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Studio Session #12

stephgran | weblog | Dec 12, 2007 - 4:33pm

MindTouch - Deki Wiki (Week I):

(Demo Deki Wiki site: http://is346.wik.is)

1. Create a new user account.

OK, done. 

2. Create a sample wiki page.  How can you create a new wiki page in different ways?

You can create a page from the main page (select new page, edit: add text, save) or you can add a sub-page from your individual main page.

3. Does Deki Wiki allow you to form your own information hierarchy by letting you create sub-pages under your top-level wiki pages?

Yes. 

4. Does Deki Wiki allow you to rename your wiki page?

Yes. Changed from Steph's new page to Steph's Test Page 

5. Create tags for your wiki page.

Go to tools, pull down menu, select tags, submit. 

6. Embed an image into your wiki page.

Pull down the "More" menu", select attach file->upload. Edit page, select insert image button, select uploaded image->insert 

7. Does Deki Wiki support the CamelCase style?

Nope 

8. Attach a sample Word document to your wiki page and check to see if it is possible to preview the document via Deki Wiki.

Yes, you can preview the document? 

9. Does Deki Wiki's default configuration allow users to embed videos from online video-sharing sites (e.g., Google Video, YouTube) into their posts?  If so, embed a sample video into your wiki page.

Yes, done. 

10. Go to www.widgetbox.com, pick two widgets, and embed them into your wiki page (you will need to use the widgetbox extension for this task).

Done. 

11. Add an RSS feed (maximum 3 items) to your wiki page.

Done. 

12. Does Deki Wiki allow you to save your wiki page as a PDF file?

Some useful Deki Wiki sites:

Registered Extensions: http://is346.wik.is/@api/deki/site/functions

Extensions Guide: http://wiki.opengarden.org/Deki_Wiki/Extensions

Admin Manual: http://wiki.opengarden.org/Deki_Wiki/User_Manual/Admin_Manual

User Manual: http://wiki.opengarden.org/index.php?title=Deki_Wiki/User_Manual


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Studio Session #11

stephgran | weblog | Dec 12, 2007 - 12:56am
Hands-on Activities:

b2evolution (Week I):

1. Visit the individual demo blogs listed on the main page..
Done.
2. Create a new user account.
Done.
3. Post a sample message to Blog A.
Done.
4. Does b2evolution's devault configuration allow users to embed videos from online video-sharing sites (e.g., google Video, YouTube) into their posts? If so, embed a sample video into a post.
Yes and done.
5. Can a user create a file folder for himself or herself by using b2evolution's interface, upload files to that folder, and then attach them to his or her blog postings? if so what are the supported file formats?

6. Can a user create static pages?

7. Can a user post a message to multiple blogs at once (crossposting)?

8. Is it possible to highlight a computer code in a post?


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Studio Session #10

stephgran | weblog | Dec 11, 2007 - 11:14pm
Hands-on Activities:

PhP Wiki (Week I):

1. Create a sample wiki page.
Ans: .Very simple - done!
2. Embed an image into your sample wiki page.
I uploaded an image to the html area of stephanie.mysocialtech, then linked to it from my Php Wiki page.
3. Does Php Wiki support CamelCase?
Yes!
4. Add your name to the recent visitors list.
Done.
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TikiWiki (Week I):

1. Create a new user account
Done
2. Create a sample wiki page.
Done
2.1. Upload a sample Word document to the IS346 file gallery and create an external link to your sample Word document.
It took me a little while to figure out how to create the external link. The html code provided on upload threw me for a loop.
2.2. Embed an image into your wiki page.
I uploaded one of my favorite images to the TikiWiki site. I used the URL with the same syntax as the Word link (above), but it didn't work. Luckily, when I selected the link, it took me to the picture and lo and behold were instructions for embedding the image (2 even!). Thank you TikiWiki
2.3. Add an RSS feed to your wiki page. Limit it to 3 items.
It took me a while to figure this one out and then another while to figure out how to limit the number of items. I went to the TikiWiki documentation and searched to find the answer. Source: http://doc.tikiwiki.org/tiki-index.php?page=RSS+User&highlight=RSS
2.4. Does TikiWiki support CamelCase?
Why yes it does!
2.5. Install and test a TikiWiki mod by using the Admin Mods feature.
I (think) I installed the ebay module, but it is really unclear to me how to test it, since there is not syntax given.
2.6. Assign a new module to the existing modules.
I assigned extcalc, but not sure what that means exactly.

