So my summer course, “How the Web Works: Building Your Digital Identity, Literacy, and Network,” starts next week for a seven-week run at Austin College. Strictly speaking, it’s not an “online” course…we don’t do those at Austin College. And we don’t really do “hybrid” or “blended” courses, either. We’re a small liberal arts college, and one of our signature themes is a high-touch interactive relationship among faculty and students. So while I’m working with the new initiative in digital pedagogy, it’s not a matter of trading class time for screen time, but rather of augmenting f2f with digital resources. Right ... Read more
The post Getting Started With Open Pedagogy appeared first on How the Web Works.
I’ve been using WordPress since 2005, hacking themes since 2008, and doing a whole lot more since then.. yet I have never written a plugin. All of my custom code has been done in theme templates and functions.php files
Well, now I have done so, without spilling much blood.
This is also the first time I have written something with a proper PHP class.
As usual I came across a wide swath of how to posts, many of them as helpful as echoing Hello World level complexity. I found Francis Yaconiello’s How to write a WordPress plugin good for giving a solid foundation for elements to include, I plucked bits from the WordPress Plugin Developer Guidelines. And because my plugin needed to create and respond to a form, jaskokyn’s How to Create a WordPress Admin Form was of assistance too.
I do find it worth noting that I rarely get my answer in a single tutorial, I have to mix and match (and discard often).
Do not get to excited, this is not very exciting. And I bet Martin Hawksey has already done something way more elaborate.
The folks I am working with on DML Commons are doing some research on the interactions and were looking for some data from the blog syndication. I’ve looked at a smattering of WordPress stats tools, and they all are like log data, and are presented only to the admin side. I was thinking there might be something that does slick charts and graphs and stuff for the public side (I bet there is, one cannot find everything out there).
But there was nothing even I could find that would give them some basic data by category for the syndicated posts (things brought into the blog hub via Feed WordPress). My first effort was to do a one off custom script that generated the following in CSV format:
I set up a duplicate of the site on a dev server, and sent them a few links to export the data for the two different strands, Professional PathWays and Design Research (because of the syndication design, these posts get put into categories). This was supposed to be just a test of the functionality.
They said, “thanks this is perfect!”
Hmmm.
I really need to start rolling some of my things into plugins so they can be use elsewhere w/o needing the theme hacking.
So in a few hours this morning I got a working plugin, now a very alpha version on github as Export Post Data to CSV. When activated, it adds a Post CSV Export item to the WordPress Tools menu. Nothing sophisticated:
You can choose to export data on all posts, or from within a category. The wp_dropdown_categories() function is handy as it can generate the menu, including an item for All Categories, keeping the category hierarchy, and even including a post count. I have it running here on my blog:
Then you click the Blue Button.
The script generates the CSV data which you then choose where to download. I did an export on my category for Syndicated posts from my Barking Dog Studios site (I bring in posts there from a category on that site I go “inside the photo”).
Boom! Barking Dog Category CSV Data
I do not know how helpful this kind of data per post is. Ideally we’d like to cross it by time maybe with twitter data. What else might there be worth extracting from posts? I can already see that I could get tags and categories.
This on its own is not big, but now I have the method started. For the upcoming #vcubrb projects, I am hoping to roll into a plugin a lot of the functionality I have been hand coding into the Feed WordPress sites I have been building. This way we could potentially make it easier for people to create a Connected Course. I can see having:
But at least now I have grown up, written a plugin, and can shave like a big boy.
I'll be diving in and out of the open course on Teaching With WordPress and wanted to get the obligatory "Hi this is me" post out of the way. I'm actually excited to see a structured course develop on helping folks think about using WordPress for teaching and learning because I think even today so many years after its inception and with WordPress powering 25% of the web, there's still a real stigma around WordPress as "just a blogging platform" that has little to contribute in your classroom. And that couldn't be further from the truth, yet from the moment you install WordPress it certainly does make its roots as a blog known. To go beyond requires a better understand of not just how you use it, but also why you should.
Perhaps I should just point out the irony and hypocrisy now that you're reading this post on my site which actually isn't running WordPress. Feel free to discount anything I say from here on out. :) Truth be told, I'm a victim of always playing at the fringes and while I do use WordPress for many things (Including this side-project I started over the weekend), I've been experimenting on this blog using Ghost for about a year now and it fits my current needs of a simple writing platform that gets out of the way and just lets me write. But to build a course, to inspire your students to build with WordPress, requires (sometimes) more than just a writing tool. And I think that's where WordPress shines, in its ability to refuse to be any one thing at all. It's a flexible platform to enable you to create just about anything, once you've learned how to use it (like any tool).
