ProblemsSummary • 73% of the Webmasters who responded reported that they lacked sufficient time to effectively maintain the website. • 55% reported that slow loading times were a problem when editing. • 45% reported that they did not feel staff are adequately trained to edit their own sites. • Problems with our own network have affected editing ability more often than problems originating at Schoolwires. • Most of our Webmasters use a Mac/Firefox combination when editing.

25. Using the Website to Its Full Potential Is the website being used to its full potential through the use of available Schoolwires tools and are teachers using this tool to maintain their own classroom sections?

26. Using the Website to Its Full PotentialSchoolwires Tools and Website Accounts Use of Schoolwires Tools District-wide, how many of the following tools are being used? Are visitors registering for website accounts? > Total Registered Users Account - 387 > Registered Staff Users - 280 > 72% of registered users are staff. • Blogs - 12 • E-Alerts - 8 • Forms & Surveys - 8 • Directories (Minibase) - 2 • Photo Gallery - 9 • Pod Casts - 3 • Article Library 6 • Link Library 1 • Maps & Directions 0 * Based on Webmaster submissions to the Website Status Report Survey - December 2007.

27. Using the Website to Its Full PotentialTeacher/Staff Sections Are teachers/staff using this tool to maintain individual website sections? * Based on Webmaster submissions to the Website Status Report Survey - December 2007.

28. Using the Website to Its Full PotentialSummary • The blog tool is currently the most commonly used tool. • Most of our registered users are staff but that only accounts for approximately 33% of our total staff population. • Most of the staff who are maintaining their own sections are doing so without help from the webmasters. • Approximately 37% of the staff maintaining their own website sections are also posting assignments.

29. Training Are we offering website training to webmasters and staff and how effective is that training?

30. TrainingTraining Offered • Between August and December 2007 approximately 20 live classroom or individual training sessions were offered by LAPS trainers. • 15 of those had a registration limit of 6 people. • At least 5 of those sessions were offered during school hours. • The other sessions were offered after school. • On-line registration was offered. • Approximately 50 staff members have received live LAPS Schoolwires WCMS Basic Editing training. • A manual was created to allow advanced users to learn editing basics through self-training. • A website training section was created as a resource for staff to get information about website editing training. • Some of the Webmasters received live Schoolwires Sub-site Director training before • School started in August. The others received individual training from the Site Director or other Aspen Webmaster. • A Webmaster Training & Resources page was created to help new Webmasters learn more about obtaining training.

31. TrainingStaff Feedback Total Respondents 16 * Based on trainee submissions to the Website Training Feedback Survey: August - November 2007.

32. TrainingStaff Feedback (Cont.) Total Respondents 16 * Based on trainee submissions to the Website Training Feedback Survey: August - November 2007.

33. TrainingStaff Feedback - Comments Comments about Trainers: We received 7 positive comments about the trainers and no negative comments. I would recommend this to anyone. And I find Schoolwires very easy to use. After my initial training session, I found that I was able to figure out most things without the manual. I had some problems early on with my account and password not being correct. Other than that I use my website all the time. It looked like it was going to be a much more complex thing than it was. Very simple. Thanks for letting us self-train. If we had to attend a training, I probably would never have gone. The training was great - very easy to follow. I really liked doing the training in my own time and location. * Based on trainee submissions to the Website Training Feedback Survey: August - November 2007.

34. TrainingWebmaster Training - Training Received I had very brief training with Lisa Meitz, and will be training with Jaime Kepart. Attended training session with Collin MacArthur in Spring 2007. Plus some self taught. I was trained at an LAPS training at Central Office last spring. Dean and Colin conducted the training. Trail and error while 'playing' on the sight. 8 Respondents - 4 Primary Webmasters & 4 Secondary Webmasters * Based on Webmaster submissions to the Webmaster Training Needs Survey - September 2007.

35. TrainingWebmaster Training - Additional Training Requested 8 Respondents - 4 Primary Webmasters & 4 Secondary Webmasters * Based on Webmaster submissions to the Webmaster Training Needs Survey: September - 2007.

