Debriefing Classes.TameTheWeb.com & BuddyPress

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.