I originally wrote this article for our Web Services Newsletter almost 3 years ago when we were still using SharePoint for the Internet, Intranet, and school sites. However, the fundamental principals that applied then apply today for the SchoolMessenger platform. So, it is worth revisiting.
The Internet
Content on the Internet should only include information that you would not mind letting anyone in the world view. For OCPS, that mostly means parents and students, but it could literally be anyone in the world. Perhaps it is someone thinking of moving to the Orlando area from another part of the state, another part of the county, or even from outside the country. It could also be another school district wanting to see if they can learn something new from us. Basically, this means that the content is generally available anonymously, meaning the user does not have to log into our servers with a user name and password to view the content. That being said, you should never mix content that you only want to be viewed only by employees on the internet. That content should be placed on the intranet. Always ask yourself if this is information the public needs to see before posting it on the Internet.
The Intranet
The intranet is primarily provided to allow departments to make internal information sharing between employees/staff easier. Whether it is documentation or how-to manuals for different processes or activities or if it is just a description of what services your department provides and who should be contacted for specific services by other OCPS departments. At the same time, the Intranet is not a good place to store personally identifiable information or detailed information on our students. This type of information is best stored on your school’s collaboration site or other more secure location on OCPS Servers.
Occasionally, a department may have some information that needs to be seen by everyone and other information that needs to be seen by only employees. The general rule still applies here. That department should have an internet site for public information and an Intranet site for internal information. Now within each site, it is perfectly permissible to have an intranet site refer to content on the Internet site, but NEVER the reverse. Internet content should never refer to Intranet content unless it is very clear that the link is for employees only. Never create a link from the Internet to the Intranet that will prompt a member of the public to log into OCPS. This will only confuse and frustrate them.
School Sites
Each school at OCPS has been given their own Internet site where they can make information available to the public about happenings at their school. These sites are primarily of interest to current students and their parents but could be of interest to other members of the public. Some of these site visitors may be looking at OCPS schools in general to determine whether they want to move to Orlando or to another city in Florida based on the programs and activities that appear to be promoted at each of our schools. However, it might also influence parents to move from one part of Orange County to another part of the county to enable their children to attend unique programs at some of our schools that may be more aligned to the future interests of their children. That is why it is so very important for each school site to put its best ‘face’ forward on their web sites, to brag on their schools and their student achievements, to clearly state what makes their school different and special, and to entice students and their parents to say, ‘I want to go there.’ In addition, school sites need to appear ‘fresh’ and updated or parents and students will visit only once (or perhaps two or three times) and then never return again because nothing has changed. Part of achieving this goal is to have an updated calendar of events, recent news, changing pictures in the school’s rotating banner, and periodically updated principal’s messages. However, it is also important to have complete information on any topic presented, to have valid links to other pages both within and outside of OCPS, and to not have pages of obsolete content that is no longer relevant.
I hope these general guidelines help you determine where in your SharePoint portal you should publish your latest content