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Studio Session 9: phpBB2 (Nov 14, 2007)

stephgran | weblog | Nov 12, 2007 - 3:36pm
Hands-on Activities:

phpBB2 (Week II):

1. Create a standard announcement. What is the difference between a standard announcement and a sticky topic?
Ans: To create an announcement, I had to go to the administrator panel, change permissions for my IS346 forum to allow admin to post announcements. Then, I went to the IS346 forum->post topic and created a topic called Test Announcement, from there I selected Post topic as->Announcement. I also posted a sticky by creating a Test Sticky topic and selecting Post topic as-> Sticky.
Announcements are different than Sticky topics because they contain important information to be read as soon as possible. They appear at the top of every page in the forum to which they are posted. A user needs permission granted by the administrator to post Announcements. Sticky topics appear below announcements and only on the first page of the forum. Stickies may be important, definitely should be read. User's need permission from the administrator to post stickies.
2. What is BBCode? As an administrator, if you allow BBCode on your board, can users still disable it in their posts?
BBCode is an implementation of HTML used on bulletin boards that has a very similar syntax to HTML. the administrator can disable or enable the use of BBCode on the BB site, but users can disable it on a per post basis from the posting site. Source: http://ww3.versus.com/forums/faq.php
3. As an administrator, if you allow the use of HTML on your board, can users use any HTML tag in their posts?
The administrator can allow HTML use, however not all HTML is available as a security measure. If HTML is enabled by the administrator, users can use only those tags supported in their posts. In addition, if HTML is enabled by the admin, then users can enable or disable HTML on a per post basis.
Source: http://ww3.versus.com/forums/faq.php
4. How can you prevent people from registering usernames similar to your username or read name?
From within the admin panel, under User Admin, select 'Disallow Users', enter the name surrounded by the wildcard character to disallow variations as well. 
Source: http://www.phpbb.com/support/documentation/2.0/
5. Create a full backup or your phpBB2's database tables by using your Administration Panel.
From within the Administration panel, under General Admin, select Backup Database. I selected full backup along with the gzip option.
6. Does your phpBB2's default configuration allow users to attach files to their posts?
No, but there is an attachment MOD that can be used to alter the config to allow attaching files to posts.
7. Does your phpBB2's default configuration allow users to embed videos from online video-sharing sites (e.g., Google video, YuTube) into thier posts?
No, but MODs are available to allow embedding of videos.
8. What are MODs? Install EasyMod.
MODs are similar to MediaWiki Extensions and WorkPress Widgets in that they are user developed share-ware used to extend the capabilities of the default configuration of the appllication. I successfully installed EasyMod, a couple of path hiccups, but it was mostly very easy. I liked the web-based interactive installation process!
9. Install Multiple BBCode Mod from the following site: http://www.phpbb.com/community/viewtopic.php?t=145513
Done and installed, but not without some trouble. The .mod extension causes problems since Windows machines want to save the file as a movie file and will only let me open it with Windows Media Player. I finally managed to change the extension to .php and upload to my phpBB2 mods directory, but EasyMod couldn't see the mod, so...I read further and found I needed to create a folder within the mods folder for my new mod, which I did, but...still can't see the mod, so...I read further and found EasyMod looks at for a certain syntax within the header file, so I checked to see if the header had the right syntax, which it did, so...I read further and found EasyMod looks for .mod or .txt files, so I renamed to .mod within CoreFTP, but once again the file turned into a movie format, so...I renamed the file with a .txt extension and renamed the folder to remove the hyphen in the name and change it to an underscore (just in case) from mult-bbc to multi_bbc, now EasyMod sees my file and voila, easily installed. I found that the many helpful directories I am directed to do not exist which is a little frustrating for a newbie.
10. Install YouTube BBCode Mod from the following site and test it: http://www.phpbb.com/community/viewtopic.php?t=375183
This install went much better than the first, you make enough mistakes and eventually figure things out. I don't need to change the extension, even though the mod looks like a movie file on my PC, phpBB2 EasyMod knows how to deal with the .mod extension. The only problem I have with this one is that it doesn't work! A youtube button appears on the edit page when I create a post and it puts in the [youtube] ...[/youtube] bbcode, but then nothing appears in my post. I also included the url to the youtube video between url tags [url...[/url] and that shows up just fine. I'll need to look further.
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PhpBB3 (Week I):

