Browse Start Page

[Jacob Haddon]

I’ve set up a moc start page for the Browse activity. It seems that a great opportunity is missed on the browse from page for helping provide information to the students about their computer, about resources available to them, and possible connections to the school server. 

My moc-up can be found here (this is for demonstration, layout and design aspects can be changed and by that I mean improved)

http://sixthcrusade.com/start.html

The layout is pretty simple, using the YUI, i set up a few tabs with information in each. The first is the standard ‘start’ page where the student is going onto the net. Other tabs can be set up for specific subjects based on the needs of the classroom or OLPC itself. 

For example, a tab just on the XO with links to the GPL, where to get the code, etc, would help with one of the recent discussions on this list. There could be links to Python information, tutorials, or even an entire tab on Python. 

This set up will allow more robust information to get to the student beyond the simple start page. Also this helps with the not-so-quite intuitive bookmarks that browse currently offers. 

On a related note, TiddyWiki (http://tiddlywiki.com) now works in the Browse activity. This too could be set up as the homepage, again with sections pre-set up for use, but adding the ability for the student to add things to it, such as a daily journal, or collections of links and such. 

Either the YUI example or the TiddlyWiki could be used, or both in some combination (YUI as home page with link to the wiki)

these are just my thoughts/suggestions.