This document discusses using WordPress in higher education. It provides examples of embedding WordPress blogs and sites within Blackboard courses at both the individual course and program level. It also describes integrating WordPress with the Experience API (xAPI) and learning record stores to enable learning analytics collection and visualization. Finally, it introduces UBC's new Course Spaces WordPress site designed specifically for instructors and students, which is integrated with features like quizzing, assignments, and notes as well as xAPI for analytics.

1. WordPress in Higher Ed:
Courses, Programs & the Future
Barish Golland
Learning Ecosystems Support & Solutions Manager
Sauder Learning Services
@BarishGolland, @UBCSauderLS

2. UBC’s Learning
Technology Ecosystem:
Where WordPress fits in

4. WordPress/Blackboard
integration in a Large
Course

7. WordPress Master Blog
embedded in a Blackboard Course

8. WordPress “Backchannel” blog
embedded in a Blackboard Course

9. WordPress/Blackboard
integration patterns

14. WordPress/Blackboard
Program Level example

15. WordPress Program level Blog
embedded in a Blackboard
Course

16. Secondary Co-curricular Blog
with LearnDash modules
embedded in a BB Course

17. xAPI (experience API)
integration into LRS
(Learning Record Store)

18. Course Blog
xAPI
Statement
Learning Record Store
(LRS)
Student views
blog
xAPI JSON
Statement Created
(actor, verb, object) xAPI
Statements
stored here
Data
Visualization via
Tableau,
assembled with
data points from
other sources
Learning Analytics setup using xAPI
in WordPress

19. Backend xAPI Plugin in WP
Custom built WP
Plugin that allows xAPI
statements generated
in WP to push to
specific node in LRS

20. UBC Faculty of Arts course
blog examples

24. UBC’s new “Course
Spaces” – WordPress
designed for
Instructors/Students

26. Spaces
• New Course blog site designed for
instructors / courses
• CTLT coded plugin/theme from ground up
• Quizzing, progress bars, assignment
submissions, modular build, note taking,
handouts area, discussion forum
• xAPI / LRS ready (Learning Analytics)

27. Mobile friendly, simple user interface

30. Questions?
Twitter: @BarishGolland, @UBCSauderLS
Email: barish.Golland@sauder.ubc.ca

31. Appendix: More notes/
screenshots of Course
Spaces