1. Install phpBB3 (RC7). Please do not forget to use a custom table prefix (elg., mcphpbb3_) for your installation.
Done. phpBB3 has a much cleaner, friendlier feel than phpBB2 which was difficult to navigate and seemed dated. The installation was really easy!
2. Add the URL address of your phpBB3 to your index page on MySocialTech.com.
Done
3. Update your board's site name, site description, and system timezone.
Done
4. Rename your automatically generated forum ("Your first forum").
Done
5. Create a standard announcement and a poll associated with it. What is the difference between a standard announcement and a global one?
I created a standard announcement with a poll associated with it, it was really easy to do. I also created a global announcement. I can't really see a difference in the two, so I looked it up, here's what I found: Both global and standard announcements contain important information that should be read as soon as possible. Both types of announcements will appear at the top of every forum, Global announcements will also within the user control panel. Source: http://www.asta-lueneburg.de/forum/faq.php#f34
6. Create a user rank that can only be obtained after posting a certain number of posts. What is the difference between that type of a rank and a special rank?
I created a rank from within the Admin Panel by selecting Users and Groups tab, then Manage Ranks from list on left. I set number of posts to achieve the rank to 10. A rank is a title that appears next to a persons name and in their profile to show how active they are or how long they've been a member. Ranks are used to indicate something special. Special Ranks are granted to specific users in the User Management profile. Source: http://www.intermedia.net/support/PhpBB/administration/user_admin/#Ranks
7. Create a new usergroup called "Friends" (group type: request).
I went to Manage Groups from my Admin page and created a new user group called Friends. I set the group type to 'request'.
8. Visit one of your classmates' board, create a user for yourself, and join his or her Friends usergroup. Update your profile and board preferences.
I joined Kate's board, created a user for myself and joined her Friends usergroup. I also updated my profile and board preferences.
9. Create a full backup of your board's data base tables by using your Administration Control Panel (ACP).
I created a full backup of my board's data base tables within the Administration Control Panel by selecting the Maintenance tab, the nselecting Backup from the leftmost column. I opted for a full backup and selected all tables, the gzipped sql file was saved on my PC.
10. Does your board's default configuration allow users to attach files to their posts?
No, the administrator must grant attachment permissions on a per forum, per group, or per user basis.
11. Does your board's default configuration allow users to embed videos from online video-sharing sites (e. g., Google Video, YouTube) into their posts?
 No.
12. Add the custom YouTube and GoogleVideo BBCodes to your board and test them. The codes are available on http: //www-phpbb.com/community/viewtopic.php?f=46&t=579376.
This is sooo easy!!!! My YouTube test passed with flying colors. My Google Video, not so much, the player appears, but no video, hmmm.