I should also mention I run Reclaim Hosting which the TWP folks were nice enough to recommend as a great platform for getting a domain and getting up and running with WordPress. That certainly was one of the goals when Jim and I started Reclaim 2 years ago. Jim wrote a great post recently that talks a bit more about our goals and ethos at Reclaim Hosting which I think is extremely relevant to this discussion as well. Truth is that caveat of needing to know how to use a tool is often the biggest barrier of all, the point at which many are tempted to pack it all up. Courses like this can support you, using services like Reclaim Hosting can support you, as a network we can support each other.
In fact I think that's an important takeaway from the first discussion of the what and why of Open Pedagogy, that the support of a network is rarely possible in closed spaces. I don't use your LMS and most others one the web likely have very little idea about the ins and outs of whatever proprietary platforms your institution might be holding up as possibilities. But many of us are using WordPress. We're using Known. We're using a variety of tools for the web that are open and flexible to imagine new possibilities and theres a lot of comfort in being a part of that network.
The first week also made me realize I don't have a proper license on this site so now I'm off to grab one and add it to my theme here. Looking forward to the discussions!
I'll be diving in and out of the open course on Teaching With WordPress and wanted to get the obligatory "Hi this is me" post out of the way. I'm actually excited to see a structured course develop on helping folks think about using WordPress for teaching and learning because I think even today so many years after its inception and with WordPress powering 25% of the web, there's still a real stigma around WordPress as "just a blogging platform" that has little to contribute in your classroom. And that couldn't be further from the truth, yet from the moment you install WordPress it certainly does make its roots as a blog known. To go beyond requires a better understand of not just how you use it, but also why you should.
Perhaps I should just point out the irony and hypocrisy now that you're reading this post on my site which actually isn't running WordPress. Feel free to discount anything I say from here on out. :) Truth be told, I'm a victim of always playing at the fringes and while I do use WordPress for many things (Including this side-project I started over the weekend), I've been experimenting on this blog using Ghost for about a year now and it fits my current needs of a simple writing platform that gets out of the way and just lets me write. But to build a course, to inspire your students to build with WordPress, requires (sometimes) more than just a writing tool. And I think that's where WordPress shines, in its ability to refuse to be any one thing at all. It's a flexible platform to enable you to create just about anything, once you've learned how to use it (like any tool).
I should also mention I run Reclaim Hosting which the TWP folks were nice enough to recommend as a great platform for getting a domain and getting up and running with WordPress. That certainly was one of the goals when Jim and I started Reclaim 2 years ago. Jim wrote a great post recently that talks a bit more about our goals and ethos at Reclaim Hosting which I think is extremely relevant to this discussion as well. Truth is that caveat of needing to know how to use a tool is often the biggest barrier of all, the point at which many are tempted to pack it all up. Courses like this can support you, using services like Reclaim Hosting can support you, as a network we can support each other.
In fact I think that's an important takeaway from the first discussion of the what and why of Open Pedagogy, that the support of a network is rarely possible in closed spaces. I don't use your LMS and most others one the web likely have very little idea about the ins and outs of whatever proprietary platforms your institution might be holding up as possibilities. But many of us are using WordPress. We're using Known. We're using a variety of tools for the web that are open and flexible to imagine new possibilities and theres a lot of comfort in being a part of that network.
The first week also made me realize I don't have a proper license on this site so now I'm off to grab one and add it to my theme here. Looking forward to the discussions!
I'll be diving in and out of the open course on Teaching With WordPress and wanted to get the obligatory "Hi this is me" post out of the way. I'm actually excited to see a structured course develop on helping folks think about using WordPress for teaching and learning because I think even today so many years after its inception and with WordPress powering 25% of the web, there's still a real stigma around WordPress as "just a blogging platform" that has little to contribute in your classroom. And that couldn't be further from the truth, yet from the moment you install WordPress it certainly does make its roots as a blog known. To go beyond requires a better understand of not just how you use it, but also why you should.
