October 2009 Archives

Last week I delivered Peoplesoft data, Confucius Institute Online Catalog, and the PHP FMP Connect documentation for CARLA.

This week is clean up and staging for the next three projects: WIV Tracking, CARLA's LCTL (less commonly taught languages), LAC's First Step Sign In. All are web front-ends with FileMaker on the back.

• Outsiders must have a guest account. And MyU guests must have a university person vouch for them.
• Lots of exclamation points in this app.
• As soon as you create a page, start setting permissions because everything you add to it will inherit those permissions. Items on the page can carry different permissions than the page itself.
• Your MyU page must be public! If you don't like that, make everything on the page not public.
• Whoever creates the page is the owner. You can change owner but it doesn't work great. If you're doing a group site, do it under a department internet id.
• Start with the tightest restrictions then open up as necessary. Not the other way around by starting by making it wide open and clamping down as necessary.
• Use a prefix before every group name because everyone in MyU can see your group and vice versa. A group name "Students" for example is a horrible name.
• Adding new users... that person must have logged into their MyU account at least once in order to show up in a search.
• When adding batch users, make it comma or cr separated text. You only have to add internet id part, not the whole email address. Guest id, actually translate to an internet idea. Hard to learn what it is but that's what you have to use.
• Groups do nothing on their own. They just make it easier to set permissions. Best practice: add Admin group to every bloody thing.
• Manage subscriptions and send broadcast messages are future functionality.
• View also means can participate in a discussion or vote in a poll.
• When creating a page, it relies on context and makes it a sub-page of where y'at.
• Never check box "Inherit permissions from parent." It's a loaded gun. One, it behaves that way anyway at page creation. Checking the box makes it dynamic so when the parent changes it changes. Problem is, you can't see it reflected in the child page.
• Width of usable page is around 525px wide.

Education Edition

• Mail
• Contacts
• Chat
• Documents
• Spreadsheets
• Presentations
• Forms
• Sites

When sharing outside domain, you will get an alert. You can also share with anyone with a Google account. FERPA and HIPPA - make sure you abide!

Mail

You can't sort but it's great for searching. Search box does not do partial word searches, "qual" will not find "quality." Can use same advanced search techniques you use in Google. Uses a label metaphor rather than folder metaphor like other mail programs. Folders create multiple versions of the email, labels keep a single copy with multiple labels.

Contacts

Can import from other programs.

Chat

Google Desktop Client Password is needed to configure your desktop mail and chat clients. Note to self: check out Trillion as desktop IM client.

Documents

Opens a lot of windows. Use the Save and Close button to help manage. Putting documents in folders works like labels in Google Mail. You can put the same document in multiple folders and you still just have one copy of the document. Different behavior than desktop but very nice.

Sidebarring at the Break

Check out Class Capture and how it uploads to Media Mill to create podcasts and publish on iTunes U.

I read the University State of Emergency: Human Resources Implications of Pandemic Influenza. These are the responsibilities of the employee:

• Provides department with current emergency contact information, and updates it on an on-going basis.

  To whom do I provide this info?

• Discusses alternative work arrangements such as working from home or another location in case of a State of Emergency with the responsible administrator supervisor.

  I can work remotely. I have my own laptop loaded with many of the same applications. I can check email, voicemail and connect securely to the servers and network. I would not be able to connect to user computers because I do not have my own copy of Apple Remote Desktop. Nor would I be able to process Contribute updates and make them live on the website because I do not have my own copy of Contribute.

  The nature of my work is well-suited to working remotely. I can load my computer with all the raw materials and crank away.

• Contacts department to determine need to report for work.

  Just tell me who to contact and with what frequency.

• If approved by the department, reports for work when able and appropriate, whether on campus, at home, or at another location.
• If unable to report to work, updates department of condition or whereabouts as soon as possible.
• Communicates specific requests and needs to department.