As I assume most readers know, Dr. G and his computer science class have put a tremendous amount of work into creating a new Owl’s Nest website for our school. This work shows in the website’s many aesthetic and organizational improvements, which I really appreciate. However, Owl’s Nest also has its flaws, particularly involving the announcements feature.
The new website definitely looks much better than the old one and is easier to navigate. I also like how it includes news like athletics early dismissals and a guide to what will be happening in assemblies and flex period. Additionally, service opportunities and scholarships are neatly organized, making it much easier to access them.
However, I have heard some complaints from students. Many of my peers say it can be tedious to click on a link in an email, and then click through each individual announcement. I’ve also noticed that the arrows to click through are not in a consistent spot, moving depending on the announcement. This makes it just a bit more annoying to click through.
I’ve also heard about technical difficulties such as trouble logging in. These problems are bound to happen with any new website, and are no fault of Dr. G or his students. Regardless, this has annoyed some of my peers.
Because of these issues, I’ve heard many students, and even teachers, say that they don’t check Owl’s Nest. As the leader of Compass, this worries me. If the majority of students aren’t checking announcements, this could stunt the success of my organization’s initiatives.
I think we should go back to the announcement emails. Since we received notifications for them, I trusted that more people read the announcements. It was also easier to scroll through and read them rather than clicking through multiple pages.
I like that the new website is better organized, better looking, and has more information. I think with a few adjustments to fix the technical issues this could be a great homepage for school news. However, I don’t think the announcements feature was the best idea, and I’d rather go back to emails. (As a side note: I also want the sandwich ordering page back.)
