If you didn’t pick up on the chatter on Twitter, WPMU.org gave me great questions for our interview on using WordPress as a learning management system. See the full interview here: bit.ly/wpmuwplms
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More:
- Joseph Ugoretz profiles his thoughts and uses of WordPress as LMS here and here
- Jim Groom, the Rev himself, puts in his thoughts.
- Ron Bronson echoes my thoughts on open learning environments.
I am thrilled to announce that I will be co-authoring an upcoming ALA TechSource Library Technology Report (LTR) on using WordPress for libraries, which will be published in the spring of 2011. Polly-Alida Farrington, my great co-author, and I have already begun the invigorating planning for this project.
While this LTR will, like most LTR’s, cover the practice of using WordPress successfully, we are approaching this with an eye on the diverse communities WordPress can and does already serve in the library community. From small public library systems, to digital archives and academic libraries, OPACs, and even library and information science education courses, WordPress has evolved from a simple blogging system to an extensible full-fledge content management system.
We’re actively seeking out a diverse set of guest authors and case studies to develop a comprehensive dialogue around WordPress in order to get the most accurate representation of what WordPress can do for libraries – and what it can’t. Yes, what it can’t do. We hope to include in our cadre of guest authors individuals from other CMS camps like Drupal and Joomla who have experience with WordPress to help futures users understand its full set of opportunities and limitations.
In the same vein, we’re looking outside of librarianship to WordPress developers and evangelists to help create a full picture about the sustainability and future of WordPress. Tapping the knowledge of these communities and individuals at the code level helps to clear the sometimes murky waters of software development.
Polly and I also understand that a technical topic of this nature could benefit from building a “living” resource to tap into. In addition to the LTR, we’re developing several WordPress sites to archive tutorials, screencasts, other resources and to exemplify a variety of uses of the software and plugins. We hope to build the community of library WordPress users and provide a centralized and dynamic location for them to learn from and teach each other.
If you have an interest in writing a guest piece for this LTR or know of exemplary resources that you feel should be included, please feel free to contact me at kylejones [at] thecorkboard [dot] org or on Twitter.
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About Kyle:
Kyle attained his MLIS from Dominican University in River Forest, IL, worked as the Library IT Specialist at the A.C. Buehler Library at Elmhurst College, and is currently employed as a Knowledge and Learning Services Librarian at Darien Library in Darien, CT. He has over 4 years of WordPress experience at the author, editor, instructional, theme developer, and system admin levels. He successfully implemented WordPress Multi User at Elmhurst College to host and support hundreds of First Year Seminar student blogs and developed an innovative learning management system out of WordPress Multi User for Dr. Michael Stephens’ library and information science students.
About Polly:
Polly attained her MLS from State University of New York at Albany and has worked in academia as a reference librarian, government documents and maps librarian, interlibrary loan librarian, and information systems librarian all at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY. She is now the principal owner of P.A. Farrington Associates, a library consultancy focusing on project management, website management, and information technologies. As part of her consultancy she’s developed and conducted multi-day instructional sessions on using WordPress in library systems.
After a highly successful foray into using WordPress as a learning management system (LMS) in the fall of 2009 (see my debrief), Michael Stephens and I continue to tweak and enhance the system for his three classes this spring in the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at Dominican University (GSLIS).
As a quick reminder, we used the following setup in the fall at one class site:
- WordPress MU (WPMU) 2.9.1.1
- BuddyPress 1.0.3
- a small slew of plugins and large collection of themes for use
For the spring we’re going with the following for three class sites:
- WordPress MU (WPMU) 2.8.6
- BuddyPress 1.1.2
- a much larger slew of plugins and even bigger and updated collection of themes (see the end of this post for details)
The Working Combination
Maybe you noticed that we downgraded our WPMU installation and are not up-to-date on BuddyPress. When we were cutting edge the site wide activity stream wouldn’t work. It’s a bit of a jumble at this point, but I think when we downgraded BuddyPress but kept WordPress at cutting edge we would then lose the RSS feed for the site wide activity but get the stream back. Odd. Michael encourages his students to not only watch this stream but keep track of it in an RSS reader. Needless to say, we needed it to work. Eventually we came up with this combination which works just fine.
Separate Sites
You also might have caught on to the fact that we’re supporting three separate sites now. In response to student exit survey results we’ve split the site into three ways, one for each class. There was a general feeling of information overload on the site wide activity stream with three classes and no way to filter the stream with the current version of BuddyPress and its default theme. You can find the new sites here:
- LIS 701 – Introduction to Library and Information Science
- LIS 753 – Internet Fundamentals and Design
- LIS 768 – Library 2.0 and Social Networking Technologies
Michael and I discussed back and forth on the pros and cons of splitting the site and felt that this was the best way to do it. To still give students a window into the work of their GSLIS peers in Michael’s other classes, I’ve created custom RSS feeds from Yahoo! Pipes. These feeds use the site wide activity feed and filter the content for just blog posts. I’ve employed the RSS widget from WordPress to display the post titles.
