From: W. Trevor King Date: Thu, 14 Oct 2010 12:55:17 +0000 (-0400) Subject: Add Course website post. X-Git-Url: http://git.tremily.us/?a=commitdiff_plain;h=7842f92439f6a9aacdca1bb685e86214e74409d3;p=blog.git Add Course website post. --- diff --git a/posts/Course_website.mdwn b/posts/Course_website.mdwn new file mode 100644 index 0000000..2d0b9b4 --- /dev/null +++ b/posts/Course_website.mdwn @@ -0,0 +1,44 @@ +[[!template id=gitrepo repo=intro-physics]] + +Over a few years as a TA for assorted introductory physics classes, +I've assembled a nice website framework with lots of problems using my +[[LaTeX]] [[problempack]] package, along with some handy `Makefiles`, +a bit of [[php]], and [[SSI]]. + +The result is the `intro-physics` package, which should make it very +easy to whip up a course website, homeworks, etc. for an introductory +mechanics or E&M class (321 problems implemented as of October 2010). +With a bit of work to write up problems, the framework could easily be +extended to other subjects. + +The idea is that a course website consists of a small, static HTML +framework, and a bunch of content that is gradually filled in as the +semester/quarter progresses. I've put the HTML framework in the +`html/` directory, along with some of the write-once-per-course +content (e.g. Prof & TA info). See `html/README` for more information +on the layout of the HTML. + +The rest of the directories contain the code for compiling material +that is deployed as the course progresses. The `announcements/` +directory contains the atom feed for the course, and possibly a list +of email addresses of people who would like to (or should) be notified +when new announcements are posted. The `latex/` directory contains +LaTeX source for the course documents for which it is available, and +the `pdf/` directory contains PDFs for which no other source is +available (e.g. scans, or PDFs sent in by Profs or TAs who neglected +to include their source code). + +Note that because this framework assumes the HTML content will be +relatively static, it may not be appropriate for courses with large +amounts of textbook-style content, which will undergo more frequent +revision. It mayq also be excessive for courses that need less +compiled content. For an example of another framework, see my +[[branch|Parallel Computing]] of [Prof. Vallières'][MV] [Parallel +Computing][phys405] website. + +[MV]: http://www.physics.drexel.edu/directory/faculty/homepage/?lname=Valli%C3%A8res&fname=Michel +[phys405]: http://www.physics.drexel.edu/~valliere/PHYS405/ + +[[!tag tags/code]] +[[!tag tags/web]] +[[!tag tags/teaching]]