What platform would you like to use for EteRNA University curriculum?

Community
75

Ok, Machine, seems like we’re on the right track now! Thank you SO much for you’re understanding in all this. I can’t stress enough how appreciative I am. It’s better that that all this is out of the way now, and just leave room to see what the community wants.

In response to Drake’s earlier comment about Weebly being completely free without a custom domain, that may not apply to us. In order to get custom levels of contributors (editors vs. admins) we would need to pay around 5 bucks a month. As for other hosting sites, I would point out that a free platform may not work for us, at least from what I’ve seen, especially to make sure there’s good security, good support, etc. Bluehost is probably the most prominent, and gives more freedom than Weebly, but it’s more expensive and freedom isn’t necessarily always good.

So here’s my summery of the options (compounded from what Machine originally wrote):

Eterna Main
Pros: Integrated, and keeps the flow, and no outside party. Free.
Cons: The devs would have to have more involvement (meaning some of their resources would be going to us, not Eterna in general), quality of materials would have to be especially rigorous (which could be a good thing in some ways), we’d need to wait till player dev is up, and I’m not sure how easy it would be for a layman like myself to go in and add content should the need arise.

Wiki
Pros: Pretty easy to get rolling and maintain, add content, etc. Already exists. No outside party. No extra dev involvement that I know of apart from what would be needed for any medium, and not as much of a quality push as being on the main site. Free.
Cons: Formatting is screwey, not a clean interfact, not through the main site, and it could use an organization job IMO. Navigation and visual style could improve, in all honesty.

Hosting
Pros: Usually very fast to set up, maintain, add content, etc. Sleek interface, pretty, and depending on host features are good and easy to use (some having more than others). No extra dev involvement that I know of apart from what would be needed for any medium (though maybe a couple admin things they may want to have the ability to work with), and not as much of a quality push as being on the main site.
Cons: Getting what we need would probably cost money (around 5-10 dollars a month). Some may not give wanted freedom, others too much. Another domain, not existing, and not directly on the main site.

Forums
Really isn’t an option. Virtually no organization, many needed files would have to be done elsewhere. Already here, but not on the main site. A pain to maintain, really no interface.

I think we can give going on the main site a shot, but that will mean waiting for us to get access and devs to get some basics set up and guidelines for us to stay in when making the site. I don’t know that making the site or uploading new content would be either easy or possible for those who do not have development knowledge. If we do this, we MUST make sure there is a system in place for making sure that development can get done and content is able to be uploaded fairly quickly/easily.

If that falls through, the Wiki and Hosting both have pros and Cons:
Hosting: Pretty, easy to run, great interface. However it would mean a new domain and probably costs money
Wiki: Not that pretty, more difficult to run, and a good interface would probably mean a good amount of work. However, it’s on an existing domain, it’s free, and honestly, running it wouldn’t be too difficult, just a pain to get the formatting and interface right.

So, further thoughts? Anything else we should get working on now (for example, should we start setting up a BASIC format for lessons and materials?)?

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Hmmm… Also, random thought, we should make groups for EternaU developers, content creators, and for those who are generally interested/participants.

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Actually, you’re right. You have to pay to be able to distinguish from admins and editors. With the free version, you can only give admin privilege.

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Lego’s fair use policy (here: http://aboutus.lego.com/en-us/legal-n…) allows it. There are several fan-groups creating games, and at least one has asked Lego about doing it, and they said that that was completely ok as long as they adhered to the policies in that document.

81

One important aspect of Weebly I forgot to mention is backups. If we go this route we must define the backup process and ensure devs can easily roll it into their existing backup protocol.

How about a new idea altogether, one which also consolidates some redundancy:

=> EteRNA already has tutorials. We could ask what devs think of rebranding tutorials as EteRNA University, perhaps creating a sub category between current link to tutorials and existing set of puzzle-specific walkthroughs. Then puzzle walkthroughs are just one category of class type, in addition to programming, cooking, whatever.

Then use that existing architecture to design lessons using the familiar EteRNA interface, it stays main site, UI elements can even be reused, and linking between lessons/tutorials and main site script pages is more seamless. This will still require dev time, but perhaps not as much as a whole new page system. And we can still lean on wiki / weebly in meantime. But perhaps this route would be more appealing to both devs and players, since it uses existing & familiar architecture.

