Web design program recommendation wanted for schools

[jzkilmer]

I am thinking of buying Dreamweaver for web design on our schools'
website, but the cost is rediculous considering how many copies I want.
(even at educational pricing)

As webmaster and volunteer parent, I would need a copy to manage the
main web pages. Teachers and their students would also need copies for
web design of their pages. It would be nice if they could do on their
PC in their rooms. As you know, the schools are in financial straights
and cannot afford several copies of DW even though that would be my
first choice.

What other software can you recommend. Our goal is NOT to teach grade
school kids or their teachers HTML but to allow them to design and
create a webpage for their class. (Afterall, many 1st graders can't
even spell HTML, let alone write it.) It needs to be easy to use or I
will not have success getting the teachers to use it.

Thanks
Jack

 

[Ed Mullen]

I am thinking of buying Dreamweaver for web design on our schools'
website, but the cost is rediculous considering how many copies I want.
(even at educational pricing)

As webmaster and volunteer parent, I would need a copy to manage the
main web pages. Teachers and their students would also need copies for
web design of their pages. It would be nice if they could do on their
PC in their rooms. As you know, the schools are in financial straights
and cannot afford several copies of DW even though that would be my
first choice.

What other software can you recommend. Our goal is NOT to teach grade
school kids or their teachers HTML but to allow them to design and
create a webpage for their class. (Afterall, many 1st graders can't
even spell HTML, let alone write it.) It needs to be easy to use or I
will not have success getting the teachers to use it.

Thanks
Jack

You might try Nvu. See http://nvu.com/

--
Ed Mullen
http://edmullen.net
http://mozilla.edmullen.net
http://abington.edmullen.net
Why does a cowboy have two spurs? If one side of the horse goes, so does
the other.

 

[Neredbojias]

To further the education of mankind, (e-mail address removed) vouchsafed:

I am thinking of buying Dreamweaver for web design on our schools'
website, but the cost is rediculous considering how many copies I want.
(even at educational pricing)

As webmaster and volunteer parent, I would need a copy to manage the
main web pages. Teachers and their students would also need copies for
web design of their pages. It would be nice if they could do on their
PC in their rooms. As you know, the schools are in financial straights
and cannot afford several copies of DW even though that would be my
first choice.

What other software can you recommend. Our goal is NOT to teach grade
school kids or their teachers HTML but to allow them to design and
create a webpage for their class. (Afterall, many 1st graders can't
even spell HTML, let alone write it.) It needs to be easy to use or I
will not have success getting the teachers to use it.

Forget the html. Do the graphic design separate, however you want to, and
when it's complete, hire/procure someone to mark it up. WYSIWYG editors
aren't very html-adept in any case.

 

[Chaddy2222]

You might try Nvu. See http://nvu.com/

Yes, I think NVU would be good, though you still will need some
knoledge about HTML so the pages validate.
I would suggest installing a CMS and just letting teachers and students
add content.
Much easyer and it would allow for consistency over all pages.

 

[JDS]

As you know, the schools are in financial straights
and cannot afford several copies of DW even though that would be my
first choice.

Why would that be your first choice? First graders using Dreamweaver? DW
Is actually quite a complex program.

Try Mozilla Composer. It is FREE. It is a part of the Mozilla suite. I'm
talking the full version of Mozilla, not "Firefox". It is really a pretty
good WYSIWYG HTML editor -- I don't know why it isn't recommended more
often!

http://www.mozilla.org/products/mozilla1.x/

 

[JDS]

It is really a pretty
good WYSIWYG HTML editor -- I don't know why it isn't recommended more
often!

http://www.mozilla.org/products/mozilla1.x/

Yeah, I just took a look at it again. I think it would be perfect for
your uses: it is easy to use, WYSIWYG interface, lets you edit the HTML
directly if you want, features publishing/uploading tools to send your
site/pages to your web server, works on Windows, Mac, Linux, has a
spell checker, and more. wow I sound like a sales brochure.

 

[Beauregard T. Shagnasty]

Try Mozilla Composer. It is FREE. It is a part of the Mozilla suite. I'm
talking the full version of Mozilla, not "Firefox". It is really a pretty
good WYSIWYG HTML editor -- I don't know why it isn't recommended more
often!

...and NVu as already mentioned is the stand-alone version of the Mozilla
Composer. NVu might be more beneficial, if the OP does not want to have
email and chat applications on the kids' computers.

 

[Ed Mullen]

Why would that be your first choice? First graders using Dreamweaver? DW
Is actually quite a complex program.

Try Mozilla Composer. It is FREE. It is a part of the Mozilla suite. I'm
talking the full version of Mozilla, not "Firefox". It is really a pretty
good WYSIWYG HTML editor -- I don't know why it isn't recommended more
often!

http://www.mozilla.org/products/mozilla1.x/

Instead of the Mozilla Suite anyone interested should get SeaMonkey.
Mozilla.org has stopped development of the Moz Suite except for a few
more security fixes. An independent group is carrying on the suite
development in the form of SeaMonkey.

Also, the composer that is part of both Mozilla and SeaMonkey hasn't
been updated in ages. The key developer of Composer is also the
developer of Nvu, which is current and more advanced.

http://mozilla.edmullen.net/seamonkey.html

--
Ed Mullen
http://edmullen.net
http://mozilla.edmullen.net
http://abington.edmullen.net
Is there another word for synonym?

 

[Michael Laplante]

..and NVu as already mentioned is the stand-alone version of the Mozilla
Composer. NVu might be more beneficial, if the OP does not want to have
email and chat applications on the kids' computers.

