Best solution for assignment calendar?
If I just want to post daily/weekly assignments that are viewable daily/weekly/monthly, what would be my best solution? I'm using OG, and I read somewhere that the calendar module doesn't work well with OG. Is that true?
I'm looking for something really simple to manage on my end, and use on the student end.
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The calendar view doesn't
The calendar view doesn't work so well with OG, at least last time I checked a few months ago in drupal 5.
But you can still show a table or list view of upcoming assignments as a tab on a group page.
First you want to create a new content type called 'assignment' or whatever, and add various fields
including perhaps a date field like for a 'deadline'. Make sure the content type is set so that it
can be posted to groups.
Then create a view with a URL like this: node/$group/calendar or node/$group/assignments
Make the view type a table or list or whatever. You can try a calendar view but it wasn't work well for me.
Set the other things like nodes per page, header, empty text, ...
For fields, you can put things like:
Node: Title
Date: Date (your deadline field)
OG: Group names
Then for the arguments put:
OG: Group nid(s)
and RSS: RSS Feed Selector if you want an RSS feed to be available.
Under filters you can put things like:
Node: Published
Node: Type is one of (your assignment content type)
Date: Date - Date (deadline) is greater than or equal to now
Then sort by
Date: Date - your deadline field, ascending
You can even use modules like workflow_ng and actions (in drupal 5, there are different ones for drupal 6) to do things like send out an email reminder or whatever.
-Doug
You say this can't do
You say this can't do calendar display, though? I think that's a deal breaker, since most people are used to seeing info displayed that way.
What is the snag with the calendar and OG modules?
Thanks, though, for the very detailed response.
Bob
Will users be logged in?
Hello, Bob,
We have used the date and calendar modules with OG for all of the D5 lifespan. OG has two filters that are useful for this:
1st: use the filter that shows all posts (in this case, assignments) that are in a user's logged in groups.
2nd: there is also a filter that lets you select specific groups, so you can show just the posts in a specific group.
These two options work for a calendar type display; the easiest way to get the precise functionality you want is by cloning the default view that comes with the calendar module.
For a list display of upcoming events, create a view to select your assignments, and then add a date filter. If you set the filter to select (for example) dates greater than "now+2" you will select all events that have occured within two days, and all events that will transpire in the future.
It sounds more complex than it is -- once you are working directly with the views admin screens, the base choices become clear.
Also, these directions work with both Views 1 and 2 -- while there are huge UI differences between the two versions of Views 1 and 2, this functionality exists in both versions (in most cases though, while Views 1 is great, Views 2 gives you more options).
I hope this helps, and feel free to ping back with additional questions.
Cheers,
Bill
FunnyMonkey
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Hey, where is the 1st filter
Hey, where is the 1st filter you mentioned ?
I am in views2 drupal6 and trying to finde them for 1 hour. Which filter shows the posts from all users groups ???
Hey, where is the 1st filter
Hey, where is the 1st filter you mentioned ?
I am in views2 drupal6 and trying to finde them for 1 hour. Which filter shows the posts from all users groups ???
For a Learning Management
For a Learning Management system you should use Moodle. It has all this and more. You can continue to retain the community interactions in Drupal. Have to go in moodle-drupal integration.
Netlink Technologies Ltd
http://shyamala-drupal.blogspot.com/
Depends
For more traditional course management, Moodle is a good way to go. For a more flexible learning environment, Drupal gives a broader array of options.
Also, "integration" means different things to different people. For some, it means a common theme. For others, it means a shared username and password. For others, it means SSO. For others, it means a common profile/identity. For others, it means moving content between the two apps.
Or any combination thereof :)
Before adding an application to the stack, it's good to do a thorough analysis of the teaching and learning goals.
Cheers,
Bill
FunnyMonkey
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Curious: Is a calendar actually better than a book?
I'm just curious. Is a calendar node type that usable for students and teacher in all contexts? I find it more tedious to put in various assignments as different nodes in a calendar, and instead use the Book Module to organize the course by weeks. Here's a live example of how I do it. Notice that all the course materials are in other areas of that book.
This is my preference as well
The book module (or, on a larger site, the book module as extended by the Book Manager) provides the largest amount of flexibility, as you can organize any node (ie, assignments with date fields, and background information without date fields) together, and then use the calendar module to display all nodes with date fields.
In a site using OG, this let's you do three things:
Create your group-specific book with your curriculum and assignments;
Create a calendar-style view for logged in users that displays the calendar, and filters on posts within their specific groups;
Create a table view that filters on dates and takes a group id as an argument to list the upcoming assignments.
This meets the needs of those who want the complete view of everything happening in the course (using the book); those who want the calendar, and those who just want to see what's on the horizon.
Cheers,
Bill
FunnyMonkey
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Calendar view?
Can you also view this in a monthly calendar view? I like that you have all that info with the assignment, but can you have an abbreviated version in a monthly/weekly view?
Book module, and node types with date fields
In D6, the book module lets you select what node types are permitted in books. So, you can use the book module to organize nodes with content (and no date fields) alongside nodes with date fields (ie, assignments with due dates).
Then, using the calendar, you can display all assignment nodes on a calendar view. Using views 2, you might even be able to display the top-level node of the book to which the assignment belongs, which would link you back to the week. However, I'd need to check this.
The short-ish answer: a node needs to have a date field to be displayed using the calendar module with views.
FunnyMonkey
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Does the book module for D5
Does the book module for D5 give you the same functionality?
D5 vs D6 book module
The short answer: yes.
Personally, I prefer the UI for organizing pages within books for D6. And, while I haven't done a side by side comparison of D5 and D6 book module functionality, the D6 version feels a lot easier.
Cheers,
Bill
FunnyMonkey
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Walk through?
Thanks, Bill. Can you point me to a walkthrough somewhere for this in D5? I'd like to try it out, but like much of Drupal, the sheer power of "you can do anything" means that I need some guidance.
Hello, Bob, For D5, I
Hello, Bob,
For D5, I actually don't know of any.
For D6, at the risk of being self-promotional, I cover setting up views (including cloning the calendar view to use as an assignment calendar) in my book. I go over using the book module, along with the book manager module, in this blog post: http://funnymonkey.com/drupal-as-portfolio-platform -- this post includes a screencast that provides an overview.
The trickiest part of setting this up would be creating the view. I created a screenshot (right-click to download the file) that shows the settings page of a D5 calendar view that grabs custom event types.
And, if you are getting started building views, clone views that ship with the views module, or the calendar module -- you can study and modify these views to get a clearer sense of how the admin settings affect the view display.
To use CCK to create a calendar, btw, you will need the CCK module, the Date module, and the Calendar module.
Cheers,
Bill
FunnyMonkey
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