Beyond Blogging

Using WordPress as a platform for innovation in teaching & scholarship

What does blogging mean to you?

JMU’s WordPress Installation

• http://sites.jmu.edu/• 5,400+ users• 200+ sites• 200+ themes• 250+ plugins• Login tied to JMU central

eID user directory• Site membership can be

automatically synchronized with course roster

Plugins and Themes

• Plugins extend the functionality present in a standard WordPress site

• Themes determine the look and feel (the design) of a WordPress site. Themes are a way to skin your site

• There are thousands of commercial and open source (free) plugins and themes

.edu vs .com

http://sites.jmu.edu/– Server located on campus– Managed by CIT staff– Course roster synchronization– 100s of installed themes and

plugins– Large ecosystem of

commercial and open source themes and plugins

– Accounts tied to JMU’s Active Directory

– CIT supports you and your students

http://wordpress.com/– Self-serve– Predictable– Reliable– Small set of carefully vetted

themes and plugins– Great for blogging– Limited ads may appear on

your blog unless you pay for an upgrade

WordPress is not an L/CMS

• WordPress can be used as a “lightweight” course management system

• WordPress lacks:– Tools for managing, collecting, annotating and

grading assignments– Online exams– A gradebook

• WordPress often complements a Blackboard (Canvas) course

“Technology without content is empty.”

The Content

WordPress

Micro-blogging Digital

StorytellingPodcasting (audio &

video)

Geospatial

Learning Community

Media Portal

Online Magazine

Photo-blogging

PortfolioResource Portal

Lightweight Course

Management

Blogging

Digital History

Digital Humanities

Digital Scholarship

Classroom Portal

Group Work

Organization

Imagine…

How will you use WordPress for teaching and learning?

It takes a village

• Server administrators• WordPress application administrators• Web designers• Instructional designers• Trainer• Customers (faculty and students)

The Process

• How you plan to use the technology

• Type of content• Features/function

Meet with CIT

• Select a theme• Add menus• Enable functionality• Enroll students

Develop site • Students log into site• Practice posting• Discuss writing in this

format• Upload media files

Meet with your class

• Troubleshoot• Archive at end of

semester (optionally)

Ongoing support