Two WPI computer users who make the most of their surf time are Troy Thompson and Amy Plack. Troy Thompson, who graduated last year and Amy Plack, who is graduating in May are well aware of what the World Wide Web is capable of now and in the future.
Troy, who is the Operations Coordinator for the CCC, also goes by the dubious label of 'webmaster'. With his experience and background in the web, the name is well earned. The ADP lab, DAKA cards, financial aid programs, and e-macs support programs are just some of the things Troy has to oversee at his interim position of webmaster.
Troy recently accepted the position of webmaster on the 29th of March after the departure of previous Operations Coordinator John Stoffel. When asked what exactly an Operations Coordinator does he said, "I get a daily report on [user] accesses. If there seems to be a high number of people not being able to find a web page I check the system."
WPI's World Wide Web page not long ago added a search option. This option allows browsers to look up keywords and find web pages containing their subject automatically. Troy, who has been working on the web for two years, was glad to see the upgrade. "It was the thing I was mainly looking for," he said about the new feature.
The fact that Troy is attending graduate school here at WPI made taking the job an easy choice. Ironically, Troy heads a typically computer science position while majoring in the Biomedical/Mechanical Engineering field. "I was working here at the CCC for e-macs support and it kind of developed into this job when it became open," explained Troy when asked how he jumped the course gap. "This is a way for me to continue my education and still go out and help people."
If Troy's job is "behind the scenes," then Amy Plack's position is center stage. Amy's official job title: Web Project Manager will officially change to Coordinator of Network Resources once she graduates in May. No matter what her title, Amy has many present and future responsibilities to the school and the students. Amy explains her duties unofficially and officially after May first: "My responsibility will be to head up WPI web projects, get departments on [the web], help people learn HTML (a web page mark-up language), help people write pages..."
Amy spends a large portion of her time reviewing WPI student homepages which offer browsers an electronic autobiographical look at those who attend WPI. Any student can write a homepage if they know HTML or simply follow on-line instructions on the WPI web page. However, the homepages are not linked to the master web page until Amy reviews them. Commenting on the many WPI web pages she has seen: "I never cease to be amazed, to be honest. Students have such a variety of interests and a variety of tastes. And such a variety of common sense." She has seen web pages absolutely full of profanity and web links to pornographic sites to web pages simply displaying students' resumes.
Amy named many features that the WPI web page has to offer to prospective and enrolled students alike. Prospective students can actually apply for admission electronically over the internet as can graduate students. Incoming freshmen can get financial aid information such as form deadlines and WPI requirements. As for current students, Amy put the undergraduate catalog on the WPI web page: "The undergraduate catalog [on the web] is an excellent resource for all students." Students trying to plan the next few years of their academic life should find the WPI web page very helpful. The Projects and Enrollment Services hopes to do away with the enrollment package all students receive during registration in favor of an electronic version.
Amy's tour of the WPI web page was informative. The What's New section of the web page features updates on school departments and clubs. According to the soon to be Coordinator of Network Resources, "...departments are coming on almost on a daily basis. A lot of people don't think to check there." The section also has information including on-campus housing, apartments for rent, and money saving tips. Amy called the Tools and Resources section of the page "a very good place to start for WPI students who are very new at using the web."