TOPIC:

Hi

Can anyone suggest a way to embed a simple discussion forum/comments feature in a page in XOT/Bootstrap - ideally something which doesn't involve paying for a subscription?

All I need is for users to start threads, reply to posts by other users, possibly add a like. It's for a closed group of up to 30 teachers who would all have accounts on my Xerte installation, and would be posting over a 5-week short course. I really don't need analytics. I'm much more interested in teachers being able to chat with each other, than in me being able to analyse how often/much each person has posted etc. Some of these teachers are based in China, so access to blocked sites may be an issue.

Best wishes

Jonathan Smith

Hi Jonathan
a few quick comments...
The problem is for anything where you want comments and/or discussion you really need something where the group will have to login/be authenticated and authorised to post to avoid spam etc.
That's also likely to make embedding rather than just linking difficult but if you find a tool that provides an RSS feed then potentially you could at least use the RSS feed page to display the feed.
In my experience if you want this kind of engagement, and especially as you've mentioned teachers in China and possible blocked sites, and I assume you're not already using a VLE/LMS that would provide this functionality, then I would suggest you try to get consensus amongst the group about what tool would work for them and be accessible in China too.
Or flip the whole scenario and use a VLE/LMS that the group can sign-in to and access and use whatever discussion functionality that provides together with your Xerte resources.
HTH
Ron

Hi Jonathan

I've tested this out with hypothes.is but never used with an actual audience, but it may be worth a look. Hypothes.is provide the option of adding a line of code to a web site (i.e. in the Source code of a Xerte page) which then allows users to access the hypothes.is social annotation tool in-page (for comments/replies and highlighting text). You need a hypothes.is account (free) and you can create a private group, and share the link with your audience, allowing you all to share comments in that group. You can access the comments via the Xerte object (after signing in to hypothes.is) or directly in the hypothes.is site. A basic example: xerte.bath.ac.uk/play.php?template_id=3052#page1 (see attached screenshot to see logged in view).

web.hypothes.is/help/embedding-hypothesi...sites-and-platforms/

You would need to check the T&Cs for your specific use case :)

Best wishes
Yvonne

Hi Ron

Thanks for the advice. I'm giving the group access to my Xerte installation, and then I plan to use a Bootstrap as the main learning platform, and then I can control access through the Password Protected option. Yvonne Moore has suggested I try out hypothes.is web.hypothes.is/education/ , and I think I'll do a trial to see if that suits my needs - the website annotation also looks useful.

Jonathan

Hi Yvonne

Many thanks for this. I will certainly try this out - perhaps with the Doc group?

Best wishes

Jonathan