Assignment 4: Drupal-Content Management Systems

I have completed my final assignment and I am providing the link to the paper.  It has been a pleasure working with all of you and I hope to work with you in another class soon.  For those of you that are graduating, I hope we will meet later at a library network meeting.

Link to my paper on Drupal:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1d3i9turDQ2P8PBEFtaxYqYbWIiHASrNmPbcBjeqtmyA/edit?usp=sharing

Assignment Four

After receiving my second interview on CMS I believe I have found my topic for assignment four.  I believe I will write about Drupal.  It should be interesting to read about.  As Joomla almost drained all my inner strength.  Just a few more days and I can relax.

Another CMS Interview "Just Arrived"

I just received this interview back via email.  Luckily, I submitted an additional request just in case one didn't make it back to me in time.  I figured that I may as well post it since I have it in my possession.  So here it is.

This interview was with Darrius Covington, a librarian at Chattahoochee Valley Libraries in Columbus, GA.

Evelyn: How and where did you hear about Content Management Systems? 

Mr. Covington: I first heard about Drupal when I started working here at the Chattahoochee Valley Libraries.  I had no prior knowledge that it existed until then.  Previously, I had heard of Wordpress, but had never used it myself, and did not know that it was referred to as a Content Management System.  Working here and using Drupal was definitely my first in-depth look into the world of CMS.

Evelyn: What were the motivations to adopt CMS for its current use (library website or any other purpose)?

Mr. Covington: We were motivated to adopt Drupal, because it allowed an easy way for multiple staff members to log on to the website and add content or make changes.  It is much simpler to do this through Drupal, than in HTML.  Drupal’s interface allows our staff members to log in to our site from any computer that has a browser.

Evelyn: What was your decision making criteria? What is the name of the CMS you are using?

Mr. Covington: We use Drupal, and it was chosen because it provides the level of security that we found necessary for our website.

Evelyn: What are the important benefits or advantages of the CMS you are currently using over the old system or another CMS system you have used in the past?

Mr. Covington: The main advantage, as mentioned earlier, is that anyone who we allow site access can log in to the site (using any computer) and add content, or make changes.  Also, with Drupal, you can change the entire appearance of the site, without having to do any coding or losing any content, simply by changing the theme.

Evelyn: How was the learning curve?

Mr. Covington: The learning curve for Drupal was quite steep to begin with.  Before Drupal, my web skills were based entirely on the use of HTML and CSS.  In my opinion, and in my experience, HTML/CSS are much more straightforward.  If you know the proper coding to accomplish what you want, then you are basically good-to-go, with HTML/CSS.  Drupal, however, relies on the use of several modules, which you have to learn to use individually.  There are also a plethora of additional modules available of Drupal.com that you can use to accomplish different tasks.  There were times where I needed a specific task accomplished, and I would have to search Drupal.com to find a module that could accomplish what I needed.  Once I found the proper module, I had to learn that module, as well.  With Drupal, you are constantly learning, and more modules are being made available all the time.

Evelyn: What type of training was provided? 

Mr. Covington: My supervisor, who had been using Drupal before I became employed here, showed me some of the basics of Drupal.  Then I began training on lynda.com, which provides several video tutorials, along with exercise files to practice along with.  From time to time, I searched the internet or Youtube for additional training.

Evelyn: What is your overall experience with CMS?

Mr. Covington: Drupal was somewhat difficult to learn.  I had to learn to see web creation in an entire different way than I was previously used to.  I am still learning more and more about Drupal all the time, as there are constant updates and new modules that I encounter, or haven’t even discovered yet.  At times, Drupal can be confusing or frustrating, but I think that being familiar with CMS is a very important skill to have.  Drupal has its benefits, especially with its ability to allow users to log in to the site, practically anywhere.  This makes it very convenient in a team environment.  I am definitely grateful that I have learned a new skill, and that I can say that I am familiar with using CMS.

Reflections:

Based on the answers given in this interview, CMS products presents some challenges and has some advantages.  Training is an on-going process that must be done constantly because of all the updates and new modules that are presented.  The librarian also stressed that he searched other resources for additional training, such as internet and YouTube.  Before this assignment I had limited knowledge of CMS and the benefits of it. I am happy to say that I must continue the learning process of CMS even at the end of this class.

CMS Interview

My CMS interview took place on Thursday, May 23rd via email with the Technology Librarian from a Technical College Library.  I will include her name in the link, because I fail to get permission to use her name on my blog.


Evelyn:  How and where did you hear about CMS?

