Project Concept, how difficult to do this?

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Posted by andypooz, 12-09-2007, 03:32 PM
Hi, I discovered your forum through a web search and I'm confident this is the place to find knowledgeable, helpful people on these types of matters. I am a secondary school teacher who also does a bit of web designing in his spare time. I teach ICT (computers, in UK education speak) and part of that is basic web design to 12 year olds. They spend 10-12 lessons producing a website which is saved and viewed from their local account. When they ask what the web address is so that they can show it to their parents from home, they are always VERY disappointed when I tell them it's not 'really on the internet'. What I wanted to know is, how easy would it be to set up a service that allowed kids to easilly create a directory within a host domain (everything would be on one domain) and ftp their files up using a web browser interface? There are a few safeguards that would have to be placed on this: 1. BEFORE ADDING A SITE: The school would have to set up a school account authorising their students to use the service. The kids could simply enter in a password to prove they are from that school (or validate through IP address? I dunno) 2. WHEN VIEWING A SITE: Each directory would have to be password protected so that the pages are only visible to those with permission from the website creator. As much as we tell our students not to place personal details on the site or about copyright, they often forget. (The site would dutifully give reminders about these things before the kids upload their site) Is there a sevice that already does this kind of thing? Our kids are used to creating their own myspace/facebook/mebo pages, but at school they are building their page from scratch (and even getting stuck into the html if they're really keen!). However, they can't easilly get it hosted to show mum and dad! I suspect it would take quite a bit of custom coding rather than just tinkering with an existing host management application. What do you think? Although I am an ICT teacher, I am no programmer. I have a resellers account and would love to be able to launch it on the cheap for my students and other schools that probably have the same frustrated young web designers. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Cheers Andy Last edited by andypooz; 12-09-2007 at 03:40 PM.
Posted by masm50, 12-09-2007, 09:37 PM
It wouldn't be too difficult by the sounds of it. If you just got a basic reseller account with a reputable host, then that would let you/the school create a separate account for each of the pupils (this would give them each ftp access). You wouldn't need to give each student their control panel logins, but just their ftp info (which you could make whatever you like). You could then show them how to use net2ftp or something similar to get their files online. Each user would need a username and password to login to net2ftp which should give you some security. The only thing I would be slightly unsure how to achieve would be how to implement the needing a username/password to just see the webpages/websites. I would normally do this through .htaccess, but if the pupils have access to their FTP, then they would also have access to their .htaccess file, so could easily override that protection if they wanted to or knew how to. Do note, however, that I am not a server admin and this is just how I would put it together quickly and easily, so I am not claiming this will be your best or most secure option. -Tim
Posted by PremiumHost, 12-10-2007, 12:48 AM
A simple way is create subdomain hosting accounts (student1.your-domain.com) and pass login information to your students. In the control panel, there's option to protect web page and folders.
Posted by 040Hosting, 12-10-2007, 06:08 AM
Like PremiumHost says, a reseller account would give the school great control over it, and limit administrative tasks. Maybe you can ask a reseller to give you a small demo on how it looks and how you could setup things. Good luck in your search, i believe you are doing a great job by teaching our children about web development and internet technologies.

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