Who We Are
LAITS: IT and Facilities Director, Joe TenBarge initiated the Student Technology Assistant program in 2004. STAs are UT students who work on a variety of projects in collaboration with UT faculty and LAITS staff members. STAs assist College of Liberal Arts faculty members and administrative staff with print and web design. From building presentations, to creating audio/visual works, and producing online classes in the LAITS film studios, STAs are instrumental in helping COLA faculty realize their vision for multimedia projects that enhance their teaching and the students learning experience. By the end of their student careers, STAs have portfolios which demonstrate their accrued technical and design skills.
Creative and technically inclined students are appointed as STAs for one year, with the possibility of being rehired as long as they study at the university. Applicants for the program are hired before both long semesters. Interested students may look for postings on Hire-A-Longhorn when positions are available. Positions will have Student Technology Assistant (illustrator or web designer) in the title of the job post.
Faculty & Staff with questions about services, please contact us.
https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/laits/contacts.php
Today I completed my first recreation of a page for V-Lab 12 Section 2 Page 23. It took me a couple hours yesterday and today to put it together since it was my first one that I have ever worked on. Tomorrow I will be trained on how to use canvasser so that the page is interactive. Hopefully with more of these to do I get faster and more efficient at solving issues and creating pages.
On the top is the new corrected image for the COLA foreign languages page, more specifically, the Ukrainian language page. On the bottom is the incorrect image that required edits.
It’s been a long time since I last updated! Working here in the summer has been great so far. V-Labs has consumed much of our time among the Design & Coding STA team.
V-Labs was always present in the long semester, but it was usually on the back burner for most of us. Now that there are many of us working in the summer, our time is primarily allocated towards making V-Lab interactives, reformatting the site, and attempting to finish before November. A lot has changed since the beginning of the V-Labs project.
The style guide and standardization process for the interactives has been made more clear, thanks to my fellow design co-workers like Jac! A master sheet was made in Basecamp to store all the style notes, layouts, important URLs, and assets. It’s proven to be extremely helpful. In addition to the master sheet, a PSD template was developed by Jac and it has made PSD/PNG graphic creations much easier. 
These are screenshots of the V-Labs Master sheet that has helped streamline & standardized the process.
I’ve made some PSD/PNG graphics and they can be seen below:
I’ve also reviewed and edited some PSD/PNG graphics. They can be seen below here:
Since so much time has passed since the summer started and the V-Labs project was kicked into high gear, I think that it’d be best to share my daily plan. My daily plans for V-Labs span from late May to the present. The daily plans consist of:
The dates will be listed to better visualize the timeline of events for this large project:
5/14
a. On Friday, I worked on v-lab interactives.
b. Today, I will work on v-lab interactives and review/approve others’ interactive graphics!
c. No impediments!
5/15
a. Yesterday, I worked on v-lab interactives.
b. Today, I will continue to work on v-lab interactives and review/approve others’ interactive graphics. I will assign to-do as the pngs are made.
c. No impediments!
5/17
a. Wednesday, I worked on v-lab interactives.
b. Today, I will continue to work on v-lab interactives and review/approve others’ interactive graphics. I will assign to-do as the pngs are made.
c. No impediments!
5/20
a. On Friday, I worked on v-lab interactives.
b. Today, I will continue to work on v-lab interactives and review/approve others’ interactive graphics. I will assign to-do as the pngs are made.
c. No impediments!
5/22
a. On Monday, I worked on v-lab interactives and assigned to-dos for Canvasser-ready interactives.
b. Today, I will continue to work on v-lab interactives and assign to-dos as the interactive .
c. No impediments!
5/24
a. On Wednesday, I worked on v-lab interactives and assigned to-dos for Canvasser-ready interactives.
b. Today, I will continue to work on v-lab interactives and assign to-dos as the interactive .
c. No impediments!
5/29
a. On Friday, I worked on v-lab interactives and assigned to-dos for Canvasser-ready interactives.
b. Today, I will attend the group re-training meeting for v-labs, continue to work on v-lab interactives and assign to-dos as the interactive .
c. No impediments!
