October 6, 2006 Source: :
http://www.uoguelph.ca/mediarel/2006/10/u_of_gs_new_web.html 'My Portico,' U of G's New Web
Portal, Now Available to Campus
Community Painting
the cannon has taken on a whole new meaning now that the University's
long-awaited web portal is up and running. MyPortico (as U of G's virtual
doorway is called) is loaded with features that can make you more efficient,
add some fun to your day and perhaps even surprise you. Project manager Gerrit Bos of Computing and Communications Services (CCS)
says a number of students and staff have already tried their hand at
painting the site's virtual cannon. He encourages people to log in at
myportico.uoguelph.ca (it's may also be accessed via the University's
homepage) and have a look around. If you do, you may be surprised at how
handy your online life could be, says Bos. Everyone with a U of G central login account can use MyPortico. Type your
password and you'll be greeted by pages of web resources pre-configured for
you depending on whether you're a faculty member, staff member or student.
If you'd like a different experience, you can create your own pages to
customize MyPortico. That's what a portal is all about, says Bos. "You can
build an environment that suits your personal needs and preferences." Prof. Susan Brown, English and Theatre Studies, is an early user of
MyPortico. She chaired an arm's-length evaluation committee that concluded
most people in the University community will use the portal regularly. Her
committee judged the most welcome feature of MyPortico to be the single
sign-on access point for all U of G online resources. They predict that
users, particularly new students, will also appreciate the personalized
welcome to MyPortico, the opportunity to customize a portal login and the
briefcase function that lets you save, share and access files more easily. It was the desire to engage students that led to the selection of MyPortico
as the name for Guelph's portal. High school applicants will begin their
relationship with the University through MyPortico and will continue to use
the portal throughout their studies and the transition to alumni status,
when they will begin to receive The Portico alumni magazine. The name "MyPortico" symbolizes the campus connection through the
architectural portico sitting on Johnston Green, but it also speaks to the
functionality of a web portal as a one-stop online information destination. Portals are becoming more prominent on university campuses because of the
complex information environment, says chief information officer Michael
Ridley, who spearheaded the development of Guelph's portal. "Users need to
engage all of that, whether it's courses online or registration or something
from the library," he says. "With MyPortico, you don't have to know which
website to go to and which part of the site a particular piece of
information is located on. The portal pushes information to you that's
relevant to you, rather than you having to go find it." The portal gives students access to several resources they didn't have
previously, including the briefcase, a personal calendar that pops up
reminders of meetings and classes and new ways to share information and chat
with friends through online forums. Not just students, but any group of MyPortico users can form a forum
discussion group or use the portal to allow others to access their weblogs.
MyPortico can already access blogs by Ridley and president Alastair
Summerlee, as well as a variety of Canadian and international news services
and campus news and events. Ridley led the drive to develop a U of G portal with co-sponsorship from the
U of G Library and CCS. Advisory, management, implementation and evaluation
committees drew people from across campus, he says. "We're proud of the
content available in the first release of MyPortico and excited about its
potential. Over time, MyPortico will offer an increasingly wide range of
information resources and tools for faculty, staff, students and other
members of the U of G community." Bos says one of the most important links is the feedback button you can use
to comment on the portal. "This is very much an ongoing project," he says.
"We want users to continue to tell us how MyPortico helps them with their
work and what improvements would make it easier for them to accomplish the
things they need to do online."
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