Zikula Community

• **unknown user**
  
  

  • Rank: Freshman
  • Registered: Mar 16, 2002
  • Last visit: Oct 21, 2009
  • Posts: 52

  Posted: Nov 27, 2004 - 02:53 AM

  I recently finished working on a project for a not-for-profit organization who wanted to develop an on-line in-service training system which they could sell as a service to area hospital and nursing homes. They wanted a brandable portal system which would allow them to brand the system to each institution, so when a user from that institution logged into the system they would see only that institution's content.
  
  There are two big players in this arena of distance education: Blackboard and WebCT. As I viewed these vendors software demonstrations and read through their proposals, I quickly realized PostNuke could do a lot of this stuff no problem, but ultimately it fell short in its testing and reporting features.
  
  Granted, PostNuke does not have all the bells and whistles that these proprietary systems have, but it also doesn't have the price tag these systems have either.
  
  What I would like to suggest to the module developers out there is think about PostNuke as an in-service training / distance education system.
  
  There are two modules out there already that provide some functionality for testing users and reporting their scores. Once is vquiz and the other is Exams. There are great statistic modules out there which are also very important to in-service training / distance education systems, because organizations need to be able to run canned and custom reports on client usage.
  
  The issue of support was a big one for this and many organizations who are investing a lot of resources into a new system. This is what makes these big proprietary vendors more attractive than PostNuke. It is not so much that their software is better, but that it is supported. The idea of a professional support site for PostNuke is a step in the right direction.
  
  There is a lot of money being invested by companies and institutions for in-service training / distance education systems. I suggest to the PostNuke community and module developers we think about PostNuke as an in-service training / distance education system. If you planned ahead and tweaked the system just right, PostNuke could compete in the in-service training / distance education system market.

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• **unknown user**
  
  

  • Rank: Helper
  • Registered: Mar 16, 2002
  • Last visit: Oct 21, 2009
  • Posts: 825

  Posted: Nov 27, 2004 - 05:51 AM

  Sorry, but there just isnt enough module developers out here. You have some really nice ideas, but without someone to code it, it just wont get done. We really need more developers, and it sounds like you could be a perfect canidant for this program. I hope to hear and help you through the project.

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• HalbrookTech
  
  

  • Rank: Developer
  • Registered: Dec 31, 1969
  • Last visit: Jun 01, 2010
  • Posts: 6859

  Posted: Nov 27, 2004 - 06:21 AM

  The problem isn't the lack of developers, it's the lack of incentive to develop. If I don't need it, I'm not even going to think about doing a major project for free. If it wasn't for someone paying me to write them, pnGroups & pnFirstVisit wouldn't exist likely. Those of us who put things out for free don't see enough appreciation and burn out. Despite what CRS thinks, I think the lack of appreciation and the expectation of paid level support is what burns out most of the 3rd Party developers.
  
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• **unknown user**
  
  

  • Rank: Helper
  • Registered: Mar 16, 2002
  • Last visit: Oct 21, 2009
  • Posts: 877

  Posted: Nov 28, 2004 - 03:39 AM

  I agree that the developers don't get enough appreciation, but they might get more if they developed things that user want rather than developing things that aren't necessary. I know you'll just grumble at me, but the virtually wasted effort on certain huge unnecessary projects is a perfect example.

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• **unknown user**
  
  

  • Rank: Helper
  • Registered: Mar 16, 2002
  • Last visit: Oct 21, 2009
  • Posts: 825

  Posted: Nov 29, 2004 - 04:46 AM

  These "huge unnecessary" projects are the foundation for all the other applications.
  
  The worst thing a project can do, is to throw things together without working on the foundation. This sort of application development leads to "bloat ware", poor interfaces, high complexity, and lack of flexibility.
  
  The current developers are doing one hell of a job picking the best projects to work on. I have absolutely NO complaints about what tasks they are working on. For someone who is never satisfied, this is a big statement.
  
  The truth is that there has to be more module developers that will help with projects like Pagesetter, formexpress, pnMedia, and FEProc.
  
  Other applications are great, but with these four projects, almost any other process can be achieved.

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• CliffT
  
  

  • Rank: Helper
  • Registered: Mar 30, 2003
  • Last visit: Oct 21, 2009
  • Posts: 683

  Posted: Dec 13, 2004 - 08:42 AM

  Boy, you guys need to spend a little time in your own 'Postnuke in Education" forum.
  
  There are a lot of other solution out there that work with PN, including the work of Cas Nuy integrating Moodle and ATutor with PN, as well aws dotLRN, and LogiCampus. The latter two aren't integrated yet, but I see all kinds of good stuff out there for educational use.
  
  Oh, by the way, commercial systems include Desire to Learn, or D2L which was just adopted by the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities. The University of Minnesota uses WebCT.
  
  Again, lots of stuff out there already! And I'm sure more is on the way!

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• **unknown user**
  
  

  • Rank: Freshman
  • Registered: Mar 16, 2002
  • Last visit: Oct 21, 2009
  • Posts: 52

  Posted: Dec 14, 2004 - 05:57 AM

  Thanks CliffT! I took a look at the PostNuke in Education forum. It was exciting to see all the various LMS solutions being used by the PostNuke Community. It shows there is a place for PostNuke in Distance Education, even if at this stage it is only as a front door portal to one of the above mentioned systems.

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