Customising web pages
Modifying content
As you develop your e-learning course you may include existing web pages (or HTML files) from such sources as learning object repositories, or from other developers. Although these resources may contain most of the information and learning activities you want, you may like to customise these pages to better suit your students’ learning needs.
Although customising the raw HTML code that makes up a web page is not difficult, it can be challenging for someone who has not done it before. HTML Editors are programs that give you a WYSIWIG (what you see is what you get) interface in which to alter a web page. The process is very similar to editing a word processor document.
Customising web pages in a learning object
As described in the previous section, SCORM based learning objects consist of a zipped package containing a number of web pages and associated files, such as images and other media, as well as an IMS manifest files. The manifest file lists the web pages contained in the learning object package. You can edit the information on any of the web pages but you cannot add a new file to the learning object package.
To edit a web page in a learning object, follow these steps.
- Unzip the package using a program such as WinZip.
- Open the web page you wish to edit using an HTML editor, such as those listed in the resources below.
- Make the changes you wish to the web page and then save it in exactly the same place it was originally located in the learning object folders.
- Use a program such as WinZip to re-zip the learning object.
Resources
- PageBreeze Free HTML Editor http://www.pagebreeze.com/
PageBreeze Free HTML editor provides a WYSIWYG interface so you can create your web pages without worrying about html code. It is easy to use and provides a simple way of adding images, text and forms to a web page. It also has an inbuilt web site management system.
View an example of files created by PageBreeze at: http://www.pagebreeze.com/ - NVU http://www.nvu.com/
NVU is a cross platform HTML editor that works in both Windows and Max OSX platforms. It is very easy to use and has a built in site manager. - KompoZer http://sourceforge.net/projects/kompozer/
KompoZer is a wysiwyg HTML editor aimed towards advanced users.
View a demonstration on how to use Kompozer at: http://sourceforge.net/project/screenshots.php?group_id=170132