36. TrainingWebmaster Training - Additional Training Requested I am so new, I'm not sure what I need to be trained on yet. Adding images to homepage A quick general overview of everything. If I see most of it one time, I can figure it out on my own, or with small reminders. There should have been a formal training at least consisting of a few hours on the basics of setting up a website, how to standardize a look and feel of each site, and ultimately how to use the advanced functionality of Schoolwires software. The online tutorials (consisting of videos in a very monotone and dull voice) were not helpful in any capacity. They danced around specific question and were painful to watch. Having a representative from Schoolwires prepare a technical, formal training would have benefited greatly to all webmasters involved in this process. It would be nice to have an information letter, or packet, for new web masters giving resources for training. I had no idea there was live training available! 8 Respondents - 4 Primary Webmasters & 4 Secondary Webmasters * Based on Webmaster submissions to the Webmaster Training Needs Survey: September 2007.

37. TrainingSummary • Approximately 50 staff members have received formal live training. • It is unknown exactly how many have self-trained or received informal training. However, given the total number of 95 staff who are maintaining a site without webmaster assistance, and the 50 staff who have received formal training, it can be assumed that at least 45 have self-trained or been informally trained . • Overall, the majority who attend the live training appear to be satisfied. • Attention could be given to the registration process and the assigning of privileges. • The majority of the webmasters have used Schoolwires User Manuals and Interactive Tutorials for training. • Most of the webmasters would like additional training to create Forms & Surveys and Podcasts. • A more formalized training program for both Webmasters and staff would be very helpful.

38. Support Are staff and webmasters getting the support they need to effectively contribute to the website?

39. SupportSchoolwires Support Does Schoolwires provide adequate tech support? • 53 support cases were submitted by the Website Director between July and December 2007. 100% were addressed. • Of the 53 cases, 10 could not be resolved and were either submitted as feature requests or the product simply does not function in a specific way in which we would like. • Tech support has been consistently helpful, friendly, and professional. • Tech support has consistently made contact within 24 hours of a support case submission. Problem resolution has consistently occurred between 24 and 72 business hours whenever a resolution is possible. • Schoolwires offers many self-help support options to all users through their Community and Support portal. • On-line support request portal for Website Director • Basic interactive tutorials • Resources Directory • Help Cards • User Guides • Job Aids Directory • Community Forum • Tips and Hints Blogs

40. SupportWebmaster Feedback Are Webmasters satisfied with the support they receive from Schoolwires? Total Respondents 11 * Based on Webmaster submissions to the Website Status Report Survey - December 2007.

41. SupportWebmaster Feedback (Cont.) Are Webmasters satisfied with the support they receive from the Website Director? Total Respondents 11 * Based on Webmaster submissions to the Website Status Report Survey - December 2007.

42. SupportSummary • Overall, Schoolwires tech support has been very satisfactory. • Most of the Webmasters have not required tech support directly from Schoolwires, but the majority who have rate their service as “Excellent” or “Good”. • Of the webmasters who have received support from the District Website Director, the majority rate the support as “Excellent” or “Good”. • Some attention could perhaps be given to the Schoolwires support system ease-of-use and communication regarding issues.

43. Visitor Feedback What do visitors think of our site and what can they tell us about our traffic and the effectiveness of our site? Since the new CMS site launched in July 2007, we have received 184 submissions to our on-line contact form and survey.

44. Visitor FeedbackVisitor Type/Accessibility Needs Visitor Type Special Accessibility Needs?

45. Visitor FeedbackSite of Interest Site of Interest

46. Visitor FeedbackReason for Submission Reason for Submission

47. Visitor FeedbackPlatform/OS/Browser/Network Platform/OS/Browser Wireless Network

48. Visitor FeedbackRate the Site Total Respondents 122 (skipped this question ) 62

49. Visitor FeedbackSummary • Parents submit comments/questions more frequently than any other group. • LAMS received the largest number of submissions with LAHS and the District Office receiving the second and third largest respectively. Of the elementary schools, Chamisa receives the most submission. • Visitors use the on-line contact form most frequently when they can’t find information they are looking for. • The Platform/OS/Browser combination visitors report using matches very closely with that which is reported in our analytic reports. • Visitors are connecting nearly equally using a wireless network vs. being hard wired. • Overall, the majority of visitors are pleased with the site. However, we’d like to see satisfaction ratings much higher than 50%-65%.

50. Noteworthy Features The new LAPS websites are already being used in interesting ways either as instructional or communication tools. Here are just a few of the great things our schools are doing.