Open tools – School trip photomarathons

Trevor Collins1, Richard Joiner2, Alice White2 and John Lea1

1 The Open University; 2 University of Bath

Photomarathons• Timed 12 hour photography

competition• Take 12 photos on 12 topics• Start: Empty memory card• End: Submit memory card

containing one photo per topic in given order

• Photos judged and prizes awarded

http://www.photomarathon.co.uk

2

School trip photomarathons• Timed 1 hour photography

competition• Take 3 photos on 3 topics• Start: Empty camera• End: Return camera

containing one photo per topic in given order

• Photos judged and prizes awarded

3

Open tools• Web server (XAMPP)

– Apache & PHP• Scripts

– Image scaling (PHP)– Gallery Lightbox-2

(JavaScript)

4

Pros and cons of open development• Advantages

– Quick to install (xampp web interface)– Easy to use (auto starts as service)– Reliable: re-use ‘tried and tested’ code

(image scaling and gallery)– Drag and drop files between servers

• Disadvantages– Requires some technical understanding

to install (web server and scripts) 5

Summary – open tools• School trip photomarathon competition

– Web server + image scaling + gallery– Open tools

• Quick ~ components available online• Reliable ~ tried-and-tested code

– Web: http://photomarathon.open.ac.uk

• Email: Trevor Collins t.d.collins@open.ac.uk6