Firefox Profiles for Web Development
Posted by: pagetribe on: January 16, 2010
Background
As part of web development you probably have a number of Firefox extensions added; like the excellent firebug. Occasionally you have to clear you cache, cookies etc while testing. This is annoying if you use Firefox for your day to day email, banking etc. You don’t want your normal browser environment disrupted by your web development and debugging sessions, and neither do you want some malicious extension script siphoning you bank details. So why not create another profile?
The Profile Manager.
Firefox provides a default profile called “default”. Through the Profile Manager you create a new profile, eg “DevProfile” for web development.
From the command line type:
firefox -no-remote -ProfileManager
This will open a dialogue box. Click “Create Profile…” and give it a name eg “DevProfile”. (Before you press “exit” continue reading.)
How to choose a profile
The easiest way to choose a profile is to uncheck the”Don’t ask at startup”one the Profile Manager dialogue box. Each time you start Firefox it will give the option to choose between which profile you would to run for that session.
If you would like to create a separate shortcut for the new profile leave “Don’t ask at startup” ticked in the Profile Manager and you will need to add the following to a new short cut or launcher.
firefox -no-remote -p DevProfile
What do the flags mean?
- the “-p” flag selects a profile
- the “-no-remote” flag tells firefox to start a completely new and separate firefox process. This has no attachment to the your default Firefox process and therefore a sandbox for development and testing. So practically, this means if you install any extension/addons, clear the cache/cookies etc., it will not affect your default profile.
Setting up a LAMP server in Ubuntu – the easy way
Posted by: pagetribe on: November 12, 2009
The following is a step-by-step guide with images, on how to install a LAMP server on your Ubuntu system – the easy way.
Having a local LAMP server is great for web development, it is both private and fast.
The easiest way to set up a LAMP (Linux, Apache, MySQL, php) server in Ubuntu 9.10 (Karmic) or 9.04, is by marking LAMP server by task, in Synaptic Package Manger.
As a bonus, the server will be upgraded to the latest version after any future upgrades to the Ubuntu system.
So lets jump in.
First you will need to open Synaptic Package Manager from System->Synaptic Package Manager.
Once open select Edit-> Mark Packages by Task…
Select the LAMP Server check box.
Click the Mark button.
Select the Apply button
and Apply again
You should then see the download progress bar.
In the next window you will be asked to enter a password for the MySQL database, and then another window asking you to retype the password.
Thats it – done! How easy was that?
Next type in http://127.0.0.1/ in your browser
and you should be presented with “It works!” page.
Now you can put your php files in the /var/www directory. However, you may like to change the permissions of the /www directory so you can add files to this directory without sudo (root).
To do so, in a Terminal type (replacing yourusername with your actual user name):
sudo chown –R yourusername /var/www
TIP: The chown is ‘change ownership’ and the ‘-R‘ is recursive, it applies the ownership to any sub-files of folders in the /www/ folder.
You can now add, delete & edit files in the /www/ directory.
In order to have visual access to MySQL, I recommend installing phpmyadmin.
You will be prompted to select a web server for automatic configuration. Select apache2 and then click <Forward>.
The next screen will ask you if you want to configure a new database called dbconfig-common. Select Yes and click <Forward>.
I chose to use the same password here as the MySQL root password. Then click <Forward>.
You will then be prompted to enter the MySQL root password. Enter the MySQL root password that you created earlier, then click <Forward>.
Reconfirm above password. Click <Forward>.
No to test if it worked, go to a browser and type: http://localhost/phpmyadmin/. You should see a page like this.
You can log in with the username root and the root password that you created earlier.
Which gives you this:
Hoora… all done, well done!
Dowload manager with firefox integration for Ubuntu
Posted by: pagetribe on: November 11, 2009
Gwget is a free graphical download manager.
gwget
To install in ubuntu use Synaptic package manager and search for gwget then install the Firefox add-on FlashGot. Under preferences in the FlashGot add-on you can select gwget as your download manager.
Then when you click on a link to download a file you are presented with a dialogue box, simply choose -GNOME Gwget.