Librarian: I first became familiar with content management systems while learning about web design. I have known about the basic principles of building a website since high school, so it is difficult to pin point the specific date or place I heard about CMS. I believe WordPress was the first CMS I heard about sometime in the mid 2000’s.

Evelyn: What were the motivations to adopt CMS for its current use (library website or any other purpose)?

Librarian: The school’s web designer decided to adopt a CMS for the new college-wide website. I did not have a say in which CMS was implemented. I would assume that a CMS was chosen to quickly publish and manage pages without the need for manual coding.

Evelyn: What was the decision making criteria?  What is the name of the CMS being used?

Librarian: I was not a part of the decision making process so I am unaware of the specific criteria for choosing WordPress. I assume the web designer chose WordPress because it is one of the most widely used and content supported of the open source CMS’ available.

Evelyn:  What are the important benefits or advantages of CMS being used now over the old system or  another CMS system used in the past?

Librarian: Although I do not know the detailed workings of our previous website, I do know that there was only one person who could edit the site college wide. With the new CMS system, multiple people can create content for their areas without as much of a bottle neck problem I have come to understand the college had in the past. I think a CMS like WordPress takes a lot of the coding out of the equation, especially with the rich text editor. This can be useful for users with no HTML experience.

Evelyn:  How was the learning curve?

Librarian: As someone with previous CMS experience, there was really no learning curve. I am more used to hard coding HTML, JavaScript, and CSS. A CMS like WordPress can be limiting for someone who wants more control of the website. I am only allowed limited access, so this aspect of using a CMS can be frustrating at times. Aside from getting used to some specific web navigation, the site was relatively easy to get a handle on. I miss the ability to edit the full HTML of the page when necessary.

Reflection:  My reflection of this interview is that this librarian has experience with the use of content management systems.  However, she prefers to work with hard coding such as HTML, JavaScript, and CSS.  She also wishes to have more input and access to the website to edit the library page when necessary.  I have a great deal of respect for the experience and work that she does at the technical college library.  The librarian is a hard worker, dedicated to her field, and is willing to do whatever is necessary to assist those in need. The librarian offered me her cell number and requested if I needed additional information to contact her over the holiday weekend.

How I spell relief, J-O-O-M-L-A

I finally have some stress free relief, because Joomla is finally complete.  This has been one tedious task, from the log-ins, to the Joomla webinar, and all the other things involved.  Thank God for peer support or otherwise I may have lost my mind. Please check-out the final product and tell me what you think. You can access the site at: ewillisvsu.cloudaccess.net

Joomla Day 2

I am still working on Joomla and trying to complete this assignment so that I may move on to the next one.  I am praying for time management skills today.  To all my fellow classmates you have done a wonderful job of expressing your creative talents through the use of Joomla. Hopefully, I will complete this by midnight and share in the joy of completing yet another daunting task.

Joomla Experience

During this past week of working through Joomla, I found it to be quite a challenge.  The start-up process was tedious, but after the second time it finally worked out.  After watching the webinar very carefully and rewinding several times, Joomla started to make sense. I chose to write about thyroid disorders, a health issue that has altered the lives of several of my family members.  I included the signs and symptoms to look for in hyperthyroidism and hypothyroidism.  I hope to finalize the site and have it up and running in a few hours. In the meantime, if you would like to know about thyroid disorders I included a short YouTube video.

WikiMatrix Experience

The WikiMatrix experience is the final part of assignment one. I chose the library where I work as my library of chose.  It is a medium size academic library serving students from all academic programs, faculty, staff, and community users.  The library operates 64 hours weekly using part-time librarians and work-study students to cover the evening hours.  I would  like to design a wiki for the library staff to use to communicate with the advisory members on upcoming meetings and share statistical information.  After answering the questions from the choice wizard the search yielded 19 choices for wikis.  I chose the following to make my selection.

Page History - This feature gives employees the option to go back later to an older version and restore it if necessary.

WYSIWYG - This feature allows non-tech savvy users to contribute without fear.

Commercial Support - was not needed, we have a technology librarian along with the support of IT.

Interface Language-was not needed, all users speak English.

Software or hosted - This feature was not selected, our staff could perform the installation.

Free and Open Source - This feature was inviting because it is free and open source is a great option because we would like full control over the software and codes.

Programming Language - was not selected.

I chose the Foswiki their intended audience includes enterprise, corporate, business, intranet, personal use, community building, Educational, and Intranet.  This would support our intended purpose as we keep our advisory members abreast of our changes and goals for improvement.

Web 2.0

My background experience with Web 2.0 is very limited.  I got very excited when I saw that blogging would be a part of the first assignment.  I hope to gain a wealth of experience in this class using various Web 2.0 technology.