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For Weebly, you backup the site via a button in am admin’s panel which sends it to a .zip you can then download. Other hosts probably do it similarly (possibly we a way to reload then, not sure I’d you can or not with Weebly).

I definitely love the idea of combining the other tutorials. I think it would be cool idea if we could get the flash tutorial tools for regular users released under EternaU. Maybe we could use EternaU to help devs develop the regular tutorials (the basic ones upon entering, the new switch and lab tutorials, etc.) and have them advertised as party of EternaU, though also presented add they are now.

And I’m not sure if those were the tutorials you were talking about or of you Kent the player guides. I think it would be great to include player guides into the course material and would tremendously bulk up what we have available. It would also be cool to compile the material together so that you see all the different aspects together.

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thanks!

I meant the first tutorials you described, in flash to teach puzzles. However, I really love your idea to roll player guides into the university materials. In fact, I think this really helps bring it all together in a way that actually consolidates the existing materials using the existing platform, rather than making everything more complicated.

If we can organize the teaching materials that players and devs have already developed all into one place ( university ) instead of three places ( tutorials / player guides / classes ), then I bet it would be a lot easier to direct new players to these currently disparate resources.

Great idea! :smiley:

86

Oh my gosh! This is really starting to come together, and into something much bigger than we originally expected, and definitely something that would be a great asset to Eterna! We just have to be careful that our scale doesn’t get ahead of us and we keep thing realistic-that’s where I always get dinged. But if we can pull this off, it will be truly amazing! And when adding the other material, it makes MUCH more sense for it to be integrated with the main site and as an official venture. This was what I was missing-a way for it to fit, and I got it.

And I had brought up the idea of giving players access to the tutorial tools a few months ago, and the idea was excepted very well by players and devs, but put off until after the craziness with cloud lab and such.

In my mind, the next steps the devs should take is integration, organization, bringing things in-house, and fostering this kind of support for their product. So in my mind, once things get less crazy:

  1. Issue tracker
  2. Get things in-house
  3. Re-organize and clean up the interface
  4. Expand the interface and toolset, and the support that needs to accompany it.

Machine, just so you know, dev chats are inconveniently on the same time as a club I am involved in, so I probably won’t be able to be there. I would appreciate it if you could bring some of this up to Jee, or maybe we could create a consolidated form of this to present (to just link him to, and we could converse with him further through the forum or whatnot (PM’s don’t support more than one sender and one receiver, and it would be good for the community to be involved anyhow).

Lol, and keep my ideas in perspective-unlearned, out there, and I’m just sharing things in case something is useful. I’m sharing all my thoughts, because you never know what could spur the next big thing. :slight_smile:

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So we should get the opinion of Jnicol, Mat, and Eli on the expansion of the material (Drake, it sounded like you were good with it on that front).

Our current definition of EternaU is:

A repository of official and player developed tutorials and other related materials for Eterna, especially featuring players’ unique talents, which are showcased at the same day and time as dev chats, but on off weeks. These lessons are for the benefit of the whole community to learn from what all different users are willing to offer, and these lessons will be transcribed and archived for usage in the future. At these functions, users may also opt to teach on other topics, as is their forte. However, these will generally not take precedence over Eterna related materials.

Am I close?

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I think it is fantastic that so many players are working together on this initiative! Keep up the great work!

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Just a quick update: I may actually be able to make it to the Deb chat. Crossing my fingers. Curious to hear Jee’s thoughts.

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Hey, I generally go to dev chats, and will help in any way I can!

Thanks for all your great ideas, you’ve really helped a lot in thinking about options! :slight_smile: I encourage you to talk to your teachers & parents about formal classes in web technologies, as you definitely have the intelligence and curiosity to wrap your head around this stuff. :slight_smile:

I really appreciate how much you care, and want to let you know I am supportive of your efforts, and very grateful for all your help! We all have a vision of what EteRNA could be. I think at first I had questions about Weebly because I do have an idea of what we could aim for. But as I said, mine is but one opinion, and I think there is also serious merit to the rapid scalability of Weebly. So I am supportive of whatever the community decides to do!

I also am very impressed with the possibility that further down the road we could consolidate learning options in the main site menu, and so I have taken some extra care to consider this possibility, and addressed it below.

