[support] Reorganizing for my classes

[Bill Fitzgerald]

Hello, Hiro,

Some quick thoughts here (I'm currently working on a project with a 
quasi-looming deadline, so this is more concise than perhaps is needed 
-- apologies in advance).

A-NO-NE Music wrote:
> Durupal 6.8
>
> Hello, I need help on reorganizing my site for my classes before the  
> new semester begins in a week.  I have bought Bills book (thank you  
> Bill for responding to my questions), joined Drupal Edu group,  
> installed OG and accompanied modules, looking around for answers for a  
> few days but I am not finding the solutions.  To tell you the truth, I  
> am so confused myself I even don't know if I can make clear questions  
> here.
>
> Last semester, I built a Durupal 6 site for a class I taught which has  
> 4 sections - 4 groups of classes on one subject.  I didn't have OG.  I  
> simply tagged students by sections with profile module.
>
> This coming semester, I will be teaching the same subject for 2  
> sections, plus a new class with brand new subject.  Before too late, I  
> have to reorganize the site.  OG seems to be the only way but it  
> hasn't worked well for me yet.
>
> First, I need to re-categorize Fall 2008 students aside, which I did  
> with profile module.  The list of the former students won't be updated  
> so I don't need to worry about them right now, but what's next for the  
> new students is unclear to me.
>   
You could either set these accounts to blocked, or create a role with 
limited rights and assign them into that. FWIW, I rarely assign rights 
into the authenticated user role for exactly this reason.

This assumes, of course, that these students will not need to 
access/interact within the site.
> There will be 3 classes:
> Class_1 Section A
> Class_1 Section B
> Class_2
>
> I guess Class_1 is one OG, and Class_2 is another.  What is the best  
> practice to organize the students?  One very confusing part of OG is  
> that OG is based on content type.  I don't know how to separate  
> Section A and B in OG even after installing og_subsection module.  Or  
> may be I don't need to separate them?  Should I separate them with  
> profile?
>   
If you don't need to separate them, then I'd advise keeping one group. 
If the classes are distinct, and the success of the classes is 
predicated on distinctions between them (different lessons, different 
pacing, etc) then I'd make them distinct groups. The simpler you can 
keep things, the better.
> Next, but a bigger problem: How do I make existing nodes into OG?  I  
> haven't been able to find the answer.  Help!
>
> I need to reuse the pages - class plans, assignments, review for exams  
> - for the same class subject.  There are quite few things I need to  
> update, however.  This is due to updated Syllabus.  This means I need  
> to leave the ones I created for last semester intact because the  
> former students still access them.
>   
Okay -- now I think I understand this: make your existing curriculum 
into a book. Then, install the Book Manager and the Book Copy modules 
(possibly you will only need Book Copy). As the name implies, this will 
allow you to copy entire books, or sections of books. Clone your 
existing course material, and edit as needed. This leaves your original 
material intact.

However, I don't know of any way to mass-assign nodes into groups (with 
the obvious exception of direct db inserts, but that path leads only to 
sadness and heartache).

I hope this helps --

Also, at the risk of stating the obvious, set up a test site to try 
these various methods on -- setting it up will take a little time, but 
as you work on your site you will also have the peace of mind that comes 
from knowing that your primary site is secure. Creating a test site is 
covered in Chapter 15 ;)

Cheers,

Bill
> I hope this was clear, and someone comes to rescue me soon :-)
>
>
> --
> - Hiro
>
> Hiroaki Honshuku, A-NO-NE Music, Greater Boston
> http://a-no-ne.com   http://anonemusic.com
>
>   


-- 

Bill Fitzgerald
http://funnymonkey.com
FunnyMonkey -- Click. Connect. Learn.
ph. 503 897 7160