As many of you have noticed, over the past few weeks ChoralNet has been undergoing some changes. ACDA’s goal during this process has been to take this significant community and share it with a new audience to help grow the community and it’s resources. ChoralNet has always been known for it’s ability to provide us with the ability to ask questions, have discussions, gain access to valuable resources and network with our colleagues all over the world.
With all of this in mind ACDA’s goal is to continue to develop this resource further than we can currently imagine. As we all know, with change comes some growing pains. We have run into unexpected issues throughout the past two weeks that have caused delays in these developments. However, the valuable “ChoralNet Daily” will be returning immediately. This system has been undergoing maintenance and upgrades for the past two weeks and we are very excited to now have it back on track.
We are also working to get our Communities back online. We created Communities in 2010 to help make ACDA “smaller” by giving us an online ability to bring us together around our special interests. These communities have already played an important role in our networking and resource gathering. Along with improving Communities, we will also be working to enhance our Resources and Choral Directory. The ChoralNet Directory is the largest directory of its kind, and we want to expand its helpfulness. We look forward to having this tool back on track and expect to see it’s continued growth and success.
We brought ChoralNet into a new platform to ensure its life span going forward. Bringing this site into a modern system allows us to know ChoralNet will be set for the next generation of users and choral educators seeking assistance and guidance throughout their journey in continuing the growth and education of choral music and the mission of ACDA. In the very near future ChoralNet will be integrated with social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. This will allow logging in with your profile from those platforms and communicating and sharing on both sites without having to remember multiple passwords.
We admit to all our users that we would have liked to make this transition easier for you (and for us!). Moving forward we hope to grow the site and exceed your expectations for this community. You are the ChoralNet community and we promise to provide you with the tools to continue to make this community great.
Tim Sharp
Tanmoy Laskar says
I like the new look. Is there a place we can provide specific feedback?
Scott Davis says
Thanks! We are looking into potentially setting up a support/feedback forum but for now feel free to email us here. We would love to get your feedback!
Braeden Ayres says
The new look is nice. Mobile and tablet functionality was sorely needed, and I’m glad to see that has been addressed. I’m hoping that part of the upgrade will also include better server response times, as that was always lacking on the old version.
That said, when full functionality returns, we’ll all be much happier. Right now there are a lot of (understandably) disgruntled users. There may have been announcements, but it seems like a lot of people were a bit blindsided by the change, and I can’t help but wonder if more could have been done. I know, hindsight is 20/20, and none of that can be helped now.
If there is any way I can help get things back up to speed, let me know. I’m not a programmer, but I do have experience with systems similar to what it appears ChoralNet runs on, and I’ve built a handful of sites in the past.
Ryan says
I appreciate the transparency and love the new look! Best of luck on the continued update, it’s always a work in progress (if you’re doing it right).
Joseph says
New site is pretty but I really miss the ability to scan through the classifieds and ignore posts that aren’t local to me. Now you have to read the posting before you know whether it’s local, and if the poster doesn’t put the location in the portion of the text that shows on the summary, you actually have to drill into it to see where the job is. UGH! To me that is not an improvement in the site.
Scott Davis says
Hi Joseph,
Completely understand your frustration in this area. This is a feature we are working to bring back as soon as possible. Sorry about the inconvenience.
donald patriquin says
Hi Evan, Tim…
I agree totally with the majority of the points raised by ChoralNet members. What dismays but astonishes me is that not one reply says “Hey! It’s great!” This is telling, and I hope heeded while making renovations to the renovations. I hope Julia Laylander’s question will be answered eventually. My main question is “What was the problem with how it was before?” My fear is that a lot of what is being done is guided more by ‘The Look’ than by consideration of the readers. Of course, ‘The Look’ is very trendy, but is it substantial? Is it what ChiralNet, let alone ACDA stand for? (Of course not, Donald!) As I have been reading ChoralNet virtually every day for many years, I was somewhat dismayed that people such as I were caught out when suddenly they could no longer access the site. My immediate response was that there was a bug in my computer, or in the system. Attempts made to find out today (finally I realized there was more to it than a local bug) were met with “Ooops” followed by an excuse– a curious way to communicate with faithful readers! Even the present page when lost was very difficult to find again.
