Simple Content Creator / Editor

Description

The Content Package aims to be a simple tool for content creation in the educational context. 

• Provides a simple interface to create web pages (a no-brainer 1 click), and easily include and manipulate web assets such as flash, videos, images, etc.
  
• Provides a web template, easy to manage, similar to a PPT template but with built in navigation (sequential navigation, tab based organization, sub tabs supported and per unit / module navigation).
• Folder, subfolders, pages ordering.
• Free of "standards" approaches, so professors with basic word knowledge can use it.
• Auto scroll (focus navigation on the content area).
  
• It provides portlets for .LRN
  

The Content Package is based in XOWiki, since it is a very well maintained tool, and have many of the desired features such as: easy content tool (plus the advantage that a wiki tools is becoming more and more common), directories, versioning, flexible built-in features to handle content more easily (including positioning and segmentation), basic template management, variables, multi-language support.

The Content Package is a configuration package with a set of scripts, xowiki is left unmodified for Content to work. 

Check Galileo University promotional video (in spanish) and public announcement. 

Application architecture design by Byron & Rocael, development by Byron for Galileo University. 

Try it at:

http://www.galileo.edu/dotlrn/classes/departamentoparapruebas/departamentoparapruebas.actualizacintributaria/lamegaprueba2/xowiki/


user & pass: usertest

Check the manuals (in spanish).

To-Do 

• Provide collaborative content creation tools while being able to set up roles easily.
  
• Integrate to SCORM / LORS
  

How to install

Works on:

postgresql 8.2.4

xowiki 0.47 +

xotcl 0.47 +
 

Requirements: 

ltree module for postgresql.

Installation Process:

1. Install ltree module for postgres.
2. Obtain packages:  content-portlet, dotlrn-content, xowiki,xotcl-core
3. Move the files of content-portlet/misc/www/*  to xowiki/www/
4. Move the files of content-portlet/misc/admin/*  to xowiki/www/admin
5. Move the files of content-portlet/misc/portlets/*   to xowiki/www/portlets/
6. Go to acs-admin/apm
7. Choose "install-packages"
8. Install xotcl-core,  xowiki , content-portlet, dotlrn-content
9. If xowiki is already installed, reload xowiki
10. Restart the server.
11. Activate the applet in one course.

Technical Specs

 Install the content applet in dotlrn will:    

1. Place the xowiki (INSTANCIA) that will be used with the following personalized characteristics.

• Parameters:  

• extra_css : /resources/content-portlet/template/Gestheme.css
• security_policy: ::xowiki::policyb
• template_file: ges-view

• Kind of created pages.

• ::xowiki::Page : Index for welcoming to the main application: content-portlet/www/prototypes/gestemplate/GesTemplateIndex.page

• ::xowiki::Object : 

• Default object whit the name folder_id in which the use of Xhina editor is configured.

• es:o_index : Object which manages the presentation of the index page depending on the kind of user.

Source: content-portlet/www/prototypes/gestemplate/GesTemplateIndexe.page

• ::xowiki::PageTemplate:

• es:Template_de_ges Web template that manages the presentation and navegation of the future content pages that will be created.

Source: content-portlet/www/prototypes/gestemplate/GesTemplatebody.page

• es:Template_de_header: Template which manages the edition of the content titles.

source: content-portlet/www/prototypes/gestemplate/GesTemplateheader.page

• ::xowiki::PageInstance :

• es:header_page : used to entry the heading of the future content pages.

Source    : content-portlet/www/prototypes/gestemplate/GesTemplateheaderpage.page

1. Creation of the content index that will be used:  this content index is composed of the following categories:

• Unit or chapter

• Introduction
• Content
• Activities
• Glossary
• Appendix

Content-Portlet Description:
The template es:Template_de_ges  manages the final presentation of the created content pages.
The web template used, is based in three navigation levels.
 

• Unit or module

• Section

• Subsection

This template is built with a series of scripts, which are responsible of the navigation of every section, is divided in:  header, module navigation, section navigation, subsections navigation, navigation between pages and content.
The navigation is controlled by their respectives scripts located in content-portlet/www/

And they are:

unit-navbar: Checks the navigation between units or modules.
Navbar and complete-navbar:  Checks the navigation between sections in the web template.
complete-titlebar, next, home: These are the elements that conform and check the horizontal navigation bar between content pages for one section or subsection.
Subnavbar and complete-subnavbar: These elements check the navigation between subsections.
Each one of these are part of the web template and provides us a graphic simple way to navigate between content pages.

content-portlet/www/prototypes/gestemplate :  Provides the content of the diferents pages of xowiki created automatically by adding the applet in a course.

content-portlet/www/resources : It contains the graphic part of the web template that is being used.  (images, estiles, etc.)

Updates

There is an improved version of this package called Learning Content.