Technical guide Water Industry Operations Series 10 Flexible Learning Toolbox Supporting resources for the Certificate III in: Water Industry Operations Version 1.0 flexiblelearning.net.au/toolbox Series 10 Flexible Learning Toolbox: Water Industry Operations © Commonwealth of Australia 2007 The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the views of the Commonwealth of Australia. This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced by any process without prior written permission from the Commonwealth. Requests and enquiries concerning reproduction and rights should be addressed to Training Copyright, Department of Education Science and Training, GPO Box 9880 Canberra City ACT 2601 or email copyright@training.com.au. Part of the Australian Flexible Learning Framework Contents List of tables and figures ............................................................................................................ iii Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 1 System requirements ................................................................................................................. 2 Client hardware and software (for learners) .......................................................................... 2 Server hardware and software (for RTO) .............................................................................. 2 Developer hardware and software (for customising) ............................................................. 3 Toolbox Help Desk and support services .............................................................................. 3 Customising Toolbox content .................................................................................................... 4 What features can be customised? ....................................................................................... 4 Basic content editing ............................................................................................................. 6 Customising content within Flash interactions....................................................................... 7 Customising a Toolbox for single unit delivery ...................................................................... 8 Keeping to the standards ....................................................................................................... 8 Visual design ......................................................................................................................... 8 Navigation ............................................................................................................................ 15 File structure ........................................................................................................................ 15 Accessibility ......................................................................................................................... 16 Technical support .................................................................................................................... 17 Installation on a web server ................................................................................................. 17 Installing into a SCORM compliant LMS ............................................................................. 17 Producing CD-ROMs for distribution ................................................................................... 17 Known issues ...................................................................................................................... 18 The Toolbox Help Desk ....................................................................................................... 18 References .............................................................................................................................. 18 List of tables and figures Table 1: Customisable elements ............................................................................................... 5 Table 2: CSS style list ................................................................................................................ 