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Studio Session 8: phpBB2 (Nov 7, 2007)

stephgran | weblog | Nov 5, 2007 - 10:04pm

Review of SS#7:

 * Hands-on activities.
Work as a team and check each other's tasks. Create an account on your team member's Wiki to be able to test some of the tasks.
Since I was absent from class, I looked at Kate, Dolly, Eric and Ben's blogs to check my own work. I updated my answer to the InterWiki question to reflect Ben's findings. I also needed to update my answer to support of full HTML for some users.
* Hands-on Activities:
PhpBB2 (Week I):
1. Install phpBB2 (version 2.0.22).
I successfully installed phpBB2. I had a slight hiccup because I forgot to delete the contrib folder, but once deleted, I was on my way.
2. Log in as an administrator and update your user profile.
I was able to log in as administrator and easily update my user profile.
3. Create a new forum (e.g., IS346)
From the Administration Panel, I selected the Management button under the Forum category.  From the forum management page, I created a new forum entitled IS346.
4. Create a new usergroup and assign a moderator role to that usergroup.
From within the Administration Panel, I selected the Management button under the Group Admin category. From group admin page, I opted to create a new group that I named IS346_SS8_Group. I assigned moderator duties to myself as phpAdmin.
5. Create a new user and make that user a member of the usergroup you have created in Step 4.
I logged out as administrator and logged back in by creating a new user. One thing to note, each user must have a unique email address, this seems silly to me because sometimes people share the same address. As the new user, I requested to join the usergroup I created in Step 4. I logged out, then logged in as admin. I allowed my new user to join the group. As I was trying to figure out how to do this task, I found a MOD that allows the administrator to create a new user from within the Administrator Panel, but opted not to install it just yet. The MOD is called ACP User registration and can be found here:
6. Change the style of your phpBB2.
It took me a little while to figure out how to do this. I found only a few themes at http://www.phpbb.com, I selected one called What Is Real!!? and was able to easily download and unzip the file. I uploaded the theme folder to my phpBB2/templates folder and then tried to install it. I found instructions on installing a theme via the Style Administrator menu (Add) at this site -> http://www.phpbb.com/kb/article/installing-a-new-theme+template+style/ , I followed all of the available instructions including changing the default Style under General Admin -> Configuration. I then tested the installation, I saw the new style when I first arrived at the page, but after logging in, the style reverted back to the default. I finally figured out that I needed to change my user default under General Admin -> Configuration as well as the style default. Finally it works, the theme is ugly, but it works. I found another site called http://www.themebase.com/ that had a better selection of styles. I installed a style called LastCrusade, that reminds me of the Indiana Jones movies. I'll have fun playing around with it as we continue on with phpBB. There aren't as many themes for phpBB as WordPress and what is out there seems to be somewhat male oriented, but at least it looks better than it did.
7. Add the URL address of your phpBB2 to your index page on MySocialTech.com
Done.
MediaWiki (Week V):
 In Studio Session #7, each class member installed an extension used by Wikipedia.  Check your classmates' blogs to see which extensions they installed and then, install at least four of those extensions to your MediaWiki.

I installed and tested the following four extensions:

Agi - WikiWidgets

Dolly - Image Map

Shantanu - MWCalendar

Evern - Freemind

They were all relatively easy to install and use.

Visit different wikis that are members of the Interwiki map(*) and install at least four of their extensions to your MediaWiki.

I installed five Interwiki extensions:

WikiNews and four Wikipedia Projects via wikia: The Clash, Cycling, Weather and Mystery Science Theater 3000

It was a little difficult, since there seems to be a lack of a naming standard, but I suppose that's the nature of the beast. For instance, sometimes the syntax for "Main Page" is Main_Page or sometimes Main Page. I couldn't find a single page that described the syntax fo all, so I had to resort to trial and error. The wikia source is great! Many interesting Wiki Sites. It serves as a portal to many wikis.


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Studio Session 7 (10-24-2007)

stephgran | weblog | Oct 31, 2007 - 4:49pm

Individual Assignment #2 - MediaWiki:

* Please make sure that all of your wiki pages are accessible from your main wiki page. You can always put your pages under your Fall2007-IS346 sub-category that you created in Studio Session #5.

All of my wiki pages are accessible from my main wiki page. Many assignments are on my Sample Page. I've added a link to the Sample Page from my Fall2007-IS346 sub-category.

Individual Assignment #3:

* Add a subpage titled YourName - The name of your selected application (e.g., Mete Cetiner - PhProject) to the following wiki page created for the assignment: IS346 - Social Technologies : Home Page > Individual Assignment 3.

Done.

