This is very short and simple. I got an idea for a new Wordpress layout, and I want to get some feedback as to your preferences for the structure, assuming you were either designing or reading a site based on the structure. Traditionally, we see a lot of left hand navigation elements on the left side of “normal” websites. Blogs tend to favor the right for sidebars. In this layout I’m plotting out, there will be an “aside” type element that I do not want juxtaposed against the sidebar area, but I also don’t want it hanging free against the right side of a center aligned page because I think it reduces the readability of it. So the options I crafted are as follows.
Option one is a left aligned page, with a left hand sidebar area with the asides floating on the right of the content. Option two is a center aligned page with a right hand sidebar area that allows the asides to come in on the left of the content. Both of these examples are optimized for 1024×768, but I am toying with the idea of making them full width, or possibly flexible width (though I generally find that harder to get “perfect”). Click either thumbnail to view an actual sample page. I welcome the opinions of both designers and random people alike. Also keep in mind, this is just for planning the basic wireframe of the site, it has nothing to do with how the final thing will actually look, from a “pretty” point of view.
Polls follow after examples.
Loading ... Loading ...Okay, here’s one for some of you who might have been in my shoes (you can’t hide, I know you read my blog, I’ve seen your dirty secrets). By that, I mean you people who work in higher ed or who have gotten your masters. I demand your input, and in return, I will owe you no favors. I’ve been circling this topic for about a year now, and sometime soon, I really need to nail some plans down, because I’m basically throwing away free money at the moment.
As an employee of the college, I am afforded certain privaleges. One of these is that I can take a certain number of credit hours for free each semester. This varies with regards to certain monies, but it is at least one class’s worth, and sometimes a bit more (and who really wants to do more than that a semester when you work full time all ready? I’m not made of time, though it’d be cool if I was). Granted, a class at a time is going to be a slow path to a Masters degree, but like I said, why waste the opportunity.
Currently, I have a BA in Communication, with an emphasis in theatre and a minor in multimedia. Naturally, this does not reflect my profession to well, heh. But you can’t study theatre and expect to eat regular meals, so one must leverage other talents. The problem is, what do I study for my Masters in?
Option one, I stay on the theatre track, and get an MA in it. This would put me on a track to a Ph.D. in theatre, which I’m not likely to continue towards, and give me a Masters in a field that I very likely won’t really leverage professionally. But it would be the quickest route to the Masters, and it’s something I’m good at.
Option two, move towards something like Technical Teacher Education, which is a strange field related to qualifying yourself to teach tech topics in college. But, it’s a fairly easy load, and something that I could potentially leverage in the future. Assuming I want to do any teaching. I think I can do enough damage to the world without stepping into that roll though (and I am).
Option three, move into my professional field, and find a focus in Computer Science and Information Systems. I’m likely to get a reasonable amount of professional credit here (and maybe in option two as well), since I’m basically developing crap and working on web stuff day in and day out. I could also probably strengthen my Java skills a bit. The downside is that our CSIS department isn’t very strong.
Option four (and I swear the last one), Marketing. Now that the web has been deemed responsibility of the Marketing office on our campus, it would make a certain amount of sense to extend my education in that direction. I’m not totally sure what value that would add to me, but it seems like a reasonable option, since web development in many places is a marketing priority, rather than a tech one.
So, that’s the four sided coin I have to flip (or the D4 I have to roll, depending on which imagery makes you happier). I’d like to get underway this Fall if at all possible, and I think I should investigate which option offers the most in the way of independent studying and online courses, since as I mentioned, I work full time. But what have you done, or at least what would be your opinion in this situation. What option would you go with?
More secure than passwords.
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