In the Student Senate’s Web Technologies Group, we can’t get enough of the World Wide Web. Our group has been around since 2005, and we’ve grown during that time from two to 10 people. Today, we are working around the clock (and if you’ve stopped by the Student Government Suite in the Rensselaer Union at three in the morning on a Saturday, you know this to be true) to provide some downright useful web services and sites for the entire RPI community.
The WTG has, throughout its history, been motivated to create web applications aimed at better connecting students, staff, and faculty to each other, and to the information they deserve to have at their fingertips. Last year, we created myRPI (http://myrpi.org/), a home base for many useful links that can be submitted to the site by the general community of users (and rated, too!). Likewise, we launched myRPI-space, a Web hosting service that supports flexible quotas for disk space, bandwidth, and sub-domains. To date, over 200 students have signed up for the free service, which provides access to lots of powerful, nonconventional Web technologies for experimentation. The Shuttle Tracking System (http://shuttles.rpi.edu/) allows people to view an interactive map with the current locations of shuttle buses. Soon you’ll be able to call a phone number to get estimated time of arrival information.
Our most recent—and most successful—Web service is Concerto, a digital signage network that you will find on many flat panel television screens around RPI’s Troy campus. Concerto came about because we felt that everyone, not just a select few, should get involved with spreading messages in a digital form that decreases the need for irritating e-mails and walls of cluttered paper. The result has been pretty astounding: Since the launch of the service, which is available for use at http://signage.rpi.edu/, over 450 students, staff, faculty, and administrators have used Concerto to spread announcements across campus on our network of high-resolution, strikingly beautiful screens. We’re working on launching our 15th screen, which means that over $30,000 has been invested into Concerto-related hardware purchases by organizations other than the WTG. And the code that powers Concerto each day—display functions and user interfaces, both online and offline—was almost completely created by the Web Tech Group. How’s that for an extracurricular activity?
Throughout our short history, we’ve been able to create some services that have changed the face of RPI, and we’re far from done. Our current team includes people representing undergraduate and graduate studies, electrical and computer engineering, management, IT, psychology, and the Classes of 2008–2011. But most importantly, we all have a blast doing fun things that might just make a difference. Ruby on Rails, Photoshop, PHP, Perl, CSS, Illustrator, and HTML all have special places in our hearts. As we move forward with our plans for Internet domination, we’re excited to welcome like-minded students into our ranks. Contact the WTG at web@rpisenate.com if you’re interested.