9 Australian Flexible Learning Framework iii Series 10 Flexible Learning Toolbox: Water Industry Operations Introduction This Technical guide has been developed to support you in delivering the Certificate III in Water Industry Operations This Technical guide is divided into three sections: System requirements Customising Toolbox content Technical support (FAQs, troubleshooting, help desk) Australian Flexible Learning Framework 1 Series 10 Flexible Learning Toolbox: Water Industry Operations System requirements Client hardware and software (for learners) Hardware To use the learning material in this unit, learners will need a computer with the following features: IBM® compatible with a 1000 MHz processor running Windows 2000, XP, Vista, or Apple Macintosh® with a 500 MHz processor running OSX v10.3.9 with: o 128 Mb of RAM o 800 x 600 pixel display o CD-ROM drive o Internet access o Sound card Software Learners will also need the following software/plug-ins installed on their computer: Internet Explorer 6.0 or above (http://www.microsoft.com/) -- OR - Firefox 1.5 or above (http://www.mozilla.com/) -- OR - Safari 1.3 or above (http://www.apple.com/) Microsoft® Word 97 or a similar word processing program to open and use downloadable forms, checklists and worksheets. Adobe® Flash Player 8. If you haven’t got this plug-in, you can download and install the latest free version from: (http://www.adobe.com) Adobe® PDF Reader 6.0 or above. If you haven’t got this plug-in, you can download and install the latest free version from: (http://www.adobe.com) Incorrect versions of these applications could result in information being shown in an unreadable form or not shown at all. Server hardware and software (for RTO) IBM compatible computer with a 1000 MHz processor (OR Unix equivalent) 128 Mb of RAM 4 Gb hard disk space free CD-ROM drive 2xISDN (128k), T1 preferred Internet server software Australian Flexible Learning Framework 2 Series 10 Flexible Learning Toolbox: Water Industry Operations Developer hardware and software (for customising) Same as client hardware and software above, with the addition of: Macromedia® Dreamweaver 8 for editing HTML pages. A word processor such as Microsoft® Word to edit documents. If customisation of multimedia interactions is required, then the following applications may be necessary: o Flash 8 Professional o XML SPY or equivalent XML editing tool o Photoshop/Fireworks (or equivalent) for editing still images o SoundEdit16 (or equivalent) for editing sound content Toolbox Help Desk and support services The Toolbox website provides support at http://toolboxes.flexiblelearning.net.au/support/patches.htm. This site offers help desk details, frequently asked questions, installation and configuration advice and patches for any products that are found to have minor errors or discrepancies. If you are unable to find what you are looking for on this site, please email the Toolbox Help Desk at Toolboxhelp@flexiblelearning.net or phone 1300 736 710. Australian Flexible Learning Framework 3 Series 10 Flexible Learning Toolbox: Water Industry Operations Customising Toolbox content In most cases Toolboxes are able to be modified and redistributed with minimal licensing or copyright encumbrance. However, before commencing any modifications we recommend that you check the license details of the Toolbox, to ensure that any customisation undertaken does not contravene the conditions of that license. For licensing conditions visit: http://www.flexiblelearning.net.au/toolbox/license.htm Remember to retain the original files in their CD-ROM format so that you always have an original copy of the Toolbox as a backup. What features can be customised? Toolboxes can be customised by users under the flexible licensing arrangements, as long as they are not on-sold. You are therefore encouraged to customise the Toolboxes. However, before embarking on any modifications or customisation, we suggest that you: check the licensing details of the Toolboxes to ensure that any customisation does not contravene the conditions of the licence. have the required trained personnel. remember to retain the original files in the CD-ROM format as a backup (should you require them at a later stage). Some design aspects of the Toolboxes can be easily customisable. However, there are other aspects of the Toolboxes that are more difficult. For this complex customisation we recommend that you proceed only if you have the relevant trained technical personnel. Australian Flexible Learning Framework 4 Series 10 Flexible Learning Toolbox: Water Industry Operations Table 1: Customisable elements Element To Customise Description Home page Navigation and interactive graphic can be customised using Macromedia Flash with knowledge of Actionscript. Location index.htm Footer can be updated using Dreamweaver by editing the /library/indexfooter.lbi library file. Home page – text alternative Content changes can be made using HTML editor. index_text.htm Template changes (look and design) can be made using Dreamweaver to edit the template file, /templates/template_text_page.dwt Footer can be updated using Dreamweaver by editing the /library/startfooter.lbi library file. Shared html pages (as seen in footer of Home page) Content changes can be made using HTML editor. \toolbox_only\share d\*.htm Template changes (look and design) can be made using