Flashgot
Separating content from design.
Posted by: pagetribe on: November 10, 2009
some notes from this excellent overview article on xml and xsl from Mulberry Technologies (“Copyright Mulberry Technologies, Inc., used by permission).
Introduction to XSL-FO Concepts
http://www.mulberrytech.com/papers/Intro2XSL-FO/Intro2XSL-FO.pdf
Also see and interesting video about xml and teaching the machine:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=NLlGopyXT_g
When You Have XML Content
- Content is reusable/repurposeable/customizable/personalizable/internationalizable/localizable
- XML for single source publishing:
- XML transform HTML
- same XML high-end composition book
- same XML desktop publishing journal and magazine
- same XML transform RSS and ATOM syndication
- same XML archive/depository/database
image: www.mulberrytech.com “Copyright Mulberry Technologies, Inc., used by permission.
XML in the Print Production Cycle
Most production using XML is a variation on one of these
- XML after page production (maybe long after)
- XML as part of composition
- XML before composition
Making XML from Word Processors
Few authors work in XML
- Give authors an HTML form and make XML behind the scenes
- Give them word-processing “templates” and make XML behind the scenes
- Translate clean word-processing styles to XML tags (or clean first, then transform)
- Third-party products where authors think they are in a word-processor, but behind the scenes it’s XML
- Microsoft Word 2003 and beyond
- (edit awkwardly in XML, export XML)
Advantages of XML Before Composition
- One source for all: web, print, CD, database, etc.
- simultaneous production (no product X waiting for product Y) no parallel maintenance
- Almost-instant galleys or editors’ proofs
- Fewer communication steps
Setting up a virtual host on ubuntu tutorial.
Posted by: pagetribe on: March 13, 2009
Introduction:
This tutorial will show you how to set up a name-based virtual host using Apache2 and ubuntu.
Definition:
Virtual host allows you to host multiple websites on a singe webserver.
Name-based means you can access different sites on the same webserver using different names eg. domain1.com & domain2.com
Configuration:
1. Create a document root, cgi-bin and logs directory for each of the new sites you want. This tutorial will set up one new site; example.org
mkdir /var/www/example.org
mkdir /var/www/example.org/cgi-bin
mkdir /var/www/example.org/logs
2. Create a virtual host configuration file for the new site:
cp /etc/apache2/sites-available/default /etc/apache2/sites-available/example.org
(this copies the default file and renames it to example.org)
3. Edit the /etc/apache2/sites-available/example.org file and add the bold
<VirtualHost *:80>
ServerAdmin webmaster@localhost
ServerName example.org
ServerAlias www.example.org
#ServerAlias allows for both example.org and www.example.org to be used.
DocumentRoot /var/www/example.org
<Directory />
Options FollowSymLinks
AllowOverride None
</Directory>
<Directory /var/www/example.org>
Options Indexes FollowSymLinks MultiViews
AllowOverride None
Order allow,deny
allow from all
</Directory>
ScriptAlias /cgi-bin/ /var/www/example.org/cgi-bin/
<Directory "/var/www/example.org/cgi-bin">
AllowOverride None
Options +ExecCGI -MultiViews +SymLinksIfOwnerMatch
Order allow,deny
Allow from all
</Directory>
ErrorLog /var/www/example.org/error.log
# Possible values include: debug, info, notice, warn, error, crit,
# alert, emerg.
LogLevel warn
CustomLog /var/www/example.org/access.log combinedA
lias /doc/ "/usr/share/doc/"
<Directory "/usr/share/doc/">
Options Indexes MultiViews FollowSymLinks
AllowOverride None
Order deny,allow
Deny from all
Allow from 127.0.0.0/255.0.0.0 ::1/128
</Directory>
</VirtualHost>
4. Edit the /etc/hosts file and add the following:
127.0.0.1 example.org
127.0.0.1 www.example.org
(this will allow both example.org and www.example.org to be used)
5. Edit /etc/apache2/apache2.conf and add the following to the end of the file:
NameVirtualHost 127.0.0.1:80
6. Enable your virtual host (a2ensite is apache2 enable site):
a2ensite example.org
7. Restart apache
/etc/init.d/apache2 restart
8. Finally, open your browser and type http://example.org and then to see if the ServerAliaas is working http://www.example.org
2 other great tutorials:
Engaging Online Discussions
Posted by: pagetribe on: February 24, 2009
Some changes to consider for online discussions:
Add:
- discussion expectations
- introductory activity
- separate ‘course questions forum’
- student cafe forum
- ??a forum for each topic, ie week 1 discussion?? this may break the flow too much, best not to.