A New Look
We’ve also adjusted our “look” for the three sites by choosing WPMU DEV’s BuddyPress Social theme. ”Inspired by Facebook,” describes this theme. Indeed. We believe this is an advantage for Michael’s students. Since so much of the student population is already engaged with or at least aware of Facebook, providing a learning environment that is familiar has its inherent advantages:
- It sets the tone: This is a social learning space, a space to connect with your peers and learn from them – not just the professor
- Multiple ways to communicate: Just like Facebook, BuddyPress and this specific theme invites users to send messages, post to their wires (like Facebook walls), and join groups
We’re both extremely pleased to see that the BuddyPress Social theme incorporates filters into the site wide activity stream. Although this doesn’t have associated RSS feeds per filter, it is a wonderful step in the right direction. If there was any desire to have more RSS feeds I could always create more custom Yahoo! Pipes.
Better Information Architecture
The way students access core course information has also been reorganized. Whereas before students would be shunted off to a separate course blog with an entirely new look, course materials are now embedded on the main site with purposefully designed nesting of pages with the same feel of the landing page. Although 81% of the students surveyed in the fall felt that class materials were easily and moderately easy to find, that’s 19% we can improve on. To help us make adjustments we’ve instituted Google Analytics on all sites to get a feel for how students are getting around their course site.
Gradebook
Michael is continuing to use the KB-Gradebook plugin for grade reporting. I personally still feel that the biggest weakness of using WordPress-as-a-LMS is its lack of a customizable, solid gradebook. Although KB-Gradebook generally works well enough, it could use some visual enhancements and complete integration into WordPress as it requires a .CSV file be uploaded. Also, at one time last semester we had turn the plugin on and off to reinitiate it. If you’re interested in using KB-Gradebook, check out this screencast I created last semester.
Twitter Integration
Michael encourages the use of social media and social networking in LIS 753 and even more so in LIS 768 as a way to create personal learning networks online. Specifically, LIS 768 has evolved to make heavy use of Twitter (see the #lis768 hashtag for examples). In order to further support this and to help students create a bridge between their tweeting and blogging, Twitter Tools has been installed as a plugin for those who want the option. BuddyPress’ wire feature can also be combined with Twitter using the Twire plugin – this has also been setup as an installed and active plugin.
Mobile Accessibility
More of a tricky addition than a necessary feature, all course sites and student blogs are mobile phone accessible via touch smart phones like droids, Blackberrys and iPhones using the much loved WPtouch iPhone Theme plugin. While we are unsure at this point how many of the students actually have a smart phone capable of taking advantage of this plugin, Michael has seen an increase of such devices in his classroom. As we complete exit surveys for the spring 2010 semester we’ll ask specifically about smart phone use for learning.
An Alternative LMS
It’s my hope that a post likes this encourages others to look to WordPress as a valid and feasible LMS. It’s open source community is amazingly friendly and responsive to questions and I see innovative plugins and themes sprout up on a weekly basis from developers. As a student and past academic staff member, I experienced and observed the struggles of the locked down (and costly!) Blackboard. The flexibility and customization of WordPress leads itself to be an excellent LMS alternative choice.
Full Plugin List
The following plugins are used on each site. Please note that some plugins are only available by purchasing a WPMU DEV account – these are marked “wpmu dev.” Thanks to James Farmer for allowing us access to these excellent resources and supportive forums.
Site Wide Active Plugins
- BuddyPress
- BP Events
- BP Hide Widgets (wpmu dev)
- Broken Link Checker
- Smart YouTube
- Simple Trackback Validation
- Twitter Tools
- Twire
- WPtouch iPhone Theme
- BP Redirect to Profile for BuddyPress
- Plugin Commander
- Google Analytics
- WP-reCAPTCHA
Course Site Active Plugins
- BP Expand Activity
- BP Member Filter
- Custom CUNY Academic Commons Profile Filters
- Group Forum Subscription for BuddyPress
- KB-Gradebook
- WP-Table Reloaded
- Surveys
Inactive Course Site Plugins for Future Review
Themes
- For the course site: BuddyPress Social (wpmu dev)
- For student blog theme options: one of over 100 choices in the Farms 100 Theme Pack (wpmu dev)
A full semester has come and gone since Michael Stephens and I initiated a social network inspired course management site using WordPress Multi User (WPMU) and BuddyPress at Classes.TameTheWeb.com (classes.ttw). We made some assumptions about what this type of learning management system might do for students:
- Connect them more with their peers on a more personal level
- The similarity between networks such as Facebook and Twitter would be of assistance in their learning and engagement
- Any new technologies introduced by the site will become a part of their learning adventure
- Help them become more comfortable with rich, multi-faceted online discourse that they’ll monitor and engage with as information professionals
We believe that these assumptions graduated to solid truths at the end of this semester.
