Appropedia is a knowledge sharing platform based on MediaWiki,W which can be used for:
- Course assignments (written as wiki pages). Wiki pages are particularly valuable for joint assignments, as there is a "history" of all edits made to the page, enabling the instructor to see what work was done by each student.
- Intern projects. For example, a content internship developing and curating a topic area; a tech internship improving or securing the platform; or a communications internship helping to develop prospective partnerships.
It is not a learning management system (LMS),W at least in the usual sense.
While the main platform used is the wiki, i.e. Appropedia.org itself, we also have a blog, discussion lists.
This could be considered a constructivist{{w|Constructivism (learning theory)]] approach, as the students learn by doing rather than through conventional study materials.
Platform features and development
Tools created through Semantic MediaWiki (SMW) could potentially be used for task tracking, and perhaps it can be used for tracking and working on assignments within the wiki itself. (It's worth noting, however, that not all assignments are of value to the wiki, and some assignments may be better being private, which is not possible on Appropedia.)
Other platforms needed?
Would specialized e-learning platforms or tools be of use to instructors? E.g.
- Moodle. Many courses have access to their own Moodle platform anyway. Moodles are generally private.
- Dokeos
Before choosing any such platform, we should check carefully how it relates to SCORM - the Sharable Content Object Reference Model,W a collection of standards and specifications for web-based e-learning.