Turn my current site in a Web 2.0 site... ideas?

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CLKeenan

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Right now my website offers free notes, outlines and other study resources for high school students. The content hasn't changed much, if at all, over the past 2 years. I'm looking to change that in my next website project that will be based on a similar theme, providing quality resources for students but at the same time having a very strong sense of community and 'stickiness' so visitors won't just come, get an outline, and leave.

A few ideas I have include chapter summaries in podcast form, having content be editable by users to improve the quality/error correction (aka a wiki), allowing users to tag articles, a social network of sorts where users can create their own personal page where they can include info like what classes they are in, online study rooms that support audio/video and an interactive blackboard of sort, etc.

Those are some of the ideas I have. What else do you think would be beneficial? I don't care how crazy the idea is- it might spark some creativity for another more realistic idea.

Thanks guys
-Chris
 


I think that is a great idea. I started to do a similiar project for college students, but shifted my attention elsewhere.

One suggestion I have. Not sure how much development experience you have. You should def consider using Ruby on Rails to design this site. It is a framework for building database-driven Web 2.0 apps very quickly and efficiently. This sounds like it would be a perfect candidate for your site.

Cut out the fluff... get a plan for your site, and then cut it in half. Then do it again. Until you are left with just the bare minimum. Then you can build a great web app. Your motto should be "don't build a half-assed product, build half a product that kicks ass." For more on this, check out 37signals's book 'Getting real.' (not linking, last time I linked an ebook i got neg repped)

I am currently learning Ruby and how to develop in the Rails environment, and it is very aesthetically pleasing. It literally cuts the development time into a tenth of what it would be using a standard java framework.

Focus your site on what students want - they probably don't care about sharing what classes they are in. I think they are more worried about getting the assignment done and then going out and 'having fun.' That being said, if you think the social networking aspect could draw everyday users, go for it.

Personally, I can't see high school students getting excited to check their 'MySchoolSpace' page everyday. Most are looking for a quick fix - give them that, and they are guaranteed to come back for more. Perhaps you could integrate their personal page into getting the help they need - online tutors (automated or not) can help you based on your classes. Then feedback can be given back to you to improve your services.

Also, I bet you can think of a ton of different contests and shit like that you could run to get some interest in the site. Also, don't neccesarily exclude college students - a lot of freshman are still in the high school mindset, and they way they approach school work is quite similiar.

Just my 2 cents, I think you could def build a successful web app around this concept. I think the success of a weba pp comes from designing the site from a great interface first and then coding it. I believe this is the best way to approach it - put yourself in a high school kid's mindset - what they want / don't want. Do this and you will def draw a returning user base.
 
lucab said:
I am currently learning Ruby and how to develop in the Rails environment, and it is very aesthetically pleasing. It literally cuts the development time into a tenth of what it would be using a standard java framework.
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I wouldn't say a tenth. I would say 1/3 to 1/2. But still, a 50-66% time savings is still damn impressive.
 
Are you familiar with the Drupal CMS? I will most likely be using it as the framework for the site. I'll most likely have an integration of Elgg and Moodle in the site as well
 
CLKeenan said:
HAHAHAHHAHAHA.... no lol - I will definitely be outsourcing most of that to start the site off and then hope I can hire a team of volunteer writers/bloggers.
Click to expand...


Yea cuz I i saw coursenotes and i was wondering if you really typed all that shit out.
 
I am familiar with Drupal, that is actually what I have been designing my sites in. However, it isn't really fair to compare drupal with RoR, because RoR is not a CMS. In fact, you basically have to write your own CMS when using RoR. I think the advantages it holds over drupal as far as designing the site are pretty important. For instance, if you are planning on getting a really custom look with drupal, prepare for a lot of work. This could actually take longer than simply designing the site from the ground up with RoR. Furthermore, I understand drupal has a much stronger user base, but a lot of the time, you won't be able to find a module that does exactly what you need it to do, nothing more, nothing less. sometimes yes, lately, as I have begun to design more and more advanced web apps, I find a lot of their modules falling short, or simply being way overkill. with the RoR approach, you can be sure that your web app does exactly what you need it to do, and this will result in a slicker and faster interface.

soirry if this is babbling, trying to get my thoughts on the page faster than i can type or output lol. comp[letely swamped.
 
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