28 November 2011, 0:22

Hello again,

Is it possible for users to create a list of links - in the same way that they can upload files? That way one could create a repository of links as well as files. I know the admin can insert links in the Links and Resources box, but even that is not as flexible as the file upload facility already available in various parts of the system.

Thank you for any help

Andrew

28 November 2011, 1:59

Hello Andrew,

Interesting question, because we were just talking about that with François and Kristina this day. The same question came out on the French forum.

My answer is :

1. There is an artefact plugin in the wiki (https://wiki.mahara.org/index.php/Plugins) called "Bookmark by Catalyst for Intel Education". But this is woking only for Mahara 1.2. It must be adapted to work on 1.3/1.5 onward but this plugin is not in core, so this has to me made by someone and it seems it is not anymore maintained by its author.
2. The best way, I see, is to use the RSS artefact block that points on a Delicious or Diigo account with a keyword to limit the display to the links you are intested in showing on your Page. Here is an example with Diigo (http://mahara.org/view/view.php?id=51376)

Cheers,

-dajan

28 November 2011, 4:03

Thank you very much Dominique-Alain,

I am glad to see that there is some discussion about the links. I hope it means that a links system will be incorporated in future especially as most CMS systems do have a links library of some kind. I have looked at the diigo example using RSS and it is fine but limited.

I am trying to set  up a research/professional network for postgraduate students and also for members of two academic associations. They would all need quite an extensive library. I am also trying to make the whole thing self-managing and with a single login if possible. I have yet to find an open source system which does all of the things I would like and also look a little like the familiar Facebook (and have some of the same functionality). Mahara comes closer than others (e.g. acquia commons which is based on drupal but has limitations with file uploads - I think - although drupal itself must surely have file uploads and links management itself). Anyway... I would like to stay with mahara for a while, especially as I like the feel of the support forums (really nice supportive people like you who understand the kinds of issues I am facing).

I am not quite sure what to do with the links though. One possible solution is to create a forum for links and use tags to sort things out.  Or perhaps do a connection with Mendeley or...... I could always use a different CMS system for links and/or files I guess and feed the RSS. Of course, the ideal would be to include it all in mahara.

I had identified the plugin that you refer to but it does not seem to offer a solution.

Thanks again for everything

Andrew

28 November 2011, 11:58

The idea would be maybe to modify the Plan blocktype and to offer a way to create collections. In each collection we could store a URL + Comment + ?

Do you have an example of the interface you would like to have? Did you see what you would like to find here in Mahara, somewhere?

Therfore we could first write down a project. And then find a way to develop it.

-dajan

28 November 2011, 12:51

Hello Andrew,

I don't think that the bookmark plugin would be enough for you. It does display links, but you cannot easily re-use them outside of a portfolio page. That means if you want to create a bibliography of them, you'd have to copy and paste the links in your final document. Furthermore, you cannot collaborate on these link lists.

Have you had a look at http://zotero.org for that functionality? It is a bibliographic manager that deals with links very well. You can create groups, share your resources (not just links), attach files etc. You can also get RSS feeds out if you wish. I think for the academic community this may be a service worthwhile investigating because you can get information out of it to put into Mahara, either as RSS feed or as HTML page, you can collaborate and then also export your bibliographies into a sensible bibliographic format which you eventually need  to use the resources in a paper. Depending on the web site, you may even be able to grab the link directly from your browser and avoid a lot of typing.

Cheers

Kristina