My.Sinclair got a new look over the winter break.
The three major functions, Angel, WebAdvisor and e-mail, are more prominently featured on the home page and have an icon to let students know if the services are available, according to Russ Little, Web Systems Manager for Sinclair Community College. The home page also features news, events, and links to other resources organized by experience, services, support and college.
Culinary Arts student Katie Hill thinks the new format is more streamlined and organized than before.
“I like the design more, but it keeps going down at the beginning of the quarter, so I’ll decide (if I like it) when everything gets stable,” Hill said.
Student Jed Bettelon said the usability is comparable to the previous version, but technical difficulties make it difficult to access sometimes.
“I think they should’ve changed (the system) in the summer time,” Bettelon said.
Little said the decision to update the system over winter break corresponded with the longest time the school did not have active courses, making a week-long overhaul possible.
“Decisions to upgrade learning related systems are always made in conjunction with the Academic Division and they have (the) final say on dates, based on information, input and feedback from many sources,” he said. “The intent is always to impact the fewest users while allowing us to continue to progress in a timely manner with current technology.”
Little also said that technology difficulties may partly result from my.Sinclair and Angel being two different systems.
“While students often think of them as a single thing, they are different technologies and have different technology challenges,” Little said.
English major Mike Payne likes the system so far, but he gets frustrated accessing his online classes sometimes. He thinks difficulties are to be expected at the beginning of the quarter.
“I haven’t had to put my password in more than once (to log in), and that’s key to me,” Payne said.
The portal was a collaborative project between the Academic Quality Improvement Program eServices Team, eMarketing and Web Systems at Sinclair, according to Little. Students with technology related issues should call the Help Desk at (937) 512-4357 or e-mail at helpdesk@sinclair.edu.