COAP:COAP-2100/week2
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Week 1
Topics Covered
- Webtops (also called personal web start pages)
- Web Widgets and using widget code
- Reading and managing news feeds (RSS)
- First contact with XML
Teaching materials
- Tutorials
- Creating websites with online services. This short tutorial covers various online web site creation services we will use. (In particular, see the Netvibes section)
- Using web widgets. A short introduction on how to use web widgets.
- RSS and News feed aggregator (short introduction to the format and clients)
- (1) Webtops / Dashboards
- http://netvibes.com/ (most popular service, allows to publish pages)
- http://www.pageflakes.com/ (used to a popular alternative, half dead for the last few years)
- http://www.google.com/ig (iGoogle, a private webtop)
- (2) Web widget sites (some)
- Google gadgets
- Top 10 Web Widgets (a list made on readwrite web)
- http://www.widgetbox.com/
- http://www.widgipedia.com/
- http://www.labpixies.com/
Optional reading (background information): Social software, weblog, webtop
Classroom activities
- Monday
- We shall start explore webtops and introduce the concept of web widgets and RSS news feeds.
- Create an account on netvibes: http://www.netvibes.com/en
- Wednesday
- Short lecture on content aggregation (RSS and Atom) and news feed aggregators
- First contact with XML (see first parts of the Editing XML tutorial)
- Main activity: We will insert "foreign" widget code and RSS Feeds in the netvibes webtop and (if time left) in on-line content creation services encountered on week one.
Homework
Homework 2 summary
Objective: Create a web site that includes widgets and RSS feeds
Requirements:
- The web site must have a clear objective of your choice. Basically, you should create some kind of dashboard that includes resources (RSS feeds and content widgets) plus some widget-based tools (if appropriate).
- You may use either a webtop or a content creation service (see week 1)
- The site must be available to the public (so that other students and myself can have a look at it).
- You should explicitly state the website's purpose in some place (e.g. with a little text widget, a welcome message, etc.)
- The website must include some minimal contents (less than for homework 1)
- The website must include some widgets and the choice of widgets must be appropriate with respect to the main objectives
- The website must include at least two RSS newsfeeds. You can use widgets or any other mechanism.
Submission:
- Deadline: Wednesday, week 3 before the start of class. Unjustified late submission will get you a lesser grade (see the syllabus)
- Procedure: Use the world classroom
Remarks:
- You may use your real identity or not. That's up to you. All I need is a URL I can connect to.
- Suggested technology: http://netvibes.com
- Grading criteria: see the homework submission form
- This exercise can evolve into a term project (but must not).
Teaching materials:
- Creating websites with online services. This short tutorial covers various online web site creation services we will use.
- Using web widgets. A short introduction on how to use web widgets.
- Else please consult the help of the service you are interested in. These tools are made for non-technical people and you can figure out yourself how to use them ....
Term project start
See Term project. Homework 2 already can get you started.