Student Projects
Jul 03 2008
There’s a new section of the website online
dedicated to showcasing the
RapidWeaver websites that Classroom
students have created. The Student Projects
section will display images of these websites
along with links to them. Submission of these
websites has just become available and
RapidWeaver Classroom students can submit them
through the Submit Your Site link in the
Student Control Panel.
All RapidWeaver Classroom students are encouraged to submit their website. The only requirements for inclusion on the Student Projects page is that the submission is from a RapidWeaver Classroom student and that the content of the website is not explicit in any way.
I look forward to seeing and displaying the work that students have created, so submit your sites!
All RapidWeaver Classroom students are encouraged to submit their website. The only requirements for inclusion on the Student Projects page is that the submission is from a RapidWeaver Classroom student and that the content of the website is not explicit in any way.
I look forward to seeing and displaying the work that students have created, so submit your sites!
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Back to Normal
Jun 30 2008
The server issues causing the slow-down RapidWeaver
Classroom was experiencing earlier today have been
resolved and everything is back to normal. For any
of you who were affected by this, thank you for
your patience while the matter was resolved!
Tomorrow will bring at least the first two Blocks video tutorials, and the curriculum has been updated to reflect the videos that I am planning to make available. As always, you will find the latest information on updates here.
Tomorrow will bring at least the first two Blocks video tutorials, and the curriculum has been updated to reflect the videos that I am planning to make available. As always, you will find the latest information on updates here.
Site in Slow-Motion
Jun 30 2008
Some of you might currently experience slow
performance on the website. I’ve spoken with the
hosting provider -- they are aware of the issue and
working to fix it as quickly as possible. I
apologize to any subscribers who are experiencing
slow performance when viewing the video tutorials,
and I will post another update as soon as things
are back to normal.
Better news is that Blocks tutorials are currently under production and those will be made available over the course of this week!
Better news is that Blocks tutorials are currently under production and those will be made available over the course of this week!
Your Feedback, Please
Jun 23 2008
Now that the RapidWeaver 3.6 and 4.0
video tutorials are complete, I am looking
for feedback from subscribers and potential
future RapidWeaver Classroom students. For
subscribers, you will notice a new link
entitled “Provide Feedback” in the Control
Panel of the members’ section -- I would
greatly appreciate getting your responses to a
short list of questions there.
If you are thinking about subscribing but waiting for tutorials on specific 3rd-party plugins, then visit this thread in the RealMac Support Forums and cast your vote for one of the six plugins listed there. Of course it’s not an all-inclusive list of options, but it’s a start.
Thanks to everyone who provides feedback, and check back soon for info on the coming 3rd-party plugin tutorials!
If you are thinking about subscribing but waiting for tutorials on specific 3rd-party plugins, then visit this thread in the RealMac Support Forums and cast your vote for one of the six plugins listed there. Of course it’s not an all-inclusive list of options, but it’s a start.
Thanks to everyone who provides feedback, and check back soon for info on the coming 3rd-party plugin tutorials!
RapidWeaver 4.0 Curriculum
Jun 10 2008
I have updated the Curriculum page with the
RapidWeaver 4.0 video
tutorials that I will be making available
in the coming days. A majority of the updates
to RapidWeaver 4.0 are user interface
improvements and changes to the underlying
architecture of the software -- meaning that
there isn’t much change in terms of
functionality. The current RapidWeaver 3.6
tutorials are not outdated with the release of
4.0, so RapidWeaver 4.0 users will be able to
view Lessons 2-7 of the 3.6 tutorials to learn
the software.
On account of the user interface changes, I will be redoing all of Lesson 1 for version 4.0, in addition to several more tutorials that detail other changes in the update. Expect these tutorials to appear in the coming days.
On account of the user interface changes, I will be redoing all of Lesson 1 for version 4.0, in addition to several more tutorials that detail other changes in the update. Expect these tutorials to appear in the coming days.
RapidWeaver 4 is here!
May 29 2008
It's an exciting day in the RapidWeaver Community
as RapidWeaver 4.0 has been released! I'll be
working hard to produce brand-new RapidWeaver 4.0 video
tutorials for all of our subscribers who
are upgrading. RapidWeaver 4.0 introduces an
entirely redesigned user interface, and the
majority of the new videos will focus on
getting you acquainted with this redesign.
There are also some new features that will be
covered as well.