5/30
a. On Wednesday, I attended the group re-training meeting for v-labs, worked on v-lab interactives graphics, and was trained on canvasser.
b. Today, I continue to work on v-lab interactives graphics and re-assign to-do’s from Ruben and Rodrigo to Olivia and Bridget.
c. No impediments!
5/31
a. On Wednesday, I continued to work on my assigned v-lab interactive, edited some of the assignments I made for canvasser ready interactives, and re-assigned some of the Canvasser assignments.
b. Today, I continued to work on my assigned v-lab interactive, edited some of the assignments I made for canvasser ready interactives, took note of the interactives that are published on the site without a begin screen/begin button element, and updated the v-lab spreadsheet..
c. No impediments!
6/10
a. Last Friday, I continued to work on my assigned v-lab interactive, edited some of the assignments I made for canvasser-ready interactives, took note of the interactives that were published on the site without a begin screen/begin button element, and updated the v-lab spreadsheet.
b. Today, I will edit the v-lab spreadsheet, work on my assigned v-lab interactives, address/complete assignments that have been assigned to me or ones I have been tagged in, and continue assigning canvasser-ready interactives.
c. No impediments!
6/11
a. Yesterday, I edited and updated the v-lab spreadsheet, reviewed canvassers/interactives, assigned canvasser-ready interactives, and went through the interactives that are online to find out which ones may need editing later down the line.
b. Today, I will edit some COLA photo IDs, work on my assigned v-lab interactives, address/complete assignments that have been assigned to me or ones I have been tagged in, and continue assigning canvasser-ready interactives.
c. No impediments!
6/12
a. Yesterday, I edited a COLA photo ID, edited and updated the v-lab spreadsheet, reviewed canvassers/interactives, assigned canvasser-ready interactives, and went through the interactives that are online to find out which ones may need editing later down the line.
b. Today, I will continue updating and editing the v-lab spreadsheet, address/complete assignments that have been assigned to me or ones I have been tagged in, continue assigning canvasser-ready interactives, and go through the interactives that are online to find out which ones may need editing later down the line
c. No impediments!
6/17
a. Last week, I updated and edited the v-lab spreadsheet, addressed/completed assignments that have been assigned to me or one I’ve been tagged in, continued assigning canvasser-ready interactives, and re-organized the canvasser-ready interactives.
b. Yesterday, I briefed/trained a new hire on the basics of v-labs, assisted a co-worker with the processing of a multi-layered/multi-faceted interactive, assigned canvasser-ready interactives, reviewed and approved interactives for the Grav site, assisted the previously new hires through the canvasser training processes, and responded accordingly to the assignments/comments that I was tagged in.
c. No impediments!
6/18
a. Yesterday, I briefed/trained a new hire on the basics of v-labs, assisted a co-worker with the processing of a multi-layered/multi-faceted interactive, assigned canvasser-ready interactives, reviewed and approved interactives for the Grav site, assisted the previously new hires through the canvasser training processes, and responded accordingly to the assignments/comments that I was tagged in.
b. Today I will continue assisting the new hires in navigating and creating canvasser interactives, assign new canvasser-ready interactives, add videos to the Grav site (lab 5), review canvasser interactives for site publication, and make PSD/PNG graphics for an interactive
c. No impediments!
6/19
a. Yesterday, I assisted the new hires in navigating and creating canvasser interactives, assigned new canvasser-ready interactives, added videos to the Grav site, reviewed canvasser interactives for site publication, and edited PSD/PNG graphics for an interactive.
b. Today I will continue uploading and embedding videos into the HTML of the Grav site, review canvasser interactives for site publication, go through the interactives that are online to find out which ones may need editing later down the line, update the v-labs spreadsheet, and work on some v-lab interactive graphics.
c. No impediments!
6/20
a. Yesterday, uploaded and embedded videos into the HTML of the Grav site, reviewed canvasser interactives for site publication, went through the interactives that are i=online to find out which ones may need editing later down the line, and updated the v-lab spreadsheet with a new column for audio.
b. Today I will continue uploading and embedding videos into the HTML of the Grav site, review canvasser interactives for site publication, go through the interactives that are online to find out which ones may need editing later down the line, and assist co-workers with PSD/PNG graphic creations and canvasser.
c. No impediments!
