MCC students build Cary Fire Department Web site
By SARAH STEIMER - ssteimer@nwherald.com
CARY – When it came to redesigning the Cary Fire Department’s Web site, firefighter Will Sennecke called McHenry County College for backup.
The college’s digital media students teamed up with former student and fire department member Sennecke after it was decided that he could use a little help revamping the site.
“My goal was to get the facts and information, and make it all more user-friendly,” Sennecke said.
He pitched the idea to his former teacher and digital media department chairwoman Meri Albright, which happened to be just the project she was looking for.
“All the students really appreciated doing this,” Albright said.
This was the first time in the MCC digital media program’s three-year history that students were able to do a real-world project.
“It was a lot different from a regular class,” digital media major Brian Bieschke said. “It wasn’t just an individual project, you worked in a group and then had to answer to a larger group.”
The improved Web site will include the same information as the current site but will be streamlined, Albright said. A new feature will be the “Kid’s Zone,” meant to teach children about fire safety and that firefighters aren’t scary – even with heavy equipment and masks on.
The Kid’s Zone will include a firefighting game that lets children drive a fire engine, a fireman paper dress-up doll and a virtual coloring book. Sennecke said the Kid’s Zone was by far his favorite part of the updated site, and he planned to track the number of people visiting each part of the site so tweaks can be made where needed.
“I love computer graphics and being a firefighter. It’s an honor to put the two together,” Sennecke said of his interaction with the students. He was very hands-on during the process, visiting the classes as much as he could to provide his input.
Although the project isn’t done and won’t see its grand unveiling for a couple of weeks, Sennecke is thrilled with the results that thea students gave him.
“They just picked it up and ran with it. It blew my expectations out of the water,” he said. “They put forth so much effort for a not-for-profit.”
The Web site is expected to be up and running by month’s end.