* Add the URL address of your application to your index page on MySocialTech.com.

Done. I installed WikyBlog under the html directory of the IS346 database and have it linked via the index page on MySocialTech.com.

* Review of SS#6:

I worked with my classmates on SS#6. I needed help with the final 3 tasks and succesfully completed them in class.

HANDS-ON ACTIVITIES:

Wikis - MediaWiki (Week IV):

  1. Create a template page and include its content in one of your wiki pages using this sample content: This is a sample page created for IS346. Ans: Done and tested. Reference = http://en.wikipedia.org/Wikipedia:Template-namespace
  2. Create a template page so that whenever you type ((T1|X|Y)) (X:Task#, Y:StudioSession#) while editing a wiki page, your Wiki automatically displays the following statement after you save the page: This is my anser to Task#X in Studio Session#Y: e.g., ((T1|1|7)) --> This is my answer to Task#1 in Studio Session#7. Ans: Done and tested.
  3. Include the content of a wiki page in another wiki pag by using the transclusion feature of your Wiki. Ans: Done and tested.
  4. Create a wiki page displaying an RSS feed from your blog on www.claremontconversation.org. Ans: Done and tested, it works but the results are not formatted in a reasonable way. It returns a hodgepodge of words without any carriage returns or paragraph delineation. I will work with my classmates to figure out why the formatting is incorrect.
  5. Install and test ShareThis (MediaWiki Extension): http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:ShareThis. Ans: Done and tested.
  6. Select two pages from your Special pages list and briefly describe the function of each page. Ans: 1) Orphaned pages - show all pages not linked from other pages inside the wiki; 2) Popular pages - shows most viewed pages starting with the number 1 page.
  7. Which special page shows all the extensions installed on your Wiki? Ans: The Version page.
  8. Go over the extensions used by Wikipedia and install one of them to your Wiki. Ans: I installed and tested the Poem extension that is used to automatically format a poem so that one doesn't need to include many < br > . I used Dylan Thomas' poem Do Not Go Gently into That Good Night as an example, see my Sample Page on my MediaWiki site.
  9. Create a link on one of your wiki pages to a secion of another wiki page.  Done and tested. Link from Sample page to CGU page Section Link Test section. I added a pipe to make the link on the Sample Page look clean.
  10. Let's think of a scenario where there is a Wiki sitethat has several pages created by multiple users. As one of the users of the site, how can you easily find to see if there are any pages that have links to your wiki page? Ans: Use Orphaned pages from the Special Pages list. If your site doesn't appear, there are pages linked to your wiki page, if your site does appear, no one links to your page.
  11. Why does your Wiki's current setting permit the use of only a limited number of HTML elements? Is there a way to re-configure your Wiki to support full HTML coding in your wiki pages? Ans: Wiki permits limited number of HTML elements because a) it is believed Wiki syntax is more convenient and easier to use and learn than HTML syntax,  b) it allows users who are unfamiliar with HTML to actively participate and edit on the fly in a Wiki using a consistent syntax, c) security, some web browsers are susceptible to malicious attacks via manipulation of HTML. I was not able to discover a way to re-configure my Wiki to support full HTML coding in my wiki pages, but I did discover an extension (http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:Secure_HTML) that secures arbitrary HTML code within a wiki page from  XSS (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cross-site_scripting attacks.
  12. Create a link on one of your wiki pages to a Wikipedia page by using your Wiki's InterWiki Feature. Does this feature also work to create a link to a wiki page that is part of another wiki on MySocialTech.com? Ans: Done and tested on Sample Page on my wiki. It will work, but as I understand it, the site needs to be registered or mapped much like a domain name. One can use an application such as InterMap to map your URL to a shorthand name.

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Studio Session 6

stephgran | weblog | Oct 24, 2007 - 5:20pm

=Studio Session 6 (10-17-2007)=

==Studio Session # 6==

Individual Assignment #3:

I explored the various websites recommended by Mete and found them to be very useful in terms of finding social networking applications appropriate for the third individual assignment. I came across several on SourceForge that I considered for my individual assignment. I originally selected map-blog, but after exploring the options feel it’s too limited and really doesn’t seem robust or have a great deal of support. I’ve decided on b2evolution instead, though may choose WikyBlog or something else if b2evolution is taken.