Hosting over 40 student blogs and a variety of group blogs, Classes.ttw was an overwhelming success this semester. Though by no means scientific, our end of the semester exit-survey (using the surveys WordPress plugin) showed that students were socially active within and outside of the Classes.ttw domain using the supplied site wires, individual wires, direct messaging, and blog post comment features, as well as Twitter as main avenues for communication. Michael was contacted via e-mail a majority of the time (23%), which was followed up closely by Twitter (22%), direct messaging (20%), and group wires (13%).
Usability was a concern of mine as we went forward with the site. In an attempt to help students educate themselves on how to navigate the system screencasts were developed and published. 19 students reported they watched the screencasts; my Vimeo statistics for each video average about 22-25 views per screencast. 91% of survey respondents found the site moderately easy or easy to use; 88% were able to find course information easily and quickly or with minor confusion.
Michael and I have had extensive experience with Blackboard and have developed a certain distaste of this closed learning management system. It was our purpose in this project to create an open and flexible learning management system for students. 96% of the students surveyed reported having experience with learning management systems, most (48%) with Blackboard. Again, overwhelmingly the students reported having a much more enjoyable experience with Classes.ttw, sometimes even calling out Blackboard as the inferior learning management system. Here are some sample student responses to this question:
More fun and interactive than Blackboard
better because of the blogging
I liked the tametheweb [Classes.ttw] site becaues I could customize my site a lot, which made me want to work with the program more. That way I could create something and be able to show it to others. Blackboard is clunky and I don’t like it.
TameTheWeb [Classes.ttw] is better, more fine-tuned to my interests
Classes.TameTheWeb.com is much easier to use than blackboard. I had no problems with it.
This is better organized, doesn’t look outdated, I’ve never encountered a dead link, and it’s more connected with other people.
The Classes.ttw site wasn’t without its criticisms, welcome criticisms that Michael and I are taking very seriously as we prepare for the upcoming semester. Some students reported a bit of information overload due to the amount of dynamically changing content areas on the homepage, speaking mostly of the site wire that funnels all recent blog, comment, group wire, and individual wire posts into one spot. Michael’s students were highly prolific with their commenting and posting (which was encouraged), but created a pile of posts to sift through. In an attempt to alleviate some of this information overload, Classes.ttw will be split into three different sites for each site: 701, 753, and 768. Each site will have its own installation, thus it will separate the students postings.
Due to the kind of social networking done outside of Classes.ttw via Twitter and Facebook, we’ll be looking into other plugins that hook up these capabilities into the new installations. Additionally, analytics were a bit of a weakness with this go around. I’d like to be able to pull data for feeds subscribed to, specifically the course blogs and the site wide feed. We’ll probably initiate a Feedburner and Google Analytics plugin next semester.
Overall, this experience has confirmed my personal beliefs that WPMU and BuddyPress can be used successfully as a learning management system. Its social characteristics are of benefit, not hinderance, to the learning experience of the students. Classes.ttw is a prime example of using blogs and social networks as a way to connect student to student, student to teacher, and student to an authentic audience – the world. I wish, however, that more plugin development was made for the core components of a learning management system that have been lost in this endeavor: a robust gradebook…. and that’s about it.
Square for Libraries
I’ve had a mixed bag of library stuff floating around my head for a bit now between roving reference, mobile devices, and a mix of the two. With iPhone’s apps and Droid’s open architecture it’s starting to make me think that a lot of things are possible that weren’t so before (pending someone is able to program for them).
With this in mind, Alex led me onto the new startup Square. Square uses an audio jack dongle hooked up to an iPhone to swipe credit cards to accept payments virtually anywhere. Open up a Square payer account and you get nifty new features like text and e-mail receipts, electronic reward “punch” cards, and user profiles. Though not listed on the feature list, a screenshot shows a signature on the iPhone, leading me to believe that signing the iPhone for signature verification is possible.
Ok, so the library connection/situation…
Imagine a piece of software called LibSquare – has Square like features for library services: account checking, checkout, and more installed on an iPhone or Droid.
You’ve been completing a reference interview or roaming the stacks with a patron, they’ve grabbed a couple of items, and they’re ready to checkout. But hey, no need to stand in line or go to the self check. Equipped with an iPhone/Droid and LibSquare you’re able to check them out right there. Using the built-in camera, you take a shot of the user’s barcode on their library card. The LibSquare software starts up and you see the user’s library information. With a touch of a button you’re taking another picture of the book’s barcode and the book’s then automatically checked out to the user and synced with their account – additionally they get an automatic e-mail or SMS (their choice of course) telling them their recent stash of library items checked out and when they’re due.
This all sounds fine and good, but I can’t get around desensitizing the items. Maybe have a desensitizer at the reference desk? This is all right but that takes away from the anytime, anywhere theme. What do you think?
