https://jbwillard.demojoomla.com/
I really, really enjoyed this assignment when I had adequate time to work on it.
That is detailed in my previous post and will not be rehashed any further here.
The Joomla 7505 assignment was terrifically rewarding. Even if my results weren't what I had anticipated or hoped for, I am still very excited and energized by having learned a new interface. I'm eager to spend more time with Joomla on something I can really sink my teeth in to. I am not sure what that is yet.
The videos are invaluable. I can't speak for students who had issues getting underway and had problems with extensions. Thankfully, I didn't experience any of that. If I had run into early troubles I suspect the enthusiasm I had for Joomla today and throughout the week would be much different. A character flaw of mine is that I am quickly discouraged if things start poorly. Joomla started wonderfully.
I watched the first ten or so videos before starting my work. They were concise and clear. And short. The presenter, Brian Teeman, made Joomla look easy. I settled on a ridiculous plan of combining two of my great loves; Eric Cartman, who I continue to outgrow as I mature as an adult, and surfing which will always be my Winnie Cooper. I followed Teeman's instructions and installed both the JCE and the Akeeba extensions before doing anything else. Here I should also mention that, had I known my name would be a prominent part of my URL I would have been more thoughtful with my Joomla demo registration information.
I had already sketched out what I wanted to do so I made my categories and articles in quick succession rather than follow Teeman’s more patient approach. I'm not an artist or designer so my pages were mostly bland and dated. Also, I learned early on, but after many hours and attempts and too late to change my website idea, that I likely wasn't going to be able to embed multiple live streaming videos. This was a disappointment because this effect was the whole reason for my silly Cartman/surfing idea.
I followed Teeman's 4.4 "Blog Page" video to the letter. When I watched it the first time I paid little attention because I did not think I would bother with a products page. I am glad I did. It is probably the best page on the site. Obtaining and using another surf site's original content (which took a fair amount of time and effort) proved very rewarding. I also took advantage of the contact page instructions.
The article options and template style videos did not reveal much. I had been having fits trying to find a way to get rid of a template banner that was in my way. Finally I realized that if I deleted the image file that made up the banner and renamed my own image with the same banner name Joomla would go looking for the file name and post whatever was there. After many hours of bafflement I was proud of my small revelation. I deleted the file "joomla-semple-header" from my Joomla images. Imported an image file that I wanted into Joomla and simply renamed it "joomla-semple-header". It's a limited solution but it worked for me.
I updated my extensions early on. I investigated extensions and modules adding a few to improve the functionality of my site (the aforementioned search module, which I delimited in Options, for example). I adjusted the menu location a few times before settling on horizontal. I applied various headers. I attempted to add a slide show but the program Teeman used in his video (6.4), Responsive CSS3 Slider, would not come up during a Joomla Extension search. I found RCSS3 IN Joomla, but it wanted to download to my computer:
(http://extensions.joomla.org/profile/extension/photos-a-images/slideshow/responsive-css3-slider).
I did not have the time nor the expertise to figure out how to integrate this into my site.
I changed the website name in Global Settings, played with various templates, added a language extension, modified the global colors of the site, added a search field and messed about with a few other barely noticeable baubles. I tweaked the background and template color properties. I added expiration and removal dates to all my events posts. I used and modified various fonts, headers, and image properties throughout the small site and created 17 external and 10 internal links site wide.
I created six menu items, six categories, including one sub-category (News & Media > Events), and 13 articles. I added, edited, and imported over 20 image files. I learned how to manipulate the menu order via drag and drop, use the ?tp=1 treasure map, use blog options and a host of other Joomla tricks. There is still a lot that I did not discover and ideas that I overlooked. However, all in all, I am happy with the progress I have made with Joomla and excited to play with it further.
I really, really enjoyed this assignment when I had adequate time to work on it.
That is detailed in my previous post and will not be rehashed any further here.
The Joomla 7505 assignment was terrifically rewarding. Even if my results weren't what I had anticipated or hoped for, I am still very excited and energized by having learned a new interface. I'm eager to spend more time with Joomla on something I can really sink my teeth in to. I am not sure what that is yet.
