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 The new Virtual Learning Collaborative
Digital Active will design a new website for the Michigan Community College Association's Virtual Learning Collaborative.
The site allows a central point of registration for Michigan's community colleges. The collaborative is designed to allow current Michigan community college students to take courses from other member colleges while still receiving support services at
from a convenient "home" college.
The Michigan Community College Association has used ActiveOffice CMS tools for over five years. We are pleased to partner with them again on this project.
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Digital Active Sponsors Charity Golf Event
DigitalActive is proud to sponsor the fourth annual KAK Network golf outing at the Country Club of Lansing on Mon., Sept. 10.
The organization honors the late Kevin A. Kelly, former Executive Director of the Michigan State Medical Society and a Distinguished Alumni of Michigan State University. Kelly, a leading legislative and operational figure in the regional health care community, was also known for his dedication to family, friends, peers, community, charitable causes, business start-ups, special events, institutions, and legislation.
The outing has helped the KAK Network raise $35,000 in its first three years. Those funds have gone to support local charities such as the City Rescue Mission of Lansing, Ele's Place, Carefree Medical and Dental, the East Lansing Educational Foundation, and the Lansing chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, and St. Vincent's Catholic Charities.
Information on the KAK Network, event registration, sponsorship, or prize donations can be found at www.kaknetwork.org.
This year's outing is a four-person scramble or "best ball" event, that includes prizes, an auction, and on-course contests.
Check-in will begin at 6:45 a.m., followed by a light breakfast. Tee off is at 8 a.m. and a full lunch is included. Those who want to support the cause off the course can take part in the breakfast for $50 or make a separate donation. The cost to take part in the entire golf outing is $200 per person. |
Digital Active Welcomes New Director of Communications
Digital Active welcomes Laura Millard as the new Director of Communications. Millard will focus on social media management, branding, and public relations. She will also create and manage communication strategies for the company. Millard served as the communications director, then as executive director, of the Old Town Commercial Association in Lansing, Michigan, where she specialized in event planning, public relations, and increasing communcation among area businesses. She is a graduate of Michigan State University, where she majored in English with cognates in history and journalism. Digital Active looks forward to the skills Millard provides and encourages visitors to our site to "Like" us on Facebook.
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Senior-Friendly Design
Recently, NPR announced a report on seniors using the Web in record numbers. This got us thinking about how web sites might need to evolve with the influx of older users.
Design itself is the key. Font sizes are a natural first step, and overall simplicity is important. But since many of these older users have little to no experience with the web at all, here are some helpful tips in making your site accessible to seniors (and everyone, really).
 Avoid PDFs:
Seniors are less likely to download items than younger users, so making information available only via PDF will hinder an older user's ability to get what they need. If you must include a PDF, be sure it is clearly labeled as a download.
Clean Up Your Layout:
This definitely helps all users. Sometimes we get too close to our own business and want to show off everything we can do all at once. But this can cause confusion to users. It's best to keep things simple and create quality links to additional information. Links: Your links should be easy to see and easy to click.
Avoid Distractions:
Our mantra around here is "Just because you CAN do it doesn't mean you SHOULD." Just because you found a way to insert an animation or funky new font doesn't mean you should. We promise it won't only be seniors who are distracted or downright annoyed.
Make it Memorable:
Your site should make an impact on users; when they visit again, they should be comforted by familiar branding and colors. Change can be good, but your business's basic design elements should be consistent.
One thing on our side in all this is television. "We know that over the last decade, TV has sort of mimicked the web," Todd Ross, Director of Business Development for Digital Active, says. Cable news networks, especially, have embraced the sidebar menu look-and even the cable and dish providers themselves have web-like menus with dropdown options.
So, seniors who watch a lot of TV basically have been previewing the internet; their eyes have been trained to understand the layout.
Whether you're catering to older users or tweens, it's important to consider usability.  |
Get Active Blog
If you haven't checked it out yet, visit our blog at www.activeofficeblog.com. The blog is not designed to promote Active Office products; it's simply a place for us to share our thoughts on technology in the workplace.
If you're a client of ours, you know how excited we get about new technologies and how they can positively impact business. That's what we want to share with you online. We even tackle email etiquette and tech support.
Let us know if you have suggestions or comments. We want this blog to help people become more comfortable with technology...and maybe even celebrate it as much as we do!
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Digital Active is a technology company focused on web-based applications. Our ActiveOffice system provides secure access to file sharing, discussion forums, web site content management systems, blogs and more. ActiveOffice provides efficiencies and connects business. Simple, secure and always there.
If you have any questions or comments concerning GetActive, the DIgital Active Newsletter, please email us.Digital Active · 435 E. Grand River · East Lansing, Michigan 48823 · Phone: (877) 222-3550
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