6/24
a. Last week I uploaded and embedded videos into the HTML of the Grav site, reviewed canvasser interactives for site publication, went through the interactives that are online to find out which ones may need editing later down the line, assisted co-workers in training for PSD/PNG graphics creation, assigned canvasser-ready graphics to members of the team, and updated the v-lab spreadsheet.
b. Today I will continue uploading and embedding videos into the HTML of the Grav site, review canvasser interactives for site publication, go through the interactives that are online to find out which ones may need editing later down the line, and assign canvasser-ready graphics to other members of the team for assembly.
c. No impediments!
6/25
a. Yesterday I uploaded and embedded videos into the HTML of the Grav site, reviewed canvasser interactives for site publication, went through the interactives that are online to find out which ones may need editing later down the line, assisted co-workers in training for PSD/PNG graphics creation, and assigned canvasser-ready graphics to members of the team
b. Today I will make a vector of a mosquito image that I made for the Zika Virus project, continue uploading and embedding videos into the HTML of the Grav site, review canvasser interactives for site publication, go through the interactives that are online to find out which ones may need editing later down the line, and assign canvasser-ready graphics to other members of the team for assembly.
c. No impediments!
6/26
a. Yesterday I made a vector of a mosquito image I drew for the Zika Virus project, reviewed canvasser interactives for site publication, assisted co-workers in training for PSD/PNG graphics creation, and assigned canvasser-ready graphics to members of the team.
b. Today I will continue to upload and embed videos into the HTML of the Grav site, review the canvasser interactives for site publication, and assign canvasser-ready graphics to other members of the team for assembly.
c. No impediments!
6/27
a. Yesterday I talked with Ruben about the interactives that I was having trouble with, reviewed canvasser interactives for site publication, assigned canvasser-ready graphics to other members of the team for assembly, and worked on making PSD graphics for an interactive.
b. Today I will continue to work on making PSD graphics for an interactive, assign PSD/PNG assignments to co-workers, assign canvasser-ready graphics to coworkers, reviewed canvasser interactives for site publication, and updated Emily on the changes that have been made since she went on vacation.
c. No impediments!
7/1
a. Last week I worked on making PSD graphics for an interactive, assigned PSD/PNG graphics assignments to other co-workers, assigned canvasser-ready graphics to other co-workers, reviewed canvasser interactives for site publication, and updated Emily on the changes that have been made since she went on vacation.
b. Today I will continue to work on making PSD graphics for an interactive, assign PSD/PNG assignments to co-workers, assign canvasser-ready graphics to coworkers, and review canvasser interactives for site publication.
c. No impediments!
7/2
a. Yesterday I worked on PSD graphics for an interactive, assigned PSD/PNG graphics assignments to other co-workers, assigned canvasser-ready graphics to other co-workers, reviewed canvasser interactives for site publication, and reviewed canvasser interactives for site publication.
b. Today I will continue to work on making PSD graphics for an interactive, assign PSD/PNG assignments to co-workers, assign canvasser-ready graphics to coworkers, review canvasser interactives for site publication, and re-format the PSD/PNG assignments on Basecamp.
c. No impediments!
7/3
a. Yesterday I worked on PSD graphics for an interactive, assigned PSD/PNG graphics assignments to other co-workers, assigned canvasser-ready graphics to other co-workers, reviewed canvasser interactives for site publication, and reviewed canvasser interactives for site publication.
b. Today I will finish the PSD graphics for an interactive, assign PSD/PNG assignments to co-workers, assign canvasser-ready graphics to coworkers, review canvasser interactives for site publication, and re-format the PSD/PNG assignments on Basecamp.
c. No impediments!
7/5
a. On Wednesday, I finished the PSD graphics for an interactive, assigned PSD/PNG graphics assignments to other co-workers, assigned canvasser-ready graphics to other co-workers, reviewed canvasser interactives for site publication, and reviewed canvasser interactives for site publication.
b. Today I will start some new PSD graphics for an interactive, assign PSD/PNG assignments to co-workers, assign canvasser-ready graphics to coworkers, review canvasser interactives for site publication, and go through the in-progress site to make sure things are consistent.
c. No impediments!
