One of the key functions within Frog is the ability for Staff to create as many bespoke resources as their heart may desire. To make this process even easier we are creating departmental page templates from which a teacher can create mini web sites, single pages, forums, quizzes, tests, etc etc in fact any kind of online resource they want.
As with our current website each department will have it’s own colour coded visual identity. Here’s a sneaky peak of current work in progress.

Because the pages are template based we can update the look and feel relatively easily as things change & develop. A key design philosophy is to make sure that as soon as a viewer glimpses a departmental resource they will know exactly which curriculum area it belongs too.

The build continues apace, here are some more sneaky peeks.
The landing page above.

  Department/Resources menu page.

The Staff Homepage.

Blinkin’ Flip’ this is exciting stuff!

I feel a bit like a kid sneaking downstairs at Christmas and tearing off the corner of the wrapping paper to see what’s inside!
Andrews now done the login template and it’s got me thinking about the possibility of having a little ‘Post It’ type widget with a daily snippet of news pre-login. A ‘Hook’ as they like to say Ooop North.

The guys in Frog Towers in Halifax have started to put together the college template. Having had a sneaky look it is every bit impressive as we thought. The designers have taken onboard all the requests from Stu Knowler and the student and staff champions to ensure we have an awesome start to our Frog experience. We are itching to see how all of the platform looks with our template but rest assured it won’t be long now.

Had a good long chat with Andrew B up @ Frog Towers today re: our design template. We are up here for our Architects training tomorrow but came up a day early to see the man with the plan. Very positive all round as well as quite enlightening about the process. It seems that apart from a bit of Photoshoppery everything is done within Frog itself. They have no need to use anything else, it’s THAT powerful. Looking forward to tomorrow now. Andrew has been a complete star during this part of the process & really pleased to have had his input & encouragement. If he was a waiter we’d be leaving him a big fat tip!!!

Right then Ladies & Gentlemen, Boys & Girls, Frog-lets & Tadpoles. This is it.
The final design template has just gone off to the wizards up in Halifax. Let’s hope you all like it in all it’s final re-visioned glory. The student feedback we received at the end of last week was crucial in deciding to change the background colour. Unanimously they all asked for something a bit more colourful. They were all ”Down on the brown” as someone put it.
That’s our first bit of hard graft done now but can’t wait to see what Andrew & his team of Uber-boffins do with it now.
Glad it’s half term now. In need a lie down in a darkened room!

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One of the feedback issues that we’ve been fielding the last couple of days related to the Fonts we had used in the earlier versions of the Frog Template.
So in response we’ve come up with the above revision. A subtle revision granted but certainly an option.
Your thoughts, as ever, gratefully appreciated.

After a lot of consultation with Staff & Students (& lots of hard graft) the first design drafts are finally complete!
The content of the designs is a hybrid between both sets of requirements but what we are trying to get across at the moment is the ‘Look’ & ‘Feel’ of our Frog portal.

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Copies of the two subtly different variations (Can you spot the difference?) have been sent to Frog Central up in Halifax to make sure we are working in the right direction & there will probably be changes as a result of that consultation.

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Unfortunately it’s not possible to offer separate template designs for Students & Staff as was suggested at the Staff design forum so we have had to tread a fine line between the desires of both parties.
I think that we have gone a long way to getting the balance right & have come up with a design that suits both camps tastes & requirements.
Your thoughts about the general feel & tone of the design are, as ever, gratefully accepted.
More news as & when we know it.

Stu and I met with Tony Booth from Frog  today to discuss the design and implementation process. I think that Tony was amazed at the amount of input that Stu and I had had with the staff and student Frog champions groups. Stu outlined the design layout that he saw fit to meet the college needs and demonstrated some of the resources currently in use on the website. After showing Tony our own implementation ideas I think he was genuinely impresssed with the process so far. Many thanks to everyone involved in the process so far. If you have any ideas or requests relating to the Bidefrog design and implementation please contact us.

Huge thanks to all the Staff who came to the Frog meeting last night. It may have seemed a tad chaotic but Paul & I gleaned a huge amount from the session. Like we said if you have any additional ideas relating to the design or websites that you really like the look, feel, usability of then just buzz us an email or drop us a line through the contact page. I think it would be fair to say that on balance the general opinion was that you would prefer an Icon based navigation system as opposed to the horizontal ‘Crystal menu’ or the Vertical ‘Blinds’ type menu. Something clean & crisp & not too fussy. We shall endeavor to give you exactly what you want & need. The hard work (For me anyway) starts now. We will of course keep you posted.