CUIN 6397 8397-Shawn McCombs

EUODS - Overview of Technologies Used for Dynamic Site Implementation

2009-05-09T15:00:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone,

I've been working with our administration to investigate the possibility of hosting the EUODS site on the university's main web server. This means that the university would help us with some programming needs, but would also help us with backup and maintenance. While we're not yet convinced that we want to make this move, here's the general technical information surrounding the dynamic site's redevelopment:

Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling – DS

Site Technical Information and Administrative Items

The EDUOS site has undergone significant change over the past several months. During this time, the original site was totally redesigned, and primary delivery technologies have been updated to reflect modern web technologies and site publishing standards.

The following information specifies the technologies behind the site and administrative details for maintaining the site once published.

From HTML to PHP/MYSQL

The digital storytelling site is coded entirely in PHP with MySQL, although it must be noted that the site started out as a static site created only by HTML. Hence, its parts were statically delivered and there was no remarkable logic or dynamically delivered content.

When the DS site was converted from a static to dynamic site, static parts were surgically removed and replaced it with PHP code linking to MYSQL components. For example:

Original in HTML -
Insert static text here.

became...

Dynamic in PHP -

$query $result
echo " $words_in_database ";

?>

All pages connect to the " mysql_connect.php " file, which is the sole link to the MYSQL database from the PHP. If you are having database connection issues, this is the file that should be fixed.

Control Panel - Administrator

The administrator side has a control panel where they can edit the contents of each page. This was done using the INSERT, UPDATE, DELETE command familiar with MYSQL. Because the site is large and complex, multiple tables were created to support various things. There are probably over 50+ tables in the database for this reason alone...an unusually large number.

Each part of the control panel links to a separate table, but to the administrator looking at the control panel itself, it's cleanly organized and simple.

The control panel also allows the administrator to add other administrators or delete them. They can also change their password or retrieve a forgotten password.

PLEASE NOTE: The control panel was designed primarily to change text and video. Any complex graphics will need to be done manually in Photoshop.

Submit a Story Panel

The viewer also has their own panel where they can submit a story that can be reviewed and manually approved by the administrator. This panel is seperate from the administrator control panel and is built on its own table.

Graphics

All layouts were originally designed in Photoshop. Once the photoshop layout is done, it is then flattened and transferred as a layer to the border.psd file. The border.psd file has layers which a designer can use the magic wand, without anti-alias option selected, to quickly cut out the parts. Each part is then coded manually in Notepad in PHP.

The flash graphics were primarily done in After Effects which is then exported to an .swf.

Folders

All includes are placed within the includes folder.
All uploaded items are put within the uploads folder ( all videos go here )
All graphics are in the graphics folder.

Misc.

The pulldown menus from the navigation bar are created by javascript. Because javascript is difficult to adapt with PHP, any changes that need to be done to the pulldown navigation menus must be done in the javascript itself.

The table fields needed for the MYSQL can be found in the word document.

In addition, there are 20 more templates not in the original that can be added on if desired by the owner of the site. Tables and setting for them have already been placed in the control panel. To make them " visible " to the public, all that's need to be done is to make a link into the javascript menu.

Site redesign and development accomplished by:

Dr. Bernard Robin, Center for Digital Storytelling in Education;
Shawn McCombs – Design and Development;
Louis Leung – Graphic Design, Programming, and Site Implementation

The Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling is the proud Winner of the 2009 MERLOT Award for Exemplary Online Learning Resources.

Some Social Networking and Web 2.0 Research Info

2009-05-09T14:57:00.000-07:00

For Week 10, I decided to look first at the collective thinking on the subject of social networks and online communities. Here's what I've decided to use for our post:

changes in the manner in which we communicate in general (Kaye & Medoff, 2008) can be classifed in three unique substructures: Social Networking, Social Media, and Social Bookmarking. Each distinct subcategory is often bundled under the general term, Social Networking, and has become somewhat prolific in part due to the overwhelming need for human being to be social, even when the communication paths that we choose are ripe with limitations. The Internet, for example, finds most of its users interacting from behind a monitor and with a keyboard – largely solitary behaviors which promote isolation. Social Networking, then, might just be a way for folks to preserve some of our inherent social interaction – and is also why online communities are so popular. I recall some of Dr. Robin’s earlier work (in 2003), where he focused on the online community as a necessary way to harness collaboration and human interaction in an otherwise antisocial user environment. I think it’s fascinating, today, that the EUODS site has become the defacto-online community that has grown in popularity and really out of necessity.

To that end, I think YouTube is the end-all-be-all in terms of Web 2.0 and social networking integration. YouTube’s primary distribution technology utilized full-motion video, however a brief investigation will produce many digital story-like videos (including the Ken Burns Effect – and other transitions) in what is obviously a collection of still images and voiceovers.

FAQ for EUODS Site

2009-05-09T14:53:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone;

After much reworking (clear, concise, and to the point), I'm finally happy with the FAQ's I've been working on for the DS site - For our midterm posting, I looked into creating an FAQ about iTunes U and podcasting. Here's my FAQ:

Frequently Asked Questions:

Q. Can I find podcasts of your Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling content on iTunes or online?

A. You can always download the podcasts of the Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling examples from iTunes U at the University of Houston http://itunes.uh.edu for playback on your iPod or iPhone, or other mobile media device. Video Podcasts may sometimes take a bit longer to download than other media files.

Once at the iTunes U at UH portal, click on the “UH Launch iTunes U” button, where you’ll be redirected to iTunes (you’ll need to download the free iTunes app at http://apple.com/itunes ). Inside iTunes U, locate the section “Around Campus,” where you’ll find Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling. Inside the section, you’ll see tabs at the top of the tracks listing. Select the tab of interest.

Streaming version of these, along with a wealth of information, can be found at http://coe.uh.edu/digitalstorytelling under “Examples.”

-Shawn

Hey Mom, I'm Blogging..

2009-01-17T09:04:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone, here's my personal blog..

-Shawn