A New insideND

By Molly Gordon

The Office of Information Technology (OIT) launched an updated insideND on June 8—the first major overhaul of the site in three years. In planning the upgrade, the OIT gathered input from faculty, staff and students, through focus groups and direct feedback.

“During our focus groups, many people highlighted a need for more content, with less clutter and easier-to-find information,” said Jack O’Brien, OIT’s portal manager. “We addressed this with more interactive channels that the user can expand as needed.”

The result is Improved content, organization and functionality, presented in a cleaner, more attractive and user-friendly layout. The Home page features new channels with new content, along with familiar ones from the previous version.

At the top right of the Home page are colorful buttons that lead directly to frequently used applications. Buttons for WebFile, Concourse and OWA (Outlook Web Access) appear alongside Groups, Help, and Logout buttons. At the top left, a Customize button takes you “backstage” to allow virtually unlimited customization of any page, including the ability to add, move, edit or remove a tab, a channel or a column.

The customary tabs still appear across the top of the Home page, but the content of each is more task-based and better organized, so visitors can find resources they need all in one place. Tabs are tailored to an individual’s role at Notre Dame, with channels designed specifically for those roles. Everyone has Home, My Resources, and Campus tabs. Both faculty and administrative staff also have an Administrative Tools tab. Faculty have an Academic tab, while students have Student Academic and Student Life tabs, and if they are freshmen, a First Year of Studies tab.

In addition to Personal Announcements, Quick Links and Directories, the Home tab now features a Group Studio Activity channel where you can quickly view new content in your groups without browsing to each group to view it. You can customize the information you see in the Group Studio Activity Channel to view only specific groups and only specific information within a group.

The Campus tab has a new Event Planning Resources channel with rooms, calendars and contacts for advertising, catering, printing, maps and parking. The ND Restaurants and Cafes channel lists campus restaurants, with specials and menus, and features a 3-D map showing their campus locations. The former Movies channel is now ND Community Events, with on- and off-campus categories and the various ND calendars. The Academic tab (for faculty) has a Research channel, and a new Hesburgh Libraries channel appears on both the Academic and Student Academic tabs.

In its new incarnation, insideND is truly a portal, expanding “single sign-on” functionality—the ability to access applications directly through insideND without having to login to an application a second time. The Concourse course management system, Domer Dollars and Flex for students, UltraTime for timekeeping, and OWA are among the resources directly available through the portal without a second login requirement.