Review of SS#4 and SS#5

Evren and I compared our results for Studio Sessions 4 and 5. It seems we came up with many of the same answers and had similar questions re. one or two of the tasks. For task 5.7, I realized I got that one backward, my Fall2007 category thinks it is a sub-category of category IS346. We had different approaches to 5.12, but both worked. Evren used embedvideo.php from mediaWiki extensions and I used an extension called YouTube.php.</span>

'''White Label Social Networking Platforms:'''

White label social networking platforms are an interesting concept, I especially liked the article written by Mark Hendrickson on “Nine Ways to Build Your Own Social Network’. It seems convenient to have a robust social networking platform with plenty of support that is easily customizable to a particular application. The robustness and support are particularly appealling to an organizaiton or individual who doesn’t have time or incllination to get their hands dirty with SourceForge type free-ware. My personal experience with open source products is mixed, some work great, others not so good. I found the Go Lightly package particularly interesting as I am involved in my community and have struggled with various methods to reach out to and engage members or our small non-profit corporation. My initial take on the Go Lightly application is that it seems to have taken into account many of the issues we’ve tackled in trying to build a web-site for our group.

'''Wikis – MediaWiki (Week III):'''

'''''1. What is a sockpuppet? What is a meatpuppet? How are these related to a doppelganger? What procedures are available to a Wiki Sysop to circumvent a suspected sockpuppet? (Stephanie).'''''

A sockpuppet is a single user with multiple accounts. Sockpuppets try to influence the wiki process by voting multiple times using different accounts or by using one account to support the position of another. Sockpuppets may use multiple accounts to circumvent policy or to disrupt a wiki.

A meatpuppet is someone who is recruited by another user to push a particular agenda. Similar to a sockpuppet, except a unique user.

A doppelganger account is one that is similar to one’s primary account, generated to pre-emptively prevent impersonation by vandals. Doppleganger accounts are acceptable and should be marked as doppelganger or re-directed to the primary account.

A WikiSysop has several procedures at the ready to identify and circumvent a suspected sockpuppet or metpuppet. They are handled the same way. The accounts can be tagged as suspected sock puppets, or in extreme cases can be blocked.

'''''2. Create a sample wiki-table (Dolly).'''''

http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:SimpleTable</span>

Not fancy.

'''''3. Change the language of your MediaWiki (Mohamed).'''''

Change the language inside LocalSettings.php, limited. 

'''''4. Install and test Bad Behavior (MediaWiki extension) (Eric):'''''
http://www.homelandstupidity.us/software/bad-behavior/installing-and-using-bad-behavior/on-mediawiki/ 

Not robust, I haven’t tried the alternate that works.

'''''5. Install and test New User Email Notification (MediaWiki extension) (Rosemary):'''''

>http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:New_User_Email_Notification

Works great!

'''''6. Install and test NewUserMessage (Mediawiki extension) (Rosemary):'''''

http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:NewUserMessage Roman&quot;

Once I realized I needed to fill in the message template, it worked ok.

'''''7. Install and test Contribution Scores (MediaWiki extension) (Evren):'''''

http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:Contribution_Scores 

This one is very cool! 

'''''8. Install and test ArticleComments (MediaWiki extension) (Kate):'''''

http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:ArticleComments

This extension caused some unexpected results to my Wiki page the first time I tried the upload. It turns out the source web page that describes the line to add to LocalSettings.php is wrong, it doesn’t show the $IP as part of the extensions path, so if you just cut and paste from the source site, it wont’ work. Took me a little while to notice, but once I fixed it, it worked fine.

'''''9. Install and test WikEd (MediaWiki extension) (Shantanu):'''''

http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:WikEd

I tried, but did not complete this installation. I was very confused by the instructions at the source site. It wasn’t clear what portions of the code needed to be included or why I needed to clear my cache. 