Dreamweaver to edit the template file, /templates/base.dwt Footer can be updated using Dreamweaver by editing the /library/startfooter.lbi library file. Unit HTML pages (General content pages) Content changes can be made using Dreamweaver. To modify templated content use the “Modify | Template Properties…” menu item. \toolbox_only\units\( all child directories)\*.htm Template changes (look and design) can be made using Dreamweaver to edit the template file, /templates/template_level1.dwt Footer can be updated using Dreamweaver by editing the /library/footer.lbi library file. Australian Flexible Learning Framework 5 Series 10 Flexible Learning Toolbox: Water Industry Operations Flash interactions (with in Unit HTML pages) Content for Flash interactions can be generated from three sources; audio (mp3), images (jpg), text and control (xml) To edit the audio, edit the .mp3 files using a relevant sound content editor. To edit the images, edit the .jpg files using a relevant still image editing tool. To edit the text and control, edit the .xml files using a relevant XML content editor. The interaction itself can be customised using Macromedia Flash with knowledge of Actionscript. Intranet pages Content changes can be made using HTML editor. \toolbox_only\share d\flash\*.swf \toolbox_only\units\( all child directories)\audio\*. mp3 \toolbox_only\units\( all child directories)\images\ *.jpg \toolbox_only\units\( all child directories)\xml\*.x ml \toolbox_only\share d\intranet\*.htm Template changes (look and design) can be made using Dreamweaver to edit the template file, /templates/template_intranet.dwt Glossary page Content changes can be made using HTML editor. \toolbox_only\share d\glossary.htm Template changes (look and design) can be made using Dreamweaver to edit the template file, /templates/template_glossary.dwt Font, colours, layout Cascading Style Sheets can be modified using Dreamweaver. \toolbox_only\share d\css\*.css Each element is named appropriately and commented. Basic content editing There are numerous ways of editing the content of this Toolbox. The approach is similar to editing pages that might be found on any website. The two simplest ways are: 1. Using a Web development package (MS FrontPage or Macromedia Dreamweaver). 2. Using a straight text editor (MS Notepad or your favourite text editor). A basic understanding of HTML and the software package is useful. Web development software package Download the complete Toolbox contents onto your machine. Australian Flexible Learning Framework 6 Series 10 Flexible Learning Toolbox: Water Industry Operations Identify the pages you would like to edit (these are displayed in the address bar at the top of the browser page when viewing). Locate these files in the downloaded files, following the paths displayed in the browser. Open each file in your web editing software package (i.e. MS FrontPage or Macromedia Dreamweaver) and make appropriate changes. Save each file. Check your edits in a web browser to see if it displays properly. Text editor (i.e. MS Notepad) Download complete Toolbox contents onto your machine. Locate the file you wish to edit, following the paths displayed in the browser. Open the file using a text editor (i.e. MS Notepad) Make appropriate changes, following the CSS styles, some of which are: o <h1> (Main Headings) larger blue font in caps, o <h2> (Sub headings) green fonts, o <p> (main content i.e. paragraphs) black text. Save each file. Check your edits in a web browser to see if it displays properly. Customising content within Flash interactions You may wish to alter content within the many Flash interactions. The content for Flash interactions can be generated from three sources; audio (mp3), images (jpg), text and control (xml). Audio (mp3) files can be found in the /media folder within each unit (when used), they can be edited, removed or additional audio files can be added. When doing this make sure you make consequent changes in the relevant xml file. Image (jpg) files can be found in the /images folder within each unit (when used), they can be edited, removed or additional image files can be added. When doing this make sure you make consequent changes in the relevant xml file. Text content for Flash interactions is drawn from xml files which can be found in the /xml folder within each unit (when used). Simply edit the xml tag that is controlling the content. To edit the control of some of the Flash interactions, eg change an image, change audio cue points. Simply edit the xml tag that is controlling the control. Australian Flexible Learning Framework 7 Series 10 Flexible Learning Toolbox: Water Industry Operations Customising a Toolbox for single unit delivery You may only want to offer one or two units