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So for anyone who wants to touch base with devs and get their feedback on the University platform options, you’re welcome to use all, any, or none of the following analysis:

UNIVERSITY PLATFORM OPTIONS

  1. Wiki: Currently the default archive.
    Pro: Existing, player accessible, easy.
    Con: Limited formatting, external to main site.

  2. Weebly: Option would scale quickly as an interim solution.
    Pro: Easy, fast, pretty / better formatting options.
    Con: Requires setup, management, & is external to main site. Devs would need admin access.

  3. EteRNA Main: A consolidated University menu option with ability to add player-editable class content would be awesomesauce.
    Pro: Keep UX on main site. Consolidate & reduce redundancy by combining Tutorials, Classes, Strategy Guides, and other learning materials into one University section.
    Con: Requires development, slow.

MAIN SITE MENU CONSOLIDATION

Creating a main site University section will consolidate several learning material menu options. Here is an analysis & redesign of the menu’s information architecture, and what we could do to accommodate the consolidation of learning materials.

  • At first glance this may seem like something to put off until after NOVA, but if the development involved is negligible you may wish to consider what this reorg could do for UX before the influx of thousands of new users.

  • Also, fixing menu redundancies & organization before NOVA would prevent the need for the new users to adapt to a reorg later.

  • To potentially break development into pre-NOVA & post-NOVA milestones, I would focus on the menu reorg pre-NOVA, and save developing the player-editable Classes page for post-NOVA.

  • In the meantime, we can use Wiki & / or Weebly to service Classes needs. This would enable devs to quickly focus on the IA menu reorg without developing new content, as all other menu instructions are copy pasta and explicitly spec’d out below.

MAIN SITE MENU SPECIFICATION

A. Free up the Roadmap slot by consolidating under “Me”

  • Me only has 2 submenu options anyway.
  • Roadmap pertains to the individual player’s Badges. Therefore this page would be appropriate in the same section as Me -> My Profile, which displays those same Badges.
  • As a side note, the word “Roadmap” ( to me ) pertains to development, and so I rarely look at this menu option in part because the term confuses me. Perhaps call it “My Roadmap”, “Badges Roadmap”, “Badges Guide”, “Possible Badges”, “Featured Badges”, or poll the community for name options.
    http://prntscr.com/2rgn7v

B. Make Puzzles Menu second in line, taking the Roadmap slot, for visibility. To most users, and to new users, EteRNA’s primary function is to serve up puzzles, so we should be able to find this quickly. ( It makes sense to keep “Me” first, since it functions as the orienting ‘Home’ / Profile page. )

  • Change “Puzzle” to “Puzzles”.
  • Move “Tutorials” to University section. While Tutorials are a form of puzzle, so are Labs. People will become accustomed to looking for educational materials in the University section. Alternatively, we could keep a redundant link to Tutorials directly in the Puzzles section, in addition to the University section, for maximum visibility to new users.

C. EteRNA University new section to consolidate learning materials.

  • Decide on naming. “EteRNA University” has branding value and a nice ring to it, but as a head menu option “University” or “Learn” would be less redundant / complex. Players have also suggested the less formal “EteRNA U”.
  • Place third, in old “Puzzle” slot, for visibility.
  • Add Tutorials, from old “Puzzle” section.
  • Consider changing “Tutorials” to “Puzzle Tutorials” or something more descriptive. For visibility, keep as separate section in a submenu slot. Alternatively, roll into Classes sub-submenu as a class category.
  • Add Classes, potentially repurpose Tutorials architecture & UI elements, for player-editable content. Include basic content sections like Class Title, Instructor, Class Description, Class Transcripts, ( Consolidated ) Lesson, Code Snippets / link to expanded Scripts section, Screenshots ( popup Lightbox slideshow? ), potentially embedded video, etc…
  • Add Strategy Market from old RNA Labs section.
  • Change “Strategy Market” to “Lab Strategies” or something more descriptive and specific, and to avoid conflict with “Strategy Guides” page.
  • Add EteRNA Scripts from old RNA Labs section.
  • Change “EteRNA Scripts” to “Scripts Library” to invite exploration.
  • Add Strategy Guides from old Community section.
  • Change “Strategy Guides” to “Puzzle Strategies” for clarity, and to avoid conflict with “Strategy Market”. Additionally, consider rolling into Classes sub-submenu as a category of class. ( More feasible if player guides get converted into class format, perhaps a ticket for later. )