Some changes to consider for the overall course:
Add:
- end of unit knowledge check list. (Am i done yet: http://cnx.org/content/m17165/latest/)
Terminology:
A message added to a discussion board is called a post. A series of posts in response to the initial message is called a thread. Discussion boards asynchronous, they are accessible at different times by different people. This is in contrast to synchronous discussion which is called chat. Here all people involved are accessing the conversation at the same time.
Guidelines for instructors
” Instructors should
(a) explain the theoretical purposes of online discussion,
(b) create a sense of community among participants in an online discussion,
(c) model appropriate participation,
(d) paraphrase students contributions in light of course theory,
(e) synthesize students’ contributions to create a comprehensive view of the discussion, and
(f) use Socratic questioning”reference: Promoting Durable Knowledge Construction through Online Discussion.
E-moderating presence online
- Many online participants expect a great deal from their e-moderators. E-moderators try to encourage online participants to be self sufficient. You might find some strategies to create e-moderators ‘presence’ online ( without having to be there 24 hours a day) helpful!
- Send out a personal e mail letter to all participants before the course starts, indicating how often they can expect you to visit (usually once a day).
- Greet each participant by a welcome e mail on their first arrival, as well as in the conference
- Ask for a personal e mail to the e-moderator as well as a message in the conference, early in the course
- Mention each participant by name at some point in early summaries. Continue to mention individuals in your messages. This is very motivating and a fine way to acknowledge contributions
- Run an e-tivity at stage 1 exploring how participants expect to fit the conferencing into their daily lives, and self-disclose a little about yours
- As the conference builds up and you find you have many messages to read on your arrival each day, focus on the last few messages in a thread (rather than reading them chronologically)
- As participants become more self sufficient and motivated (by stage 3) then avoid responding to each message but focus on setting up discussions really well and then summarising after a given length of time, adding your own teaching points then if appropriate
- Be prepared to put congratulatory message up and then an invitation to further action (e.g. very interesting points here, can I invite a summariser, or maybe please focus on *** aspect now to build on the ideas).
reference: http://www.atimod.com/e-moderating/resources.shtml
Some basic strategies to encourage participation are:
- Make forum participation part of your grading rubric (not effective by itself)
- “Open” and “close” discussions on certain dates.
- Where possible, direct Q&A that might be handled via email to the discussion boards
- Create directed discussions by being an active conversation starter and participant. Don’t be afraid to interject yourself into threads multiple times to guide discussion as you would in a classroom.
- Encourage topical online debate, perhaps even dividing your students into position groups.
- Require unique contributions. One UAF faculty member requires that students post unique responses to his starter questions. This forces students to read previous material and rewards early participation.
- Make a quick polling question the start of a thread… and kindling for a longer discussion.
- Use discussion threads for roundtable critiques and peer evaluation of papers, ideas, and projects.
- Make use of role playing. For example, have a student play the part of an author or political figure and allow peers to ask questions and engage in debate.
- Appoint temporary student facilitators. Peer-to-peer learning is important to any community—taking on the role of “teacher” will force students to reflect, synthesize, and anticipate.
reference: http://distance.uaf.edu/lib/research/teaching-tips-05.pdf
Discussion expectations
It is important to outline the value of this learning activity for the learner. Specify the purpose and make it achievable. Some example text to place at the beginning of the discussion so students know what they are expected to do:
To succeed in this course, you must participate on the discussion forums. I believe interaction and participation with others will help you understand the content and provide a fuller course experience. Don’t let me down by failing to participate. I will notice!