from the Toolbox, or limit access to certain units and/or streams. The best way to do this is to copy the relevant unit from the /units folder and remove the ‘Home’ link from the left hand navigation (using the /templates/template_level1.dwt file). You should remember to copy and include the /shared folder with your customised version. You may wish to create an entirely new home page to disable access to units. To do this open the index_text.htm file, edit the links (removing links to content) and save it as index.htm. Keeping to the standards This Toolbox has been developed in accordance with a number of internal conventions and international standards. These standards may be related to accessibility, crossbrowser compatibility, or just to enable the easy location and customisation of content. Keep this in mind when you are customising, as whatever you produce will need to be accessible, cross-browser compatible, and able to be further customised. Try to ensure that any changes you make are conformant with the following standards. W3C WCAG Priority 1 Checkpoints - XHTML 1.0 Transitional - http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/ CSS 2 - http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-CSS2/ Visual design This Toolbox uses: Cascading Style Sheets (CSS2) for visual layout and site structure. Only relative font sizes, compatible with the user specified "text size" option have been specified. If your browser or browsing device does not support style sheets at all, the content and menu structure of each page is still readable. Global formatting with CSS This Toolbox has been created with Cascading Style Sheets (CSS). This will enable you to make global changes to the look and feel of this Toolbox. If you don’t have a good understanding of HTML and at least a beginner’s level understanding of CSS you should get somebody with this knowledge to help you. The CSS files are located at \toolbox_only\shared\css\ Australian Flexible Learning Framework 8 Series 10 Flexible Learning Toolbox: Water Industry Operations CSS style descriptions Table 2: CSS style list Style Settings body font-family: Arial,sans-serif; color: #333333; line-height: 1.166; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; a:link, a:visited, a:hover color: #006699; a:hover text-decoration: underline; h1, h2, h3, h4, h5, h6 font-family: Arial,sans-serif; text-decoration: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; h1 font-size: 120%; color: #986936; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-top: 25px; h2 font-size: 114%; color: #986936; margin-bottom: -5px; margin-top: 0px; h3 font-size: 114%; color: #8D6232; margin-bottom: -10px; margin-top: -5px; h4 font-size: 100%; color: #986936; text-transform: uppercase; margin-bottom: -15px; margin-top: -10px; h5 font-size: 100%; color: #334d55; margin-bottom: -20px; margin-top: -15px; ul list-style-type: square; Australian Flexible Learning Framework 9 Series 10 Flexible Learning Toolbox: Water Industry Operations ul ul list-style-type: disc; ul ul ul list-style-type: none; label font: bold 100% Arial, sans-serif; color: #334d55; #masthead border-bottom: 1px solid #cccccc; width: 100%; background-color: #669ACC; #unitTitle font-size: 80%; color: #FFFFFF; background-color: #666666; font-weight: bold; text-indent: 20px; line-height: 22px; #content_box float:right; width: 70%; margin: 0; padding: 0 3% 0 0; #pageNav text-align: right; font-size: 80%; padding: 5px 5px 5px 0; #voiceover background-color: #FFFFCC; width: 540px; #pageTop text-align: right; font-size: 80%; padding: 5px 5px 5px 0; #ccs_hide display: none; #footer clear: both; background-color: #669acc; #footerlinks color: #fff; width: 100%; text-align:center; background-color: #999999; padding: 5px 0px 5px 0px; font-size: 80%; Australian Flexible Learning Framework 10 Series 10 Flexible Learning Toolbox: Water Industry Operations #footerlinks ul float:left; width:100%; margin:0px 0px 10px 0px; padding:0px; list-style-type:none #footerlinks li display:inline; margin:0px; padding: 5px; #footerlinks a:link, #footerlinks a:visited color: #fff; padding: 5px 2px 5px 2px; width:100%; text-decoration:underline; #footerlinks a:hover color: #fff; background-color:#333333; text-decoration:none; .copyright color: #000; font-size:80%; font-weight: bold; #siteName margin: 0px; padding: 20px 0px 10px 30px; #globalNav color: #cccccc; padding: 0; white-space: nowrap; text-align: right; float: right; #navBar margin: 0 76% 0 0; background-color: #eeeeee; border-right: 1px solid #cccccc; border-bottom: 1px solid #cccccc; #navBar ul a:link, #navBar ul a:visited display: block; #navBar ul list-style: none; margin: 0; #navBar li border-bottom: 1px solid #eeeeee; border-top: 1px solid #cdcdcd; padding: inherit; display:block; Australian Flexible Learning Framework 11 Series 10 Flexible Learning Toolbox: Water Industry Operations html>body #navBar li border-bottom: none; #sectionLinks margin: 0px; font-size: 90%; position: relative; text-indent: 10px; display: block; #sectionLinks * vertical-align:middle; #sectionLinks img padding: 6px 0px 7px 0px; #sectionLinks_level background-color: #EAEEFD; 1 text-indent: 20px; #sectionLinks_level background-color: #F5F7FE; 2 text-indent: 30px; #sectionLinks a:link padding: 2px 0px 2px 0px; width: auto; voice-family: "\"}\""; voice-family:inherit; width: auto; text-decoration: none; display:block; #sectionLinks a:visited padding: 2px 0px 2px 0px; text-decoration: none; display:block; #sectionLinks a:hover background-color: #dddddd; padding: 2px 0px 2px 0px; text-decoration: none; display:block; #content padding: 0px 0px 10px 10px; font-size: 80%; width: 540px; #content td vertical-align: top; #content img padding: 0px 0px 0px 0px; margin: 0 0 0 0; text-align: left; #inra_content padding: 0px 0px 10px 30px; font-size: 80%; width: 640px; _content td vertical-align: top; Australian Flexible Learning Framework 12 Series 10 Flexible Learning Toolbox: Water Industry Operations #inra_content img padding: 0px 0px 0px 0px; margin: 0 0 0 0; text-align: left; #flashbox_hold background-color: #EBEBEB; padding: 5px 0px 5px 5px; margin: 0px; width: 535px; #flashbox_large padding: 0px 0px 10px 0px; #pophead border-bottom: 1px solid #cccccc; width: 100%; background-color: #669ACC; #popintranethead border-bottom: 1px solid #cccccc; width: 100%; background-image: url(../images/letterhead_main.jpg); background-repeat: repeat-x; height: 100px; #smallpopup_body background-color: #FFFFCC; #Glossary_AtoZ_le tter font-size: 150%; font-weight: bold; color: #0066FF; #glossary_heading font-weight: bold; color: #CC6600; #glossaryheadBox border-bottom: 1px solid #cccccc; width: 100%; #centralwaterNav color: #ffffff; padding: 0; white-space: nowrap; text-align: right; float: none; position: absolute; left: 410px; top: 0px; font-weight: bold; Australian Flexible Learning Framework 13 Series 10 Flexible Learning Toolbox: Water Industry Operations #intranetTitle color: #000000; float: none; border-width: 5px; position: absolute; left: 470px; top: 60px; font-size: 120%; #user_instructions position:relative; background-color: #E4CDBA; border: 4px double #5FB7D3; margin-bottom: 10px; #user_instructions p margin:12px 8px 12px 50px; #user_instructions img position: absolute; top: 8px; left: 5px; #glossaryHolder font-size:80%; border:solid 1px #666666; width:300px; padding:1px; position:absolute; z-index:100; visibility:hidden; color:#333333; top:0px; background-color:#ffffcc; #glossaryTitle font-weight:bold; #table border:1px solid #000; width:100%; #rows position:relative; float:left; border:1px solid #000; width:100%; Australian Flexible Learning Framework 14 Series 10 Flexible Learning Toolbox: Water Industry Operations #rows #c1-100 border-right:2px solid #000; background:#fff; float:left; margin:0px 0px 0px 0px; padding: 5px 5px 5px 5px; width:100px; position:inherit; #rows #c1-150 border-right:2px solid #000; background:#fff; float:left; margin:0px 0px 0px 0px; padding: 5px 5px 5px 5px; width:150px; position:inherit; You can find out more about CSS at: http://www.htmlhelp.com/reference/css/. Navigation Navigation for the Toolbox is generated in the template files (/templates/*dwt). To alter these you must copy the entire toolbox and open the dwt files in Dreamweaver. Once altered and saved changes will be replicated to the entire site. Though the navigation structure is altered in the template files, the items in the navigation are altered on the pages themselves. File structure The root folder has the following sub-folders: toolbox_only which includes all scripts, styles etc that are used in the Toolbox - it must be on every CD-ROM or server copy of the Toolbox. source_files which contains all source files. templates which contains all Dreamweaver template files. Australian Flexible Learning Framework 15 Series 10 Flexible Learning Toolbox: Water Industry Operations Accessibility The site is compliant with W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Priority 1 checkpoints - http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG10/ Each Flash interaction is also available in an accessible form. This can be found by selecting the ‘Text Version’ link below the Flash interaction. If you modify any of this Flash content, remember to modify the content in the alternative version as well. Links Title attributes have been used on links to describe the link in greater detail. If the text of the link already fully describes the target (such as the headline of