All that being said, a majority of the existing RapidWeaver video tutorials are full of information that is relevant to the new version as well. Since version 4.0 is Leopard-only, it's important to me to support both 3.6 and 4.0 users with the tutorials, so be on the look-out for new 4.0 tutorials coming soon!
All that being said, a majority of the existing RapidWeaver video tutorials are full of information that is relevant to the new version as well. Since version 4.0 is Leopard-only, it's important to me to support both 3.6 and 4.0 users with the tutorials, so be on the look-out for new 4.0 tutorials coming soon!
RapidWeaver 4 is Coming
May 28 2008
If you haven't already noticed, the RapidWeaver 4
countdown has begun. RapidWeaver 4 will be
available to Leopard users in less than 24
hours from now, and RapidWeaver Classroom will
be producing all-new RapidWeaver 4 video
tutorials for those who will be upgrading to
version 4.0. All of the changes that have
taken place with this version will be covered
and these tutorials will start to appear
within the first week of the release. Lesson 6
is still the priority at this point and will
be available to subscribers by Friday.
It's an exciting time for the RapidWeaver community and I look forward to providing these tutorials for both RapidWeaver 3.6.x and RapidWeaver 4 users! Stay tuned for more soon!
It's an exciting time for the RapidWeaver community and I look forward to providing these tutorials for both RapidWeaver 3.6.x and RapidWeaver 4 users! Stay tuned for more soon!
Spring Break
May 19 2008
I will be away on a short vacation starting
Tuesday, May 20th, and I will return at the end of
the week. I should be able to check emails but I
may not respond immediately as I normally would.
Next week you should expect to see Lessons 5 and 6
available to finish-off the "core lessons," and
that will bring the 60-day promotion to an end.
As always, check-out the RapidWeaver Support Forum for questions that may come up as you work with RapidWeaver!
As always, check-out the RapidWeaver Support Forum for questions that may come up as you work with RapidWeaver!
Say Hello to Hi-Res
May 12 2008
The MacBook has spent most of its day re-encoding
all of the videos presently available to
subscribers. The web server is now receiving all
750MB of that data, and late tonight the video
tutorials will be made available at a new 960x600
resolution.
There will be a small amount of time when the video tutorials are unavailable, and that time will be between 11pm-12am CST. The down-time shouldn't last more than 10 or 15 minutes, but it's important that I communicate that in advance. Enjoy the new high-resolution tutorials!
There will be a small amount of time when the video tutorials are unavailable, and that time will be between 11pm-12am CST. The down-time shouldn't last more than 10 or 15 minutes, but it's important that I communicate that in advance. Enjoy the new high-resolution tutorials!
Some Changes in the Classroom
May 12 2008
It's coming up on two weeks since RapidWeaver
Classroom launched, and I've been listening to the
feedback I've received from subscribers and others
who have visited the site. The response has been
overwhelmingly positive, and for that I'm greatly
appreciative because it lets me know I'm doing some
things right. Of course I'm not going to do
everything right initially, so I must be prepared
to make changes if I'm convinced they are in the
best interest of the site and its subscribers.
So, with that being said, I am currently making one change and considering two others. The change I'm currently working on is the resolution of the video tutorials. Right now they are at a resolution of 512x320 and I will be increasing that to 960x600. I will be re-encoding the existing videos this week and posting the new ones in this higher-resolution format. At nearly double the resolution the file sizes will also double, but it looks like a majority of my traffic is on high-bandwidth connections, and with Fast Start enabled for internet streaming the videos can be started before the entire clip has downloaded. I hope this is a welcome improvement and I'd appreciate your comments on this change.
Another area I'm researching is the handling of payments. PayPal is currently set to handle payments and subscriptions, and my experience with PayPal has always been great. That doesn't necessarily mean that better options don't exist, so I've been looking at other options to see how they compare with the system currently in place. Once I have made a decision to stay with PayPal or switch to a different payment processor I will be adding two more subscription types: 6-month and 1-year options.
Again, I really do appreciate the feedback I receive, so please take a moment to comment on this post with your views. Thanks to everyone for your support!
So, with that being said, I am currently making one change and considering two others. The change I'm currently working on is the resolution of the video tutorials. Right now they are at a resolution of 512x320 and I will be increasing that to 960x600. I will be re-encoding the existing videos this week and posting the new ones in this higher-resolution format. At nearly double the resolution the file sizes will also double, but it looks like a majority of my traffic is on high-bandwidth connections, and with Fast Start enabled for internet streaming the videos can be started before the entire clip has downloaded. I hope this is a welcome improvement and I'd appreciate your comments on this change.
