Creating an online course..

py2006 · 20-02-2015 1:44pm #1

Hi all,

Actually it doesn't have to be online just on a computer. As a project I want to help a tutor (to save paper) put all her theory onto a computer as opposed to printing endless volumes of paper.

Now I am reasonably (but by no means an expert) familiar with creating web pages. I know it can be done this way with a Next button to go to the next page or whatever.

However, it would be an idea to be able to create something more substantial:

Log in system for students
Once logged in the can see what sections they have read and where to continue from
A series of questions relating to theory. (multiple choice/ true false etc)
Once all questions complete, it shows result and where they went wrong.
Displays a list of attempts, results with dates etc
Links to printable exercises for essay type answers

I am assuming this can be done with php. I don't have any knowledge of this but I think this would be an excellent project for myself to be able to create this from the ground up.

Would it require a database? or just a text file like a presume the Driver Theory Test disks use?

Thanks for any advice in advance.

Synode · 20-02-2015 2:18pm

Yes you would need a database to store users and their credentials etc., as well as the files, marks etc.

If you haven't done any php before, and are up for learning something new, I'd use Ruby on Rails. It implements MVC and is reasonably easy to learn if you have an aptitude for it. It also does a lot of the work for you

Buford T Justice · 20-02-2015 2:28pm

Synode wrote: »

Yes you would need a database to store users and their credentials etc., as well as the files, marks etc.

If you haven't done any php before, and are up for learning something new, I'd use Ruby on Rails. It implements MVC and is reasonably easy to learn if you have an aptitude for it. It also does a lot of the work for you

There are also frameworks out there for php if you want to write in MVC. Laravael or Cakephp. I know cakephp uses ORM, so it may help you with the sql side of things

Talisman · 20-02-2015 4:13pm

No need to reinvent the wheel - use your favourite search engine to look for: "open source Learning Management Systems"

Have a look at Moodle, it's probably the most widely used open-source learning platform written and it's written in PHP.

There are also quite a few plugins to add Learning Management System functionality to WordPress.

Atomic Pineapple · 20-02-2015 4:33pm

Talisman wrote: »

No need to reinvent the wheel - use your favourite search engine to look for: "open source Learning Management Systems"

I think the OP is viewing the project as an opportunity to increase their own skill level in creating something like this though rather than using something that's already out there?

Talisman · 20-02-2015 5:04pm

Building such a system from scratch as a first project when you don't know any PHP will be tough going.

They'll learn a lot by trying to customise something like Moodle. They'll see the fruits of their work quicker which will build their confidence. It's also less likely that they will get so frustrated that they drop the project because there is the support of an established community to fall back on.

EIREHotspur · 20-02-2015 5:28pm

Atomic Pineapple wrote: »

I think the OP is viewing the project as an opportunity to increase their own skill level in creating something like this though rather than using something that's already out there?

Your right....maybe though he could compromise the ideas here and look at a Wordpress solution and while he does he can learn and better understand the elements it would take to build it from scratch.
He would need something like dreamweaver though to implement databases.

PM me if you need a link to a few great Wordpress ones...

bpmurray · 20-02-2015 5:29pm

Use Moodle - it's the number 1 LMS for good reason.

Talisman · 20-02-2015 5:55pm

EIREHotspur wrote: »

He would need something like dreamweaver though to implement databases.

Don't advise people to install that crap. There are far better free resources for code editing and database management.

Komodo Edit - Free Code Editor
Valentina Studio - Free DB Management Tool

EIREHotspur · 20-02-2015 6:04pm

Talisman wrote: »

Don't advise people to install that crap. There are far better free resources for code editing and database management.

Komodo Edit - Free Code Editor
Valentina Studio - Free DB Management Tool

That's a matter of opinion....read his post again.....did he seem like someone who is going to do hand coding??
He needs a visual editor....and an integrated Database solution....

py2006 · 20-02-2015 7:06pm

Thanks for the replies. I am familiar with HTML, CSS and Dreamweaver and I have looked at some basic php in the past but would need to start from scratch.

With regards requiring a database, how does the driver theory test work without one? It's runs from a disk?

I will look into moodle, I had forgotten about that.

bpmurray · 20-02-2015 10:13pm

py2006 wrote: »

With regards requiring a database, how does the driver theory test work without one? It's runs from a disk?

It's a database of some kind. Whether it's a plain text file, XML. JSON in text, a small database like SQLite, or a fully-fledged RDMBSlike MySQL or even a NoSQL DB, it's still a container of data, which makes it a database. The use of relational or document databases is just to make things more efficient and standard, but a database can be pretty much anything.

PaddyBloggit · 20-02-2015 10:39pm

Why not use WordPress and install a courseware plugin?

py2006 · 21-02-2015 11:12am

PaddyBloggit wrote: »

Why not use WordPress and install a courseware plugin?

I'll look into that thanks.

EIREHotspur · 21-02-2015 10:16pm

PaddyBloggit wrote: »

Why not use WordPress and install a courseware plugin?

I think that is be best option too....you will keep more of your hair too believe me...

Tom Dunne · 22-02-2015 7:43am

bpmurray wrote: »

Use Moodle - it's the number 1 LMS for good reason.

Moodle is a Learning Management System, not a Learning Delivery System.

If your course is simply "read this, watch that, do a multi-choice quiz" then Moodle would be useful.

Otherwise, I would look into different options.

Talisman · 22-02-2015 8:33am

Packt Publishing happen to be giving away one of their Moodle titles today, Moodle 2.0 E-Learning Course Development, as part of their Free Learning promotion.

py2006 · 22-02-2015 4:34pm

Tom Dunne wrote: »

Moodle is a Learning Management System, not a Learning Delivery System.

If your course is simply "read this, watch that, do a multi-choice quiz" then Moodle would be useful.

Otherwise, I would look into different options.

Well I'm looking for a delivery system to deliver fairly simple content

Iron Enthusiast · 27-10-2022 2:18am

Coming late to this one. There are some pretty good learning management systems out there now that make life a lot easier.

A lot depends on what you're looking for. Once you have a clear list of must-haves, you can usually find a good system to match your needs.

Check out review-sites as well for lots of LMS options with feedback attached.

Creating an online course..

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