Just finished a day long Web logging/Manila session with 14 teachers and I can say, after over a year of doing these workshops, that I finally feel like I’ve boiled it down to the essential ingredients that allow teachers to start creating sites without overwhelming it. News, Stories, Pictures, RSS. That’s it. The hit of the day was when I showed them how to use Bloglines…that whole concept just blew them away. Paperless is a reality! Anyway, no server problems, just a minor glitch or two, and at least a half a dozen new serious converts. Cool.
Days like this I like Manila, when people “get” what it can do. Elizabeth Lawley is taking another path with MT, trying to figure out what it can do as a customized course blog. I like what she’s done with the calendar/due date idea, and I’m sure that wouldn’t be a difficult tweak in Manila. The comments that go along with the post are worth the read as they pretty much echo the debate/searching that many of us have ongoing about the best choice for classroom apps. No mention of Manila, but I’m starting to think that much of that is because most can’t get past how unintuitive it is (when IS the new version getting released?) or because MT had definitely become the Web log software du jour. But it seems as more and more programs come out, everyone is tweaking them for their unique needs anyway. And Manila has a pretty good record of classroom use that I’m just about ready to let that whole debate float off into wherever released angst goes.
I’m gonna have over a dozen teachers making Web logs this year, plus a couple of departments like athletics and the library that are chomping at the bit. And I have a feeling there will be more in the wings once we get things all set up. I’ll take that.
“No mention of Manila, but I’m starting to think that much of that is because most can’t get past how unintuitive it is (when IS the new version getting released?)”
I’m working with manila for the first time over the last few weeks. I’m finding it’s not just “unintuitive” but almost as if they’ve willfully made it more complex than necessary. Manila/Frontier is so *limited* compared to MT, or even Blogger, when it comes to giving users a simple, consistent, task-based interface. It’s obvious that the UserLand programmers have never worked to orient the product towards new users (or else the User Guide wouldn’t be so out of date), and have never watched a new user try to get the thing up and running. This is a product that’s had features grafted on for years with no real planning put into it. It’s too bad.
Most of the knowledge my clients have about “normal” websites applies to using MT or making minor changes with it. Little or none of that knowlege applies to Manila.
Maybe this is some of that released angst you mention? 🙂
“No mention of Manila, but I’m starting to think that much of that is because most can’t get past how unintuitive it is (when IS the new version getting released?)”
I’m working with manila for the first time over the last few weeks. I’m finding it’s not just “unintuitive” but almost as if they’ve willfully made it more complex than necessary. Manila/Frontier is so *limited* compared to MT, or even Blogger, when it comes to giving users a simple, consistent, task-based interface. It’s obvious that the UserLand programmers have never worked to orient the product towards new users (or else the User Guide wouldn’t be so out of date), and have never watched a new user try to get the thing up and running. This is a product that’s had features grafted on for years with no real planning put into it. It’s too bad.
Most of the knowledge my clients have about “normal” websites applies to using MT or making minor changes with it. Little or none of that knowlege applies to Manila.
Maybe this is some of that released angst you mention? 🙂
Yep..that’s the angst. Though I do think that Manila’s impending release will MT-ize it quite a bit and make a big step in the right direction. The thing is that Manila still beats MT or about anything else that I’ve seen when it comes to flexibility and power. It might even be overkill for what most teachers need it for. Still, once they “get it”…