Hi all,

I have made a fair bit of progress on dotFOLIO, and I would like to commit the source code to CVS by this weekend. There is enough functionality to create an account for a dotFOLIO owner and let them blog away, upload files, and clip things together.

I think the Clipboard package is cool, and there is a lot of potential for it. I've already started using "clipping" as a buzzword within dotFOLIO. I can see potential for dotFOLIO to be used as a knowledge management tool. You could plug-in the webmail package, and if it is enabled with presentation objects, then you can add an email to the clipboard, and clip it to a blog, bunch of files, or calendar item. So you could upload a project report, reflect on the good and bad things about the project, and clip a relevant email with them all. Better yet, a team member can view all the clipped items, and add their two cents worth. I see this as a great way for building up knowledge resources for projects.

So I'm developing dotFOLIO to be as generic as possible so that it can be configured and used in an educational institution of corporate environment.

I have uploaded more screen shots to my blog on dotFOLIO.

After committing the source code to CVS, I will be working on admin tools for monitoring activity within dotFOLIO.

Cheers,
Nick.

Michael, my blogger seems to only summarise blog entries when you view categories. If you click on the title you should be directed to the full blog entry. The screenshots are based in flickr, so they have those fancy rollover notes.

I am just about to start a new package for dotfolio. The package will be used to create concept maps for showcasing learning artifacts stored in the e-portfolio system. I have chosen concept maps as a mechanism for showcasing, as it provides context for the learning artifacts. This differs to OSPI, as they use a matrix for showcasing.

I want the concept maps application to be interactive, and have looked at using Laszlo. However, after listening to Lars from Google talk about Google Maps at a conference last week, I have been inspired to look at other approaches to developing a Rich Internet Application.

I would like to use Laszlo, as it compiles down to a flash object, which can then be played in any browser with a flash plugin. This kind of solves my concerns for cross-browser support. However it means mixing Laszlo code in OpenACS, meaning there is a dependency on using the Laszlo Presentation Server to compile the Laszlo source code before deploying the application. This adds a layer of complexity due to a dependency on third party software.

The alternative is to use JavaScript and SVG. There are some interesting things that can already be done in SVG and JavaScript as shown here. The advantage using this approach is that there is no dependency on a third party system. The disadvantage is that SVG isn't widely supported yet. However, Lars from Google mentioned that SVG will be supported in a future release of Firefox. So hopefully his insight into the future of web browsers rings true.

If I chose the JavaScript/SVG approach, then users will have to download the Adobe SVG viewer plugin. This would be preferred over using one of the nightly mozilla builds that include SVG. Creating a dependency on using the Adobe SVG viewer plugin would mean even IE users can view the application. Or I could implement a Factory pattern to create VML for IE browsers, and SVG for Mozilla browsers. For the timebeing I would prefer to focus on SVG though.

What do people think? I'm interested in your opinions.

Hi Orzenil,

I've had a brief look at the IHCM Cmaptools a couple weeks ago, and again I don't want to head down that path as the software isn't open source, and I don't want to create a dependency on a third party piece of software. My goal is to create a Rich Internet Application (RIA) with Cmap-like functionality. It is also part of my research interest to investigate RIAs in e-learning, specifically in e-portfolios.

I will be playing around with SVG and JavaScript in the next couple of weeks. I think this is the way to go. In fact the next release of Firefox is Firefox 1.5, which is currently available under the codename Deer Park. This version of Firefox to be released sometime soon has SVG support built into it. The question is what to do with IE users? I think the JavaScript code that I write will have to allow for VML to be generated instead of SVG. So I'll have to make use of the factory pattern for this.

Anyway I'll just be experimenting with SVG for the timebeing.

Cheers,
Nick.

bah !!!

ignore this post, it was a reply to another post, in another thread, probably in another forum on this site ...

... i have no idea how it got posted here.

appologies for the confusion.

- rob