Using WordPress MU for universities
Jim Groom, a contributor at the WPMU Development for Education group, has published an FAQ on running a large scale WordPress MU installation in a university setting. He lists what plugins were used, details on creating custom themes, and more nitty-gritty stuff like hardware configuration.
How many staff/partial FTEs are needed to support your instance?
As of right now, I do the majority of user support with the actuall system. But our division 5 and 1/2 FTEs, though I think most of the support has been relegated to me, and it has not burned all my time, but as UMW Blogs becomes bigger and bigger, and more “Systemic,” the time devoted to it becomes greater. But, in anticipation of the next question. WordPress has made any barriers to new users very easy because the interface is so slick and user-friendly. And the fact that it is open source, and has an insane community behind it makes our jobs as instructional technologists so much easier, cause we can integrate new features on the fly.
What do you see as the biggest barriers that new users have to overcome in using WP?
Well, I think that is WP’s strength, and why we used it, because it’s interface is so user-friendly we haven;t had to invest too much time at all in user training.
WordPress MU is a bit more tricky to maintain than standard version, though with its upcoming merge with WordPress.org should change things. Read the whole FAQ here.
Can Philippine Textbooks be written in WordPress?
Proper education is one of the most important but most neglected needs in the Philippines. Bayanihan Books aims to alleviate this by authoring textbooks that are accessible through the Internet. These books are published in a wiki-based format, which makes collaborations and revisions much easier. Everyone is invited to volunteer and contribute.
Can blogging software like WordPress can also be useful in initiatives such as this? This online course on Blogs, Wikis, and New Media shows it can be done. While the authoring process is better done in a wiki environment, blogs are a cinch to update and navigate for both teachers and students once the courses are finalized. Many have embraced blogs as a quick and easy way for teachers to interact with their students, whether they’re made up of lessons only, or mixed with other updates and activities.