D. RNA Labs section simplified & clarified, to increase usability.

  • Change “RNA Lab” to “RNA Labs” or even simply “Labs” to reduce redundancy & complexity. If using “EteRNA University”, consider “EteRNA Labs”.
  • Change "What is RNA Lab? to “Intro” for clarity.
  • Move “Intro” to first submenu slot, to act as introduction.
  • Move “Strategy Market” and “EteRNA Scripts” to University section. While these sections do correctly pertain to Labs, the Labs menu is cluttered, and especially overwhelming due to the complex nature of the category. While people may be accustomed to looking for help with Labs in the Labs menu itself, they will also become accustomed to looking for educational materials in the University section. Therefore, this is an opportunity for consolidation, and also to repurpose existing content for the University.
  • Change “Waiting Labs” to “Synthesizing Labs”. The words ‘waiting’ and ‘previous’ each imply a lapse in time, and compete for temporal place. I am always confused about which Lab category is which. The word ‘synthesizing’ is more descriptive & specific, and also has geek cachet.
  • Change “Previous Labs” to “Completed Labs”. The word ‘previous’ implies a vague position in the past, whereas ‘completed’ conveys a concrete position. Since this is the oldest option in the timeline, concrete terminology provides a clearer boundary in time, and therefore a clearer label.
  • Reorder, and potentially even number Labs submenus for clarity and temporal order: New -> Old, 1. Proposed Labs, 2. Active Labs, 3. Synthesizing Labs, 4. Completed Labs

E. Community section simplified for brevity.

  • Move News page to About section.
  • Move Developer Blog to About section. Though I also view devs as part of community, so either way on this one. ‘About’ is where I usually look for info on the dev team for businesses, so that’s the reasoning here.
  • Move Strategy Guides to University section.
  • Move Groups to second submenu slot, above Forums, to chunk main site Players & Groups next to each other, in 1st & 2nd submenu slots respectively. This way, Forums & Wiki off-site jumps are chunked, and prioritized below in 3rd & 4th slots.

F. About section expanded for better organization & visibility of features.

  • This could stay empty of submenus, but we have opportunity here!
  • Pull “The Basics”, “Why RNA?”, & “How does playing EteRNA help?” from About page, and add in new Overview page. Alternatively, Overview page could be moved to root submenu of University section, as it is a kind of learning material.
  • Add News page from old Community section.
  • Rename “News” to “Updates” for clarity and to avoid conflict with “Press” page.
  • Add Developer Blog page from old Community section, if you want.
  • Pull “Press Coverage” from About page, and add in new Press page.
  • Pull “Donate to EteRNA” from About page, and add into new Donate! page for visibility. Exclamation point is optional, but may encourage donation by emphasizing the imperative.

MAIN SITE MENU LAYOUT

Me

  • My Feed
  • My Profile
  • My Roadmap

Puzzles

  • Challenges
  • Player Puzzles
    [- room to invent new puzzle types!]

EteRNA University

  • Classes
  • Puzzle Tutorials
  • Puzzle Strategies
  • Lab Strategies
  • Scripts Library

Labs

  • Intro
    1. Proposed Labs
    1. Active Labs
    1. Synthesizing Labs
    1. Completed Labs

Community

  • Players
  • Groups
  • Forums
  • Wiki

About

  • Overview
  • Updates
  • Developer Blog
  • Press
  • Donate!
94

Great thoughts, this would definitely be a huge improvement. Assuming I can actually make it to the dev chat tomorrow, I’ll assist in bringing up this stuff. EternaU being first priority, of course. :wink: At least for now, I’m just really curious of the response that we’ll get, and how far we’ll be able to go.

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What would the proposed new puzzle types be? Player puzzles are all puzzles created by players, and challenges are the “official” puzzles.

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thanks LFP6! :slight_smile:

hey, good question fire! i don’t have anything in mind in particular. I noticed that the puzzle menu only has 2-3 entries depending whether we keep tutorials linked there or moved to the university menu, so there’s room to consider what else might go there. the possibility of new puzzle types is just a placeholder idea for future potential.

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I skimmed the last half of this really quickly so if this was already suggested my redundancy will be noted.

Why not put the EteRNA U as a main tab on our individual front pages?

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I think we’ve decided to go ahead and build this on Eterna main once the player dev packages are sent out. In theory EternaU will be a menu choice, possibly under community, having its own if it gets big enough.