The videos are invaluable. I can't speak for students who had issues getting underway and had problems with extensions. Thankfully, I didn't experience any of that. If I had run into early troubles I suspect the enthusiasm I had for Joomla today and throughout the week would be much different. A character flaw of mine is that I am quickly discouraged if things start poorly. Joomla started wonderfully.
I watched the first ten or so videos before starting my work. They were concise and clear. And short. The presenter, Brian Teeman, made Joomla look easy. I settled on a ridiculous plan of combining two of my great loves; Eric Cartman, who I continue to outgrow as I mature as an adult, and surfing which will always be my Winnie Cooper. I followed Teeman's instructions and installed both the JCE and the Akeeba extensions before doing anything else. Here I should also mention that, had I known my name would be a prominent part of my URL I would have been more thoughtful with my Joomla demo registration information.
I had already sketched out what I wanted to do so I made my categories and articles in quick succession rather than follow Teeman’s more patient approach. I'm not an artist or designer so my pages were mostly bland and dated. Also, I learned early on, but after many hours and attempts and too late to change my website idea, that I likely wasn't going to be able to embed multiple live streaming videos. This was a disappointment because this effect was the whole reason for my silly Cartman/surfing idea.
I followed Teeman's 4.4 "Blog Page" video to the letter. When I watched it the first time I paid little attention because I did not think I would bother with a products page. I am glad I did. It is probably the best page on the site. Obtaining and using another surf site's original content (which took a fair amount of time and effort) proved very rewarding. I also took advantage of the contact page instructions.
The article options and template style videos did not reveal much. I had been having fits trying to find a way to get rid of a template banner that was in my way. Finally I realized that if I deleted the image file that made up the banner and renamed my own image with the same banner name Joomla would go looking for the file name and post whatever was there. After many hours of bafflement I was proud of my small revelation. I deleted the file "joomla-semple-header" from my Joomla images. Imported an image file that I wanted into Joomla and simply renamed it "joomla-semple-header". It's a limited solution but it worked for me.
I updated my extensions early on. I investigated extensions and modules adding a few to improve the functionality of my site (the aforementioned search module, which I delimited in Options, for example). I adjusted the menu location a few times before settling on horizontal. I applied various headers. I attempted to add a slide show but the program Teeman used in his video (6.4), Responsive CSS3 Slider, would not come up during a Joomla Extension search. I found RCSS3 IN Joomla, but it wanted to download to my computer:
(http://extensions.joomla.org/profile/extension/photos-a-images/slideshow/responsive-css3-slider).
I did not have the time nor the expertise to figure out how to integrate this into my site.
I changed the website name in Global Settings, played with various templates, added a language extension, modified the global colors of the site, added a search field and messed about with a few other barely noticeable baubles. I tweaked the background and template color properties. I added expiration and removal dates to all my events posts. I used and modified various fonts, headers, and image properties throughout the small site and created 17 external and 10 internal links site wide.
I created six menu items, six categories, including one sub-category (News & Media > Events), and 13 articles. I added, edited, and imported over 20 image files. I learned how to manipulate the menu order via drag and drop, use the ?tp=1 treasure map, use blog options and a host of other Joomla tricks. There is still a lot that I did not discover and ideas that I overlooked. However, all in all, I am happy with the progress I have made with Joomla and excited to play with it further.
Good job on your website and I'm glad you had fun with Joomla. It got a little easier for me once I got used to how things worked on the site, although I struggled with the smallest things, like trying to line up text and pictures. I agree that your "Boards" page is the best one. It looks really clean and professional and I like that format. Having completed the assignment, it amazes me how much work goes into the tiniest details, which may not be noticeable to viewers, but definitely contribute to the overall feel of the website.
ReplyDeleteCool website! It's a lot to digest for someone with minimal knowledge of surfing or South Park : ) Also, anyone who has followed your baby crisis blogs can see that, clearly, you're the man when it comes to multi-tasking. You have prevailed!
ReplyDelete