Perhaps I should just point out the irony and hypocrisy now that you're reading this post on my site which actually isn't running WordPress. Feel free to discount anything I say from here on out. :) Truth be told, I'm a victim of always playing at the fringes and while I do use WordPress for many things (Including this side-project I started over the weekend), I've been experimenting on this blog using Ghost for about a year now and it fits my current needs of a simple writing platform that gets out of the way and just lets me write. But to build a course, to inspire your students to build with WordPress, requires (sometimes) more than just a writing tool. And I think that's where WordPress shines, in its ability to refuse to be any one thing at all. It's a flexible platform to enable you to create just about anything, once you've learned how to use it (like any tool).
I should also mention I run Reclaim Hosting which the TWP folks were nice enough to recommend as a great platform for getting a domain and getting up and running with WordPress. That certainly was one of the goals when Jim and I started Reclaim 2 years ago. Jim wrote a great post recently that talks a bit more about our goals and ethos at Reclaim Hosting which I think is extremely relevant to this discussion as well. Truth is that caveat of needing to know how to use a tool is often the biggest barrier of all, the point at which many are tempted to pack it all up. Courses like this can support you, using services like Reclaim Hosting can support you, as a network we can support each other.
In fact I think that's an important takeaway from the first discussion of the what and why of Open Pedagogy, that the support of a network is rarely possible in closed spaces. I don't use your LMS and most others one the web likely have very little idea about the ins and outs of whatever proprietary platforms your institution might be holding up as possibilities. But many of us are using WordPress. We're using Known. We're using a variety of tools for the web that are open and flexible to imagine new possibilities and theres a lot of comfort in being a part of that network.
The first week also made me realize I don't have a proper license on this site so now I'm off to grab one and add it to my theme here. Looking forward to the discussions!
I'll be diving in and out of the open course on Teaching With WordPress and wanted to get the obligatory "Hi this is me" post out of the way. I'm actually excited to see a structured course develop on helping folks think about using WordPress for teaching and learning because I think even today so many years after its inception and with WordPress powering 25% of the web, there's still a real stigma around WordPress as "just a blogging platform" that has little to contribute in your classroom. And that couldn't be further from the truth, yet from the moment you install WordPress it certainly does make its roots as a blog known. To go beyond requires a better understand of not just how you use it, but also why you should.
Perhaps I should just point out the irony and hypocrisy now that you're reading this post on my site which actually isn't running WordPress. Feel free to discount anything I say from here on out. :) Truth be told, I'm a victim of always playing at the fringes and while I do use WordPress for many things (Including this side-project I started over the weekend), I've been experimenting on this blog using Ghost for about a year now and it fits my current needs of a simple writing platform that gets out of the way and just lets me write. But to build a course, to inspire your students to build with WordPress, requires (sometimes) more than just a writing tool. And I think that's where WordPress shines, in its ability to refuse to be any one thing at all. It's a flexible platform to enable you to create just about anything, once you've learned how to use it (like any tool).
I should also mention I run Reclaim Hosting which the TWP folks were nice enough to recommend as a great platform for getting a domain and getting up and running with WordPress. That certainly was one of the goals when Jim and I started Reclaim 2 years ago. Jim wrote a great post recently that talks a bit more about our goals and ethos at Reclaim Hosting which I think is extremely relevant to this discussion as well. Truth is that caveat of needing to know how to use a tool is often the biggest barrier of all, the point at which many are tempted to pack it all up. Courses like this can support you, using services like Reclaim Hosting can support you, as a network we can support each other.
In fact I think that's an important takeaway from the first discussion of the what and why of Open Pedagogy, that the support of a network is rarely possible in closed spaces. I don't use your LMS and most others one the web likely have very little idea about the ins and outs of whatever proprietary platforms your institution might be holding up as possibilities. But many of us are using WordPress. We're using Known. We're using a variety of tools for the web that are open and flexible to imagine new possibilities and theres a lot of comfort in being a part of that network.
The first week also made me realize I don't have a proper license on this site so now I'm off to grab one and add it to my theme here. Looking forward to the discussions!
I'll be diving in and out of the open course on Teaching With WordPress and wanted to get the obligatory "Hi this is me" post out of the way. I'm actually excited to see a structured course develop on helping folks think about using WordPress for teaching and learning because I think even today so many years after its inception and with WordPress powering 25% of the web, there's still a real stigma around WordPress as "just a blogging platform" that has little to contribute in your classroom. And that couldn't be further from the truth, yet from the moment you install WordPress it certainly does make its roots as a blog known. To go beyond requires a better understand of not just how you use it, but also why you should.
