Using Joomla for a teacher site?

[birv2]

Hi all, I'm a MS Technology Coordinator at Lancaster Country Day School in Lancaster, PA. I also teach several clases, and I would like to use Joomla as my personal/class site. After reading most of the manual and most of this subforum, I have a couple of questions:

1. I'd like to have each of my classes be main links on the front page, then go to the class page, where I can post links, as well as have student pages (which they would be able to update). Actually, each student will probably have several pages, kind of an e-portfolio. So I'm not sure how to work this with the hierarchy.  Would it be like this:
Class (Section)
  Student pages (categories)
    individual pages (content)

Does that look like it will work?

2. Also, can I make each student an author only of her pages? I'm looking into JACLPlus based on what I've read here.

Thanks very much in advance for any advice.

Bob Irving

[Slixter]

Some of it depends on how much work you yourself want to put into it and how much you want them to do.  If you want them to be able to create new pages themselves and other such things then one of the advanced access addons like the one you mentioned would probably be the way to go.
But if you have the structure above and have some specific pages for each student and don't mind creating new ones for students yourself you can use a default install.  Just leave the students as Registered users and create the pages you want them to be able to change and then change the creator of those pages to the student in question.  This will allow them to change any of those pages but they will not be able to change anybody elses and they will not be able to submit content.  And you won't have to deal with another addon to learn. 

--Slixter

[birv2]

Thanks, Slixter, for your answer!  Sounds great.

Now another question (there's always another question...)-- if I did what you suggest, and made them the owners of their own pages, would they be able to create any subpages from their "home page"? Or would I need to create them and make them owners again?

I don't mind fiddling with stuff and installing extensions, so that's not a problem.

TIA,
Bob

[Slixter]

No they could not, you would have to create a new one and make them the owner.

An alternative would be to have them use the table of contents and pagination function.  With that they could add sub pages to each individual page you assign them and it would have a little sub menu for each page, the TOC for the pages displayed on the top right of the page.

Add a Table of Contents functionality to a paginated item. Syntax: {mospagebreak} or {mospagebreak title=The page title} or {mospagebreak heading=The first page} or {mospagebreak title=The page title&heading=The first page} or {mospagebreak heading=The first page&title=The page title}

Like this page as an example.

http://demo.joomla.org/demo10/index.php ... 9&Itemid=2

--Slixter

[birv2]

Thanks again, Slixter.

Just to make sure I get the example, are you referring to the list titled "Article Index" on the right hand side of Example News Item 4?

And would I (as the admin) have to set up a new pagination for each student for each new link?

Thanks!
Bob

[Slixter]

Just to make sure I get the example, are you referring to the list titled "Article Index" on the right hand side of Example News Item 4?

Yes

And would I (as the admin) have to set up a new pagination for each student for each new link?

No, it is just one of the default bots that you publish in the backend, MOS Pagination.  They just have to use the correct syntax as outlined above to use it.  There is also an Insert Page Break image bot that shows up at the bottom of each editing window which can be used to insert a default page break.  They would have to add the title info and such to it.  Both of these bots should be published by default.

--Slixter

[birv2]

Thanks so much.  You the man (or boy, if I go by your pic)!

Bob

[birv2]

OK, now that I'm ready to do this, it doesn't seem quite so obvious. For instance, I don't see where or how to put the mospagebreak code in.

I have searched the forums for a guide to joomla coding but haven't found what I'm looking for. I'm not asking for a private tutorial. A link to some instructions would be MOST appreciated.

Thanks again,
Bob

[Slixter]

You put the mospagebreak code in the content where ever you want to start a new page and then enter the text for the next page right after it.  It looks like one big long page when you are editing it, but turns into multipages with a table of contents when viewed in the site. 

Text text text text text text text
text text text text text text text
Text text text text text text text
text text text text text text text
Text text text text text text text
text text text text text text text
{mospagebreak}
Text text text text text text text
text text text text text text text
Text text text text text text text
text text text text text text text
Text text text text text text text
text text text text text text text


The FAQ section here in the forum is a great place to start.

http://forum.joomla.org/index.php/board,49.0.html

a miniguide from the FAQ

http://forum.joomla.org/index.php/topic,5503.0.html

and some great flash tutorials can be found here.

http://www.joomlatutorials.com/

--Slixter

[birv2]

Okay, now I get it.

I've got it working on a test case and will now try to make it work for an entire class.

Thanks again!
Bob

[thekids]

great... i'm use joomla for my site : http://rahmat.polinpdg.ac.id.
for download material course for the student i'm use component Remository 3.40.
goodluck......