Good as MEW: Redesigned authoring area, MathML Editor, and more!

Connexions released a slew of new features and updates to the site yesterday. They're all welcome improvements to the authoring area, so you should probably head on over to the site and get busy writing modules after you read this nifty post :-)

First, let me give you a little background. This round of development effort has been known internally by about fifty different names: MyCNX Dasboard, Module Edit Workflow, Authoring Interface Redesign, and for me, Kyle's Big Tutorial-Updating Extravaganza. Most of us just called it MEW (Module Edit Workflow) for short. MEW has grown over the course of the past few months to include side projects like Phil's awesome, web-based MathML editor (but I'll get to that in a moment).

Now let's take a look at some of the most prominent changes MEW has brought to Connexions.

MyCNX Home Page

The first big change you might notice after logging in is the redesigned MyCNX area:

We've retooled this page to be a little more intuitive. The navigation sidebar on the left now features collapsible menus that will point you toward your work areas, modules, and collections. You can also create a new module or collection from the home page without navigating to a workspace or workgroup. Oh, and your most recently edited modules and collections are right there, so you can quickly get back onto writing your epic open-education textbook after you log in.

You can read all about the MyCNX area by visiting the "MyCNX and the Work Areas" module I recently updated for MEW.

Show/Hide Sidebars

Let's face it: There is limited real estate on your computer screen and authoring in Connexions used to be a bit of a pain when working on a tiny monitor. To help you feel a little less claustrophobic while writing modules (or composing collections), we've introduced a new widget called the Show/Hide Sidebars icon.

Click on it and the navigation sidebars will collapse, giving you more room to get into your authoring groove. Click it again and, voilà, the sidebars return! It's just that easy.

The Connexions MathML Editor

We've really saved the best for last here, folks! When you're editing modules using Edit-In-Place, you may notice a new link near the top of the editing box that says "MathML Editor." Click it.

Oh, my! What in the world is this? It's a fully-functional, web-based MathML Editor! Gone are the days of building equations in MathML code or purchasing software that only works on one platform.

Now you can generate semantically-correct Content MathML on-the-fly and paste it into your Connexions module. Phil Schatz was the driving force behind this addition to the suite of Connexions authoring tools, and I think he deserves a special pat on the back.

You can read more about the Connexions MathML Editor by checking out the new "MathML Editor Introduction"module, located in the Documentation Lens.

It's been a long and winding road to get all these changes out the door, and I'd like to give a big shout-out to our hard-working staff for their tireless contributions. Thanks to you guys, authoring in Connexions is now easier than ever.