Web Content Management Systems (Drupal): Schedule for your_name

Course overview, policies, textbooks, evaluation
Drupal final project ideas
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Courses: McMurrey Associates

Course owner: your_name
Course instructor: instructor_name
Instructor e-mail: instructor_email
Course start date: start_date

This is your main working page for your course entitled Web Content Management Systems (Drupal). From this page you can go to study materials, read about project requirements, find out what to name your files, see when projects are due, go to the online textbook and other resources for this course.

When you complete a unit, click the Completed button for that unit. If you mistakenly mark a unit as completed, contact your instructor (or just wait until you've actually completed it.)

Be sure to bookmark this page so that you can easily return.

Photos by Lynn Hanson.

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Unit %%. Overview the Course and Drupal Web CMS

Use the course overview to see how this course is set up.

Use the Drupal overview to get some background on content management systems (CMS) and Drupal.

unit%%_date: recommended due date
Unit %%: Use Drupal as a Basic User

Use the Drupal Basic User study guide to learn about and practice creating basic pages, articles with images, voting in a poll, contributing to a forum, starting a blog, filling out the contact form, commenting on an existing node.

unit%%_date: recommended due date
Unit %%: Plan & Set up Your Own Drupal Site

Use the Drupal Site Planning & Site Setup study guide to start thinking about your own Drupal site. What would be its focus? What would visitors do there? Then set up your own Drupal site.

unit%%_date: recommended due date
Unit %%: Build Your Practice Site—Articles, Images, Basic Pages, Blogs

Use the Drupal Practice 1 study guide to learn about and practice creating basic pages, articles with images, and blogs for your visitors.

unit%%_date: recommended due date
Unit %%: Installing Modules & Another Install Method

Before you install a module, you must:

  • Be at the Pantheon dashboard of your Drupal site.
  • Select SFTP.
  • Go in via Site Admin.
  • Get into Maintenance Mode: Configuration > Maintenance mode.
  • Use this link to see how to install a module using the download method.
  • When you finished installing a module, click Add New Module in Extend.

    Note: If you do not see Add New Module when you click Extend, see Installing new modules.

unit%%_date: recommended due date
Unit %%: Routine Maintenance

Remember: before you start your work for the day to (always):

  1. Log in to your Pantheon site and click Site Admin. (Keep Pantheon open during this process.)
  2. Go to Configure and click Maintenance mode.
  3. Click the checkbox next to (Put site into maintenance mode) then click the Save configuration button.
  4. Return to the Dashboard page where you normally see the (SFTP and GIT) buttons.
  5. Click the GIT button and wait for it to finish initializing.
  6. When the initalization has completed, click Backups (located in the left column).
  7. Select 1 month or 6 month.
  8. Click Create New Backup. Let the backup complete.
  9. When the backup completes, click Code (located at the top of the list in the left column).
  10. Click the SFTP button and wait for it to finish initializing.
  11. When that initalization has completed, click Clear Caches.

You are now ready to start making the wanted changes for the day. Make this your daily norm. It will help prevent most problems Pantheon users run in to. Instructions made available by Gilda Green-Nix at ggnix1022@gmail.com.

Unit %%: Build Your Practice Drupal Site—Menus, Blocks, Permissions

Use the Drupal Practice 2 study guide to learn about and practice creating blocks and positioing blocks, setting up menus in blocks, and specifying visitor permissions.

unit%%_date: recommended due date
Unit %%: Build Your Practice Drupal Site—Contact Forms, Polls, Forums

Use the Drupal Practice 3 study guide to learn about and practice creating contact forms, polls, forums.

Optionally, test out this Drupal Podcast tutorial.

unit%%_date: recommended due date
Unit %%: Build Your Practice Drupal Site—Core Update, Backup, Themes

Use the Drupal Practice 4 study guide to learn about and practice updating the Drupal core, backing up your Drupal site, and experimenting with themes.

unit%%_date: recommended due date
Unit %%: Build Your Practice Drupal Site—Add Audio and Video to Your Drupal Site

Use the Drupal practice 5 study guide to learn about and practice adding audio and video to your Drupal site.

unit%%_date: recommended due date
Drupal Project Finish-Up

Keep building your own Drupal site. If you come across anything you don't know how to do, click Discussions in the left panel and enter your question in the forum Drupal questions & answers in the left panel and enter your answer. If you have an answer, click there too!

For you to receive e-mail notification when others have made comments in your Drupal site, follow this procedure. If it drives you nuts, ask me (David) to do it for you.

Nothing due this week

Unit %%: Complete Your Drupal Site & Visit Other Drupal Sites in This Course

Use the Drupal Site Finishing study guide to comple your own Drupal site and contribute to Drupal sites of other people in this course.

unit%%_date: recommended due date
Complete this course by unit%%_date

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