The Least You Need to Know: Drupal for Education

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The Least You Need to Know Drupal for Education

• Using Drupal to build a school or district web
  site
  
• John Jones (johnj_at_essdack.org)

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Whats Out There? (Content management Systems)

• Mambo/Joomla
• Drupal
• PHPnuke
• Wordpress

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Sample Sites

• The following sites are all Drupal sites.

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The Book

• Drupaled.org / Funnymonkey.com
• Bill Fitzgerald Drupal for Education and
  E-Learning
  

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Can you do it yourself?

• Basic HTML, CSS skills (PHP helps)
• Comfort level with code and breaking things
  (youre going to break things!).
  
• Time to explore and experiment.

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Key ConceptForm vs. Content

• Form (look and feel, presentation)
• Graphics, color scheme, fonts
• Other design elements
• Content
• Text
• Other Content (pictures, audio, video)
• demo Zen Garden site

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Drupal Terms

• Node
• User
• Modules
• Themes
• Categories
• Taxonomy

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What you get in Drupal Core

• Content Types
• Page
• Story
• Blog
• Forum
• Poll

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More Drupal Core

• Site Building Tools
• Menus
• Blocks
• Categories

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Even More Drupal Core

• Robust User Control
• Create your own User Types
• Granular Permissions
• User Creation Rules (email address, etc.)

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Acquia Drupal

• Paid Support Subscriptions
• Vetted Contributed Modules
• CCK
• Views
• Calendar Date
• Markdown
• Mollom
• Image tools
• Pathauto

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Other Contrib. Modules

• Section
• Organic groups
• Advanced Poll
• Backup Migrate

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Other Contrib Modules

• Workspace
• FCK Editor IMCE
• Invite
• Jquery
• Workspace
• Biography

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The Recipe Lets Put it together

• Key Requirements
• Sections for different schools/buildings
• Calendars
• Classes, Activities, etc.
• Staff Directory
• Image Galleries

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A Look Feel for Each Building

• Taxonomy (core)
• Pathauto
• Sections

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Staff Profile Pages Directory

• Content Profile / Biography (v5)
• Use Views to create the directory

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Activities, Sports, Committees, and Classes

• Organic Groups
• Group Home page
• Users Subscribe to the group, or are assigned to
  it
  
• Emailed updates
• Controls what user views on the site

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Calendars

• The Date API/Calendar combo
• Create Global Calendars
• Create Targeted Calendars
• Create individualized Calendars based on Group
  Content

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Image Galleries

• Image modules
• Image Gallery
• Taxonomy
• (Who can Submit? Workflow?)

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Whats Involved

• Download and install (web server database)
• Select, download, and install additional
  functionality modules
  
• Configure the site
• Theme (skin) development
• Rinse and Repeat.

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We Cant Do it Alone!

• Community support and help
• Continuity
• Pool of potential contractors
• Look at what others are doing

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How long does it take?

• Can create a site quickly (hours)
• Customization takes time (weeks/months)
• What takes so much time?
• Custom theme
• Select, install, configure modules
• Training re-education

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Thanks!

• John Jones
• ESSDACK.org
• Johnj_at_essdack.org
• 620.663.9566
• 316.214.8701