I'd go with Composer first. It's more stable. NVu tends to crap out when
dealing with layers. Also, it has a well known bug that re-formats the code
even if you disable the option. (Might not matter in this instance.)

The old Frontpage Express is still available and is dead easy. It uses a
word processor metaphor. The generated code is out of date but for Grade 1
it doesn't get any easier.

I haven't played around with Open Office much but it also functions as a
wysiwyg editor. However, you have to download the whole office suite which I
think is over 60 Megs.

Also, Abiword for very simple stuff.

Finally, most commercial word processors (Word, WordPerfect) etc can save to
HTML. It ain't pretty HTML but will work. You probably already have access
to some of these programs now. If valid / efficient code is a concern there
are freeware "cleaners" that will clean up Word-to-HTML files afterwards.

You could also the alt.comp.freeware ng for more suggestions.

NVu: http://www.nvu.com/
Composer (Seamonkey) : http://www.mozilla.org/projects/seamonkey/ (Less
stable than Mozila version but still works well.)
Composer (Older Mozilla version) :
http://www.mozilla.org/products/mozilla1.x/
Frontpage Express : You'll have to Google around to find downloads or get an
old copy of Internet Explorer 5.
Open Office : http://www.openoffice.org/
Abiword : http://www.abisource.com/

M

 

[JDS]

Finally, most commercial word processors (Word, WordPerfect) etc can save to
HTML. It ain't pretty HTML but will work. You probably already have access
to some of these programs now. If valid / efficient code is a concern there
are freeware "cleaners" that will clean up Word-to-HTML files afterwards.

You are hereby banned from alt.html

BEGONE!

 

[JDS]

..and NVu as already mentioned is the stand-alone version of the Mozilla
Composer.

oh! Did not realize. alrighty

 

[jzkilmer]

Okay. Now that I have read some posts I will clarify my needs further.
No chats and messaging allowed. School District has all kinds of
restrictions and this is one of them. Firewalls abound, no doubt but
still...

As webmaster I will be using Dreamweaver (DW) and doing all final
editing prior to uploading on District's server. District webmaster has
requested Front Page NOT be used as sites often do not work well on
their server. (I would assume this also applies to Office HTML
documents as well.) She suggested DW. Can I upload sites created in NVU
or other such programs into DW?

BTW, any good, cheap pdf editors out there or are we back to the Adobe
suite?

So, which is best for simple web design that will be uploaded into DW
and have a final edit? NVU, SeaMonkey, or Composer? Which is it that is
the most up-to-date and still being maintained/developed again?

Thanks

 

[JDS]

As webmaster I will be using Dreamweaver (DW) and doing all final
editing prior to uploading on District's server. District webmaster has
requested Front Page NOT be used as sites often do not work well on
their server. (I would assume this also applies to Office HTML
documents as well.) She suggested DW. Can I upload sites created in NVU
or other such programs into DW?

As webmaster, you are probably better off using Nvu/Composer also. That
way you will be using the same tools as the students. Nvu/Composer has
upload tools much like DW's. Not sure what you mean by "upload *into* DW",
unless you mean the site mangement tools that DW provides, and to that I
don't know the answer for sure, but I think it is "yes".

Really, though, uploading a bunch of pages is not that hard. You don't
really need DW just to do that.

Also, what was that about "No chats and messaging allowed"? What are you
talking about?

And finally, PDF: OpenOffice outputs very good PDFs. It does NOT, however,
allow you to edit a PDF once it is generated. I think you are stuck with
Acrobat for that. But OpenOffice *is* free, and is a pretty good office
suite, and generates pretty good PDFs *VERY* easily.

 

[Beauregard T. Shagnasty]

No chats and messaging allowed. School District has all kinds of
restrictions and this is one of them.

As mentioned, no Chat and messaging eliminates Mozilla and SeaMonkey.
They are suites containing applets for those tools (along with email).

So, which is best for simple web design that will be uploaded into DW
and have a final edit? NVU, SeaMonkey, or Composer?

Nvu is the stand-alone "Composer" application, and should do quite well
for your young students. And for yourself. DreamWeaver is overkill.

http://nvu.com/

If you don't want to use its internal server uploading, get FileZilla,
also free and easy to use.

http://filezilla.sourceforge.net/

Which is it that is the most up-to-date and still being
maintained/developed again?

http://nvu.com/

 

[Ed Mullen]

As mentioned, no Chat and messaging eliminates Mozilla and SeaMonkey.
They are suites containing applets for those tools (along with email).

Not so. Both Moz Suite and SeaMonkey allow custom installation and you
can choose to not install the Chatzilla component.


--
Ed Mullen
http://edmullen.net
http://mozilla.edmullen.net
http://abington.edmullen.net
Oooo, baby, it's a big old goofy world. - John Prine

 

[jzkilmer]

I know DW is a bit overkill, but I am designing the bulk of the schools
official website. I am just adding the students' webpages to it, should
they want to do one. Does anyone know if my old DW4.0 files will load
into the DW that comes with Studio 8? (I own DW 4.0, the school is
getting DW 8) I assume so, but you know what they say, Assuming can
make an ASS out of U and ME. (hardy har har. Got that from and old "Odd
Couple" episode. Geez am I an old f**t or what?)

 

[Beauregard T. Shagnasty]

Not so. Both Moz Suite and SeaMonkey allow custom installation and
you can choose to not install the Chatzilla component.

Well, I know that, but who new to them would even think about it. ;-)

 

[JDS]

make an ASS out of U and ME. (hardy har har. Got that from and old "Odd
Couple" episode. Geez am I an old f**t or what?)

I remember that episode!

In any case, all the files are going to be HTML. I can't imagine why DW
can't integrate a few etra HTML pages into its concept of "the site"