'''''10. Install and test FeedImport (MediaWiki extension) (Ben):'''''

http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:FeedImport

I tried, but did not complete this installation. I wasn’t sure what to do with Magpie code.

'''''11. Install and test Password Reset (MediaWiki extension) (Agi):'''''

http://www.mediawiki.org/wiki/Extension:Password_Reset

I didn’t get to this extension, but will install it this weekend.



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Independent Project

stephgran | page | Oct 22, 2007 - 8:43pm

IS346 Independent Project

As part of our IS346 course, each student is required to pursue some aspect of WordPress on their own as an independent project. For this first project, I chose to pursue and explore the wonderful world of widgets. I’ve found widgets to be a nice way of customizing even a themed WordPress webblog. Just make sure your theme is widget enabled!
WordPress supports widget upload and customization, though prior to WordPress v2.2, a user needed to upload a widget enabler plug-in in order to add widgets to a page. The latest versions of WordPress are widget enabled providing a virtually seamless interface to page customization via widgets. The only caveat is to make sure your theme is widget enabled and that’s easy if you go to the WordPress themes page and search using the words “widget ready”.
I stumbled around a little trying to figure out where widgets go in the directory structure we’ve set up via Core FTP, there doesn’t seem to be a lot of helpful documentation out there regarding this initial stage. I finally figured out I needed to create a widgets folder in the wp-content/plugins folder. Once I figured out where to put my unzipped widgets, I thought all I needed to do was to drag and drop them from the widgets toolbar in my admin space…wrong. First, widgets need to be activated just like plug-ins, once a widget is activated, it will appear in the available widgets list in the widget toolbar. The administrator drags a widget from the available widgets list into the left or right column depending on the layout of your theme. I found that I can easily change the order of widgets in my columns with a simple drag and drop operation.
Widgets themselves come in many flavors and levels of robustness. Some are easily installed and some, well, you should really know php programming. Some did very weird things to my layout and I deleted those pronto!
I had hoped to create a coherent space based on my interests in weather, space exploration, maps and cycling, but I found that there are certain aspects to customizing ones space that are not easily overcome. I am thinking I need more php practice. I wound up adding two widgets to my main page.
The first widget I installed is called APOD (Astronomical Picture of the Day) http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/. APOD is hosted at Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) and each day features a different image or photograph of the universe along with an explanation written by a scientist. The widget was REALLY easy to install after I figured out how to install widgets, though some blogs mentioned trouble with daylight savings time. Time has not been a problem so far. One shortcoming of the widget is it lacks the image caption found on the actual web-site.
Next, I was on to weather. I found lots of weather widgets and even found one that works! I attempted to install one that links to wunderground.com, but found myself pouring over php code in the wee hours of the night trying to figure out why it crashed my theme and decided this is just not worth it. I then found the weatherpixie which seemed straight-forward enough in terms of installation, but is just a little too cute for my taste. Weatherpixie displays a little cartoon girl who is dressed in different outfits depending on the weather in your area. If it rains, she wears a raincoat and holds an umbrella, if it’s cold, well you get the idea. Too cute, no go, moving on. I searched some more and found another wp-weather widget http://devblog.x-sphere.com/index.php/projects/wordpress/wp-weather this one takes the feed from weather.com. I had to sign up for weather.com’s free XML service to get a partner ID and license key. I downloaded the zipped widget, unzipped and uploaded via Core FTP. I activated the widget, then was directed to a page allowing me to configure the widget interactively without having to dive into a php script. I set the forecast region using Claremont, CA zip code and set the forecast length. I initially set the forecast length to 5-days, but this turned into a long list on my site, so I went back and easily re-configured the widget to display 2 day forecasts. Voila, it works!
My last widget quest involved maps. I found a great site devoted to Geo or MapWikis, which are (obviously) map-based wiki and/or blog pages. I decided I wasn’t ready to upload and install the MapWiki just yet since the installation is not entirely drag and drop, but in the meantime, found platial.com (http://www.platial.com). Platial.com is a free map-based blog hosting service that can either be added as a blogroll to a WordPress site, or can be plugged in as a widget. I set up a free blog page on palatial.com and built a map showing the site of CGU. I have my map-blog site listed on my wordpress blogroll. Visitors to my map-blog site can add their sites to any map I build (basically a mashup). I can generate multiple maps with different themes , for instance I can make a map that shows where the coffee houses are in Claremont, a visitor can come and add a site along with a description and even photos. I will continue to work with maps as we proceed in class. My plan is to install a map widget directly into my blog-space.
Overall, I find widgets fun to work with, though occasionally frustrating, depending on the programmer. It seems that many programmers are interested in improving the widgets they make accessible to the public and are ready, willing and able to address issues that arise. I can see where one can go overboard with widgets and a site can get cluttered. I would like to be able to install widgets that only appear on sub-pages of my blog, but haven't figured out how to do that just yet. It may be theme-dependent or maybe I just need to do more php programming.