7/8
a. On Friday, I started and finished a new PSD graphics for an interactive, assigned PSD/PNG graphics assignments to other co-workers, assigned canvasser-ready graphics to other co-workers, reviewed canvasser interactives for site publication, and reviewed canvasser interactives for site publication.
b. Today I will start on PSD graphics for an interactive, update Chloe on v-labs, assign PSD/PNG assignments to co-workers, assign canvasser-ready graphics to coworkers, review canvasser interactives for site publication, embed more videos into the HTML, and go through the in-progress site to make sure things are consistent.
c. No impediments!
7/9-7/10
a. On Tuesday, I assigned PSD/PNG graphics assignments to other co-workers, assigned canvasser-ready graphics to other co-workers, reviewed canvasser interactives for site publication, reviewed canvasser interactives for site publication, updated Chloe on v-labs and embedded videos into the Grav site.
b. Yesterday, I assisted with orientation for our new hire, Abriella, reviewed canvasser interactives for site publication, embedded more videos into the HTML, and discussed formatting for the Grav site.
c. Today, I will assist Abriella in whatever she needs, take on the PSD/PNG assignments that are to be reviewed, review those PSD/PNG assignments, edit the instructions in the PSD/PNG assignments, touch base with everyone who is involved with v-labs right now, and slowly stop assigning canvassers until we have enough PSD/PNG graphics.
c. No impediments!
7/11
a. Yesterday, I assisted Abriella in whatever she needed, took on the PSD/PNG assignments that are to be reviewed, reviewed PSD/PNG assignments, edited the instructions in the PSD/PNG assignments, touched base with everyone who is involved with v-labs right now, and slowly stopped assigning canvassers and shifted gears so that PSD/PNG creation is our primary object for the next few weeks.
b. Today I will assist Abriella with Photoshop and review a PSD/PNG graphic.
c. No impediments!
7/15
a. Last Thursday, I assisted Abriella in photoshop and reviewed a PSD/PNG graphic.
b. Today I will continue to assist Abriella, participate in cascade training, finish reviewing the PSD/PNG graphic I was working on, review canvassers, review other PSD/PNG graphics, assign canvassers and other PSD/PNG graphics, and update my blog.
c. No impediments!
Wow, I cannot believe that summer is more than halfway done! It is amazing that I still get the opportunity to work at LAITS as a brand new UT graduate. Since I got back from Korea, I have been mainly focusing on helping the new STA’s (Maddy and Abriella) adjust by assigning them basic trainings. This includes photo ID training, .psd/.ai trainings, etc. We also went through orientation, and I loved our ~circle of trust~. It’s great seeing new faces and the strengths that everyone brings to the table. I’ve also been helping Suloni out with the process of picking prospective STA’s by coming up with a writing assignment to see the applicants’ writing style, as well as their abilities to communicate professionally. Here’s a snippet of the instructions that I wrote for the activity:
I have also been working on vlabs like most people. The past week, I assigned myself a few interactives from Lab 10 Sec 4 (click on the image for the .gif to work!!):
And lastly, I updated the STA banner to include our newest members!!
I spent most of last week working on a looot of PSDs for VLabs.
I’ve noticed the lab activity interactives at the end of each lab are more complicated than other sections, so I’m looking forward to getting feedback since they’re each unique. A lot of them include graphs, calculations, and measuring so I did what I could to stick to style guide. On many graphs a dot must be placed in the correct location for the user to pass, so I’d like to see how assembling interactives like these work in Canvasser (below).
Speaking of Canvasser, it can sometimes be a challenge, but I feel like this interactive below came out well in terms of toggling between “shared with humans” and “unique features.” Originally the user would have to double click the links for the popup to show because the on/off toggle was getting confused up behind the scenes. We were able to finesse the property options under Click/Touch Event ID to work.
Next up is adding videos into the HTML on the Grav site.
I’m about to start my Cascade test site, and I’m not sure what to expect since at first glance it seems different from WordPress or any other CMS I’ve used before. Other than that I’ve been learning to edit Photo IDs and completed lots of orientation work.