I am not at all happy about writing this; ChoralNet is a wonderful ‘institution’, WONDERFUL. It’s read world-wide. I plan on promoting it highly during my session on STELLAR PERFORMANCE in Erica Phare-Berg’s and my Interest Session mid-May at Choral Canada’s Podium 2016 http://www.podiumconference.ca/sessions–seacuteances.html because there are so many stellar ideas proposed in the various forums. Hopefully I can do this, and hopefully I can find a site URL to pass on to them so they can join.
Thanks!
Donald
Evan Ingalls says
I have to agree with most others…I loved the old layout, and didn’t find many problems with it. That was true even as a new user coming in. Any improvements that will bring this design closer back into line with the old one will be appreciated.
That said, I appreciate your efforts to continually renew the workings of the organization, and attempts to bring in new users, though those attempts may be misguided ;P
Scott Davis says
Hi Evan,
Thank you for your feedback. We will definitely keep that in mind as we move forward with development.
Elizabeth Christopher says
I didn’t want to complain…:) but I really don’t like the new site at all. I really liked the old site and thought it was very user friendly and much easier to navigate and find what you were looking for. Now, the daily digests – I don’t even know what city the classifieds are in. Again, I hate to complain, but I hope you can switch back – or at least make “old view” possible for us folks who have been with you a long time and prefer the old look. I also don’t know how to find what forums and groups I’m in any more. Hope you can switch it back. Thank you!
Scott Davis says
Hi Elizabeth,
No worries! It’s all feedback to us that helps determine the path going forward. So we will take it in any form. Unfortunately, change can bring uncomfortable feelings as it is, let alone an unwanted change. We are working to not only update the way the site looks but also bring in new functionality and integrated technology to further the resources and the success of both ChoralNet and it’s users. We have made the old site available as an archive piece that you may visit to view old posts and access the resources and directories that have not made it over yet. You can visit the archive by clicking here.
Thank you
Julia Laylander says
“ACDA’s goal during this process has been to take this significant community and share it with a new audience to help grow the community and it’s resources.”
Very interested in learning who comprises the “new audience”; can you enlighten?
Scott Davis says
Hi Julia,
Throughout the design process we looked at testimonials and analytics that helped us discover many first time users to the site would find it difficult and overwhelming to work with. This paired with bringing the site to users on both mobile and tablet devices was a high priority for us going forward. We certainly want to grow and get users involved with ChoralNet while managing to keep it’s charm. We will continue to work with areas of the site as necessary to make this a great fit for all.
Thank you
David Winkworth says
Great news! I hope that the helpful geographic identifiers, at least on the classified items, can be a feature that is restored. In some cases, even if you click through to the full listing, it is not readily apparent where the institution is located. Thanks!
Tim Sharp says
David, Thanks for your contribution and support for our continuing renewal efforts. We intend to restore this feature as we build back the characteristics that have been most useful. Best, Tim Sharp
Catherine Campbell-Nesbit says
I have been very dismayed by the changes in choral net. I loved the old format and looked forward every day to using choral net. But now, it seems less easy to use and “cluttered”. I hope this will change but I really wish it could have stayed the same.
Catherine
Tim Sharp says
Hi Catherine, Thanks for your input. We will continue to “tweak” the look and feel to get it to a place we all love. Thank you for your ongoing contribution to our choral community. Tim Sharp
Susan Young says
I wish you would have told us sooner that there was going to be a change. I really miss the details of the Classifieds on the daily format. You do not even show the State, etc. so it is a hunt for anything at present. It might’ve been better to wait for the roll out until things were ironed out and working/
Tim Sharp says
Hi Susan, We continue to restore features in our new format. It will return. We, too, wish we could have it, and build it, at the same time, but alas, technology doesn’t always work that way. With patience, we will have what we want and have grown accustomed to. Thanks for your contribution to our choral community. Tim Sharp