Resources for Web Development Students @ Robin’s Blog

I got a few more modules installed on the forum. Wait, let me back up. The forum uses a package called Xoops. Xoops is a free content management system. It’s pretty easy to install and it is what’s called “extensible” which means that you can add different modules (features) to the system.

Over the weekend I added some new modules and got some others working. The image gallery is now working. You can create your own photo galleries to share with your fellow students. Sherri, I hope that you will post some of your beautiful drawings and paintings too!

I added a chat module. I thought you could use it to meet about projects outside of class. Or just use it to jabber with alumni.

I created categories for the web links section. I hope that you will start posting your favorite links to share with your fellow students. From what I understand, Xoops will notify me of broken links even. Woohoo!

I put up a few answers to frequently asked questions in class. Hopefully, we can put a lot of resources in this section.

I activated the ability to add avatars (personal images used to identify you) to your profile. These avatars will display when you post in the forums. You can see an avatar if you look at my posts in the forum. You can find the avatar option in the view account menu in the sidebar.

Xoops also has modules for job listings and book lists. I hope to implement both of these features over the next week. David, there are also some newsletter modules that I thought you might enjoy trying out.

Xoops uses PHP, MySQL, and CSS. I am working to style the system and it will have a style switcher so you can pick the look that you like. I’m trying to remove the current “Your Slogan Here” at the top of the pages, but it’s being difficult.

Now for a few goodies from around the web:

Fun with Drop Shadows – an article on placing drop shadows around images.

Polaroid-o-nize™ an image – turn your favorite image into a polaroid online for free!

Return of Design has lots of new articles including: How to implement Google sitemaps, overhauled color schemes, and are you a CSS fanatic. There I also read a great recommendation of a hosting company called Page-Zone, they’re very affordable! We are currently looking for a new hosting company for the HCA (they are using Colossal) since I put in a help desk request this weekend and it took over eight hours for them to respond.

CommonTunes is a free music community.

I know some of you have been considering purchasing a digital SLR camera. Here is an article on building a digital SLR system.

I will be starting new students today, so class will probably be a bit hectic. Hopefully, you will have enough resources to visit while I’m working with new students. Please take the time to register for the forums if you haven’t already. Thanks for your patience!