Using wordpress as lms in comp. courses
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Transcript of Using wordpress as lms in comp. courses
USING WORDPRESS AS LMS IN COMPOSITION COURSES
ENGLISH 7910, SPRING 2013
DOWN WITH BLACKBOARD
Why I don’t use Blackboard in the courses I teach:
• Bulky and confusing for students and instructors.
• Too complex. Way more options than most teachers will use.
• Closed system. Allows you to share/interact only with registered students.
• Only one application.
WHAT THE NEXT 50 MINUTES IS ABOUT• Advantages of using an app like Wordpress as LMS.
• See an example of how I’m using Wordpress in a course I’m teaching this semester.
• Learn how to build a Wordpress site,
• Add pages• Customize theme • Edit menu• Embed documents• Create a class network
• Play around with Wordpress on your own. Create a mock Wordpress installation for a hypothetical course.
WHY I LIKE WORDPRESS• Wordpress can do everything I want in an LMS in a much
more user-friendly way.
• WP looks like the rest of the web.
• WP has multiple applications (personal/professional web sites, online journals, class sites, blogs, etc)
• WP is open-source
WHY I LIKE WORDPRESS SOME MORE• WP is free.
• Has a huge support community.
• WP is open-web. Meaning I can show other instructors what I’m doing with this class or vice versa.
• More than a blog.
WORDPRESS IN ENGLISH 3840J• Organize and provide access to course materials
• Course outcomes• Major projects (assignment sheets)• Syllabus, etc
• Create a class network.
• Students can access and comment on each other’s work• Communicate announcements
• Daily homework assignments, etc (blog)• Organize daily writing
• Students each have individual Wordpress blogs where they post low-stakes writing
WORDPRESS BASICS• Choose a custom theme.
• Create pages (add to blog)
• Edit Menu
• Embed a document using Scribd
• Create a class network
• Invite students to create their own page.
ON YOUR OWN
Start by visiting www.wordpress.com and clicking “Get Started”
Once you’ve created an account: try practicing the following:
• Try on a different theme.
• Add new pages to your Wordpress site and update your menu.
• Add links to your site.
• Embed a document through Scribd.
FURTHER READING• CUNY’s Academic Commons is running Wordpress.
• http://commons.gc.cuny.edu• Parry, David. ‘Wordpress: A Better LMS.” The Chronicle.
• http://chronicle.com/blogs/profhacker/wordpress-a-better-lms/23050
• “Using Wordpress in Your Class for Student Writing and Websites”- Academic Technologies, College of William & Mary
• http://at.blogs.wm.edu/using-wordpress-in-your-class-for-student-writing-and-web-sites/