an article), then the title attribute may be skipped. Links have been written so users with screen-readers can make sense of them out of context. Australian Flexible Learning Framework 16 Series 10 Flexible Learning Toolbox: Water Industry Operations Technical support Technical support is available from the Toolbox Help Desk, which is detailed at the end of this section. However before calling or emailing, please make sure that the answer you seek is not located elsewhere in this section, or available on the support pages at www.flexiblelearning.net.au/toolbox/support. Installation on a web server Copy the entire contents (except for autorun.inf, autorun.exe and the source_files directory) from the CD-ROM to the appropriate directory on your web server. If you are only copying selected Units to your server or CD-ROM, you must make sure the entire shared folder is also copied. There are no server side technologies utilised by this Toolbox, so no server configuration will be necessary. Installing into a SCORM compliant LMS If you wish to make content from this Toolbox available through your LMS, and your LMS is SCORM compliant, then you can install the relevant learning objects (LOs) by using the following process: 1. Browse to the Toolbox Repository at http://toolboxes.flexiblelearning.net.au/repository/index.htm. 2. Search on the name of this Toolbox, you will find a number of learning objects, each relating to a section of the Toolbox CD-ROM. 3. Download each object that you wish to place on your LMS. They will be delivered as IMS content packages, which look exactly like .zip files. 4. Follow your LMS’s specific instructions for uploading these IMS content packages. Be aware that not all LMS’s are SCORM compliant, and that some claiming to be compliant cannot process IMS content packages so probably aren’t. Please refer issues with the uploading of content to your LMS administrator, not the Toolbox Help Desk. The administrator or LMS vendor will contact us if necessary. Producing CD-ROMs for distribution Whether producing one-off copies of CD-ROMs, or class sets, use the following procedure: 1. Start up your favourite CD-ROM burning software 2. Select the data option (don’t simply copy the whole CD-ROM) 3. Drag and drop all files (except the source_files directory) 4. You may wish to delete the Teacher guide and Technical guide 5. Burn Before you burn yourself a class set, it might be wise to test that the first one works as expected. Australian Flexible Learning Framework 17 Series 10 Flexible Learning Toolbox: Water Industry Operations Known issues The following are known technical issues that users may experience when using this Toolbox. IIS 6.0 will not serve content of unknown MIME type. Pages display strangely on IE 5.5 due to incompatibilities with it’s implementation of the CSS standard. Flash detection issues in WebCT Lotus Notes based training environments don’t allow pop-ups. Issues with pop-up blocking by Windows XP SP2, and others (i.e. Google). Browser printing (right hand edge of page may be cut off). Issues trying to use Dreamweaver templates inside FrontPage. The Toolbox Help Desk The Toolbox Help Desk is here to help you with installing Toolboxes and solving technical issues and a single help desk call is all that is needed. However, before contacting the help desk please assist us by following these steps: Check if your question has already been answered in the Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) section of the Toolbox website at http://toolboxes.flexiblelearning.net.au/support/index.htm. Check the section relating to patches and fixes on the Toolbox website at http://toolboxes.flexiblelearning.net.au/support/patches.htm. If you don’t find the assistance you need on these pages: Email: toolboxhelp@flexiblelearning.net.au Phone: 1300 736 710 Please provide: o the Toolbox name and series number, 10.02 Water Industry Operations o your name, phone number and email address o the problem you need help with. The Flexible Learning Toolbox Help Desk will contact you as soon as possible. References W3C (1998). Cascading Style Sheets, level 2, http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-CSS2/. Australian Flexible Learning Framework 18 Series 10 Flexible Learning Toolbox: Water Industry Operations Toolbox contact details: Flexible Learning Toolbox Help Desk Phone: 1300 736 710 Email: toolboxhelp@flexiblelearning.net.au Website: flexiblelearning.net.au/toolbox For more information contact: 2007 Australian Flexible Learning Framework National Communication Phone: (07) 3307 4700 Fax: (07) 3259 4371 Email: enquiries@flexiblelearning.net.au Website: flexiblelearning.net.au GPO Box 1326 Brisbane QLD 4001 Australian Flexible Learning Framework 19