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Home Page

stephgran | page | Oct 14, 2007 - 1:29pm

 

 

Welcome to Stephanie Granger's Claremont Conversation Wiki.

Please visit my web blog at  http://stephanie.mysocialtech.com/wordpress/ or my wiki page at http://stephanie.mysocialtech.com/mediawiki/.

I look forward to your blogs and comments on my page.

 


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Studio Session 4 Finished

stephgran | weblog | Oct 14, 2007 - 1:28pm

Studio Session 4:

 1) Install MediaWiki 1.11.0 

Done.

 2) Create a sample wiki page and use he edit toolbar to format your content with wiki markups. How can you create a new page in different ways? How is creating a new page differenct than editing a blan page? 3) Rename your sample page. 

I used the move tab to rename my sample page to Steph’s Page. The result of using the move tab is to redirect the user to the newly named page, however the navigation bar must be changed manually to the name of the new page.

 4) Add your sample page to your watchlist.

Done. Select my watchlist tab, go to edit raw watchlist, add sample page to watchlist.

 5) Customize your user preferences:Ex. 1 Udate your wiki’s time zoneEx. 2 Set your wiki to display your nickname in yur signature.Ex. 3 Set your wiki to inform you via email whenever your sample page is changed.

Go to User preference tab, make changes. Done.

 6) How can you convert your text written in MS Word into the wiki format? 

Here’s the quick and dirty way I found on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:WordToWiki

Open document in Word, enter input, save as HTML. Open document, view source, select all, copy. Paste into the following page:

http://dberri.dyndns.org/wikipedia/html2wiki/index.html . Select all in the results box, copy. Go to wiki page, enter edit mode, paste wiki format and voila! Tested on my sample page.  
7) Can multiple users edit the same page at the same time? 

Yes, but…when the second (or third, or…) tries to save the page, MediaWiki attempts to merge their changes into the current version of the text. If the merge fails MediaWiki sends an “edit conflict” message and asks if they want to manually merge their changes. If this happens multiple times, the user receives a different message.

 8) Enable file uploading

Done.

Go to LocalSettings.php, edit:

$wgUpEnableUploads=true

9) How can you upload image, pdf, or Word files to your wiki?

Go to Special pages->Upload file, browse to file of interest, upload it.

 10) Embed an image into your sample page.

Done.

11) Change the logo.

Find an image, upload to /skins/commons/images/mywikilogo.jpg

Add the following to LocalSettings.php:

$wgStylePath=”$wgScriptPath/skins”

$wgLogo=”$wgStylePath/commonb/images/mywikilogo.jpg”

  12) Customize your navigational links.

Done. Go to MediaWiki:Sidebar, edit the page to add or remove navigational links.

 13) How can you create a table of contents for your sample page?

In edit mode, add __TOC__ to the page.

 14) How is the CamelCase style used in wikis? Does MediaWiki support it? 

The original wiki software written by Ward Cunningham used CamelCase convention to specify links to other wiki pages. MediWiki supports CamelCase, but it is not widely used. Explicit link markup (e.g., [[…]]) is more commonly used.


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