I encourage you to locate and pass along any URLs or links to journal articles that might be helpful to other students. I also encourage you to share experiences on the discussion board.
Introductory activity example
The next example is taken from: http://cnx.org/content/m16213/latest/ which outlines what an introductory activity might look like.
Example 1
Each of you is required to introduce yourself to the class. After you complete your introduction, I expect you to respond to every post about your introduction. You will have one week to complete this assignment.
Here are the requirements for the introduction:
1. Name and current position
2. One sentence about what you expect to learn from this course (What do you want to know?).
3. One sentence about how you learn best (Think back to something that you learned and reflect on the process you used to learn this).
4. One paragraph pointing out what you find interesting about yourself (What makes you the person you are at this point in your life?).
Course question discussion forum:
Example 1
In the discussion board area, you will find a Forum titled Course Questions. This is the location I expect you to use to ask questions about the course. I also expect you to check the questions and responses to make sure your question has not already been addressed. I will check this Forum regularly and respond.
reference: http://cnx.org/content/m16223/latest/
Types of Questions for Discussion
How do you ask a question to elicit the level of thinking/learning that you want?
Well-defined questions and their appropriate use not only help students understand content on a basic level but also can guide them in elaborative and critical thinking about content. Varied types of questions can help create the appropriate learning environment for your students.
Questions can:
- Extract factual knowledge
- Query a student’s comprehension
- Ask a learner to apply his/her knowledge and comprehension
- Ask the learner to analyze information
- Challenge the student to synthesize information
- Have the learner evaluate and make judgements
You’ll notice that these types of questions relate directly to Bloom’s Taxomony of Educational Objectives, Cognitive Domain.
Use the links in the menu to learn how to compose these types of questions.
The following link outlines each of these individually.
Reference: http://tlt.its.psu.edu/suggestions/online_questions/types.html
Should we add an Am I Done Yet?
Example 1: Am I Done Yet?
To be sure you have completed all the requirements for Unit 1 and are ready to move on to Unit 2, complete the check list below.
1. Read chapters 1 and 2 in Taber and the essay “Best Practices for Scholars”
2. Posted at least one original post and two responses in Forum 1 on the Discussion Board
3. Completed and submited the Unit 1 Quiz
4. Turned in you self reflection essayHave them all? Good work! Proceed to Unit 2.
reference: http://cnx.org/content/m17165/latest/
Why is collaboration important?
“Knowledge construction is best accomplished through collaboration. In general, students learn through the give-and-take among classmates. That is, as students write contributions to discussions, they learn what it is that they are trying to say. The replies that they receive from their classmates further this learning. (For a discussion of writing to learn, see Lindemann, 1995.) When students share ideas in a discussion, they receive feedback on those ideas. Often this feedback from classmates will cause cognitive dissonance for the student because it conflicts with their original views. The dissonance encourages students to revise their views and test their revised views in light of further peer review among the class (Knowlton, Knowlton, & Davis, 2000).” (http://frank.mtsu.edu/~itconf/proceed01/11.pdf)
Userful links:
http://twuid.pbwiki.com/Discussion+Board
Promising Practices
http://twuid.pbwiki.com/Promising+Practices+
http://cnx.org/content/expanded_browse_authors?letter=R&author=krestine
Promising Practices in Online Teaching and Learning
http://cnx.org/content/col10559/latest/
Establishing Tone in the Distance Course
http://cnx.org/content/col10529/1.3
Current Sites of Interest
- Xtranormal | Text-to-Movie
- List of free and open source software packages - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- Worksheet Change Event: Run Excel Macros When a Cell Changes Or User Enters Data
- Celebrate the 12 days of Christmas with Peppadew! - from Delia Online
- COI usability toolkit
- 100 Incredible Open Courses for the Ultimate Tech Geek - Online Courses
- Celebrate the 12 days of Christmas with Peppadew! - from Delia Online
- Implement Bayesian inference using PHP, Part 1
- Zend Framework
- Zend Framework Book: Surviving The Deep End