Another area I'm researching is the handling of payments. PayPal is currently set to handle payments and subscriptions, and my experience with PayPal has always been great. That doesn't necessarily mean that better options don't exist, so I've been looking at other options to see how they compare with the system currently in place. Once I have made a decision to stay with PayPal or switch to a different payment processor I will be adding two more subscription types: 6-month and 1-year options.
Again, I really do appreciate the feedback I receive, so please take a moment to comment on this post with your views. Thanks to everyone for your support!
Recommended Supplies
May 07 2008
I've updated the Supplies page to include
links to resources that complement
RapidWeaver. Recommended web hosting, theme
and plugin developers can be found there. I've
also included a link to digitaLife
productions, my business website, where I
have a page with information about RapidWeaver
consulting and training that I offer. So
if you are wanting some one-one-one training
or consulting to go along with the RapidWeaver screencasts
here, then contact me through that website and
we'll get something setup!
New video tutorials should arrive tomorrow, so check back to stay updated.
New video tutorials should arrive tomorrow, so check back to stay updated.
Answering Questions
May 06 2008
I've added a Frequently Asked Questions
section to RapidWeaver Classroom. This will
hopefully address most of the common questions
that may arise, and it's available through the
Questions? page and in
the members' area as well.
It's always funny doing FAQ's because the general idea is to have the answers to the questions ready before they are asked. So it requires thinking from an outside perspective, which is something that's needed when it comes to website design. Since you are generally creating a website for strangers to see, it's important to develop the navigation and content in a way that is best for them. It can be easy to leave out important information because of your own familiarity with the subject, while a new visitor might be completely lost because of the lack of details.
If you can't quite get the outside perspective personally, then it's a great idea to have friends or family unfamiliar with the site and its content to look things over just before making the website public. They'll generally be able to point out what is missing or inadequate.
So yeah, there's a new FAQ, and there's a little nugget of information to go along with it.
It's always funny doing FAQ's because the general idea is to have the answers to the questions ready before they are asked. So it requires thinking from an outside perspective, which is something that's needed when it comes to website design. Since you are generally creating a website for strangers to see, it's important to develop the navigation and content in a way that is best for them. It can be easy to leave out important information because of your own familiarity with the subject, while a new visitor might be completely lost because of the lack of details.
If you can't quite get the outside perspective personally, then it's a great idea to have friends or family unfamiliar with the site and its content to look things over just before making the website public. They'll generally be able to point out what is missing or inadequate.
So yeah, there's a new FAQ, and there's a little nugget of information to go along with it.
Welcome to RapidWeaver Classroom
May 01 2008
A big hello to the RapidWeaver Community! After
over 2 years of building websites with this great
application, growing my knowledge in the Forums and
contributing there over the past year, I've
finally found a new way to contribute with
this comprehensive resource of video tutorials. I'm
really excited to provide this as a resource
for new RapidWeaver users, and even for the
ones with some experience who are wanting to
go a bit more in-depth.
I'll be launching this site at the same time I'm producing the first set of videos, and with that will be a special offer for those who register early. If you didn't notice on the homepage already, those who "pre-register" will have access to the video tutorials for 60 days opposed to the 30 days that will eventually be standard. I'll be publishing videos very frequently for these next 3-4 weeks, and then consistently after that and I doubt I'll ever really stop. The plan is to have around 50 videos available by the end of May. Here's to hoping my web host is ready with the bandwidth!
If you'd like to keep-up with the release of new content here then be sure to subscribe to the site's RSS Feed. There are many, many plans for video tutorials beyond the ones currently listed on the Curriculum page, so stay-tuned to this blog for more information!
I'll be launching this site at the same time I'm producing the first set of videos, and with that will be a special offer for those who register early. If you didn't notice on the homepage already, those who "pre-register" will have access to the video tutorials for 60 days opposed to the 30 days that will eventually be standard. I'll be publishing videos very frequently for these next 3-4 weeks, and then consistently after that and I doubt I'll ever really stop. The plan is to have around 50 videos available by the end of May. Here's to hoping my web host is ready with the bandwidth!
If you'd like to keep-up with the release of new content here then be sure to subscribe to the site's RSS Feed. There are many, many plans for video tutorials beyond the ones currently listed on the Curriculum page, so stay-tuned to this blog for more information!