How to Make a Simple Intranet Web Page

Introduction
As we get networks and servers up and running in the schools, the question for TIS’s is
how can we utilize these resources to improve education and the flow of information in a
school.

One useful idea may be to start putting the daily bulletin online as a web page. This can
save paper, get reluctant people to use the computers, allow informational updates
throughout the day, and serve as a springboard to creating a more complete school
based “web portal”.

The Idea
  • Create a web location on the server that can be easily updated by involved
   personnel (Clerks, principals, TIS’s)
  • Use Workgroup Manager (or Macintosh Manager) to set the user’s preferences so
   that when they log in their browser opens up to the bulletin page.


Ways to Make The Web Location
  I. In the default location of the web server. (Technically involved setup)
     A. The default location is /Library/WebServer/Documents. Using your browser
       to access http://server.name/ will bring up the index.html file in this
       folder.
     B. Create an “webadmin” group in Workgroup manager
     C. Put any server administrator users (plus the WWW user), as well as the users
       whom you want to be able to edit the account into this group.
     D. Change the permissions on the web folder so that this group can read and
       write.
     E . Use Workgroup Manager to make this folder a share point, with a custom
       mount name of “Web Folder”
     F. On the users machines/ accounts, Connect to Server (save the password),
       mount the “Web Folder”.




    G. Create an alias to the Web Folder share point. They can now open it using
      the alias. To mount it at login, put it in their Startup Items (System

       Preferences).
     H.  Save the bulletin as a web page using Netscape Composer, Microsoft Word,
       Appleworks, etc.... (as index.html to be the default, bulletin.html otherwise)
     I.  Editing users should be able to open the .html file and edit it from the share
       point.
     J.  Set the home page for your user groups to
       “http://server.name/bulletin.html” (or whatever the name is)
     K.  Set the browser to be a startup item for the user groups
     L.  Example: http://server1.415/

 II. Using a generic user account to house the webfiles. The pages would then be
   accessed using the URL “http://server.name/~username/” (Easier setup)
     A. Create a generic user in Workgroup Manager (shortname “bulletin” or
       “website”, set the home directory to the Users directory
     B. Login as that user once to enable. Logout.
     C. On the editing users machines/ accounts, Connect to Server (save the
       password), mount the “Users” share point.
     D. Navigate to the “bulletin” or “website” home directory, and find the “Sites”
       folder. Make an alias onto the desktop. They can now open it using the
       alias. To mount it at login, put it in their Startup Items (System Preferences).
     E . Save the bulletin as a web page using Netscape Composer, Microsoft Word,
       Appleworks, etc.... (as index.html to be the default, bulletin.html otherwise)
     F. Editing users should be able to open the .html file and edit it from that sites
       folder.
     G . Set the home page for your user groups to “http://server.name/~bulletin/”
       as required.
     H . Set the browser to be a startup item for the user groups.

III. Using a database driven web site. (technically involved initial setup, much
   simplified upkeep and expanded capabilities) I can help with the setup.
     A. Download an open source content management system (CMS)
       http://www.opensourcecms.com/
     B. Install the CMS as directed.
     C. Modify the theme logo to fit the school.
     D. Create CMS users within the CMS administration with the proper privileges.
     E . Users can login to the bulletin website and update/create the page(s) from
       within their browsers.
     F. Make the page the default as in the above examples.
     G . Examples: http://server.910/technology, http://carnegielms/math

Notes:

  • These are meant to be internal to the school, though they are available district
   wide
  • Follow web page guidelines