Perhaps I should just point out the irony and hypocrisy now that you're reading this post on my site which actually isn't running WordPress. Feel free to discount anything I say from here on out. :) Truth be told, I'm a victim of always playing at the fringes and while I do use WordPress for many things (Including this side-project I started over the weekend), I've been experimenting on this blog using Ghost for about a year now and it fits my current needs of a simple writing platform that gets out of the way and just lets me write. But to build a course, to inspire your students to build with WordPress, requires (sometimes) more than just a writing tool. And I think that's where WordPress shines, in its ability to refuse to be any one thing at all. It's a flexible platform to enable you to create just about anything, once you've learned how to use it (like any tool).
I should also mention I run Reclaim Hosting which the TWP folks were nice enough to recommend as a great platform for getting a domain and getting up and running with WordPress. That certainly was one of the goals when Jim and I started Reclaim 2 years ago. Jim wrote a great post recently that talks a bit more about our goals and ethos at Reclaim Hosting which I think is extremely relevant to this discussion as well. Truth is that caveat of needing to know how to use a tool is often the biggest barrier of all, the point at which many are tempted to pack it all up. Courses like this can support you, using services like Reclaim Hosting can support you, as a network we can support each other.
In fact I think that's an important takeaway from the first discussion of the what and why of Open Pedagogy, that the support of a network is rarely possible in closed spaces. I don't use your LMS and most others one the web likely have very little idea about the ins and outs of whatever proprietary platforms your institution might be holding up as possibilities. But many of us are using WordPress. We're using Known. We're using a variety of tools for the web that are open and flexible to imagine new possibilities and theres a lot of comfort in being a part of that network.
The first week also made me realize I don't have a proper license on this site so now I'm off to grab one and add it to my theme here. Looking forward to the discussions!
I'll be diving in and out of the open course on Teaching With WordPress and wanted to get the obligatory "Hi this is me" post out of the way. I'm actually excited to see a structured course develop on helping folks think about using WordPress for teaching and learning because I think even today so many years after its inception and with WordPress powering 25% of the web, there's still a real stigma around WordPress as "just a blogging platform" that has little to contribute in your classroom. And that couldn't be further from the truth, yet from the moment you install WordPress it certainly does make its roots as a blog known. To go beyond requires a better understand of not just how you use it, but also why you should.
Perhaps I should just point out the irony and hypocrisy now that you're reading this post on my site which actually isn't running WordPress. Feel free to discount anything I say from here on out. :) Truth be told, I'm a victim of always playing at the fringes and while I do use WordPress for many things (Including this side-project I started over the weekend), I've been experimenting on this blog using Ghost for about a year now and it fits my current needs of a simple writing platform that gets out of the way and just lets me write. But to build a course, to inspire your students to build with WordPress, requires (sometimes) more than just a writing tool. And I think that's where WordPress shines, in its ability to refuse to be any one thing at all. It's a flexible platform to enable you to create just about anything, once you've learned how to use it (like any tool).
I should also mention I run Reclaim Hosting which the TWP folks were nice enough to recommend as a great platform for getting a domain and getting up and running with WordPress. That certainly was one of the goals when Jim and I started Reclaim 2 years ago. Jim wrote a great post recently that talks a bit more about our goals and ethos at Reclaim Hosting which I think is extremely relevant to this discussion as well. Truth is that caveat of needing to know how to use a tool is often the biggest barrier of all, the point at which many are tempted to pack it all up. Courses like this can support you, using services like Reclaim Hosting can support you, as a network we can support each other.
In fact I think that's an important takeaway from the first discussion of the what and why of Open Pedagogy, that the support of a network is rarely possible in closed spaces. I don't use your LMS and most others one the web likely have very little idea about the ins and outs of whatever proprietary platforms your institution might be holding up as possibilities. But many of us are using WordPress. We're using Known. We're using a variety of tools for the web that are open and flexible to imagine new possibilities and theres a lot of comfort in being a part of that network.
The first week also made me realize I don't have a proper license on this site so now I'm off to grab one and add it to my theme here. Looking forward to the discussions!