This is the P2PU Archive. If you want the current site, go to www.p2pu.org!

WordPress Development

My recent threads

You haven't posted any discussions yet.

Recently updated threads

Is This Really a Class?

Go back to: General discussion

I am somewhat confused as to the nature of this "class."  I know I am being critical by posting this and I do not want to be negative, but I"m confused.  Basically what we have been receiving is assignments to create different parts of a WordPress blog.  This week we are asked to create a plugin that will allow a fictional client to request help from us, the developer, by clicking a help button in the plugin.  I'm OK with that part, that's the assignment.  What I'm wondering is where is the "Class" part of the course?  I'm involved in another P2PU class and what we generally receive each week is:

  1. Class reading for the week, so that we can learn and study something
  2. A demonstration of what we are studying that relates to the forthcoming assignment
  3. An assignment to create something

In this course we seem to be missing the first 2 items.  I was not able to be on the chat this last week so I am somewhat lost as to how to proceed with this assignment.  Is there some reading or studying I should be doing?  An example I can look at somewhere?
 

I understand that these courses are meant to be online learning and somewhat self paced, but I think that is difficult without points 1 & 2 listed above.

I am venting my frustration a bit this morning because I have been digging through a bunch of searches the past couple of days trying to get a handle on how to do what is asked in this weeks assignment.  Nuno, I am very appreciative of the work you are putting into this course.  I can only image the time it is already taking you to facilitate.  Please understand this is not meant as a slight of what you are doing, just a question to provoke some thought on how to make this better.
 

Núria Ramoneda Aiguadé's picture
Núria Ramoneda Ai...
Wed, 2011-02-23 01:43

Ron, for me this is the first course in P2PU and I have no other inputs about the way the other courses are doing, but I'm with you that this 3 points that you mention would make this class more profitable, and we have only the third.

And the assignement I think would be more understandable, maybe more explained, in order to keep people away from this kind of confusion that all we have every week.

I also hope taht we can, all together, make this better.

:)

Sean McAuliffe's picture
Sean McAuliffe
Wed, 2011-02-23 16:47

First course for me as well, and I agree with you both. I posted a comment similar to this early on, and got a lot of feedback that boiled down to "it's up to us to make this work." I agree with that to a point. But ultimately, Nuno needs to address these issues in some way. We are spread out all over the world and it is difficult to interact successfully with the rest of the group. We need the assignments to be better explained from the outset, more information about the goals of each assignment should be given, and we should receive feedback about our individual assignment submissions.

I have found some value in just having the assignment every week and forcing myself to complete it (up until now). But that's about it, and I get the sense that other classes in P2PU have a better experience.

--Sean

Núria Ramoneda Aiguadé's picture
Núria Ramoneda Ai...
Wed, 2011-02-23 19:17

Totally agree with you Sean.

Nuno Morgadinho's picture
Nuno Morgadinho
Thu, 2011-02-24 00:47

Thanks very much for the feedback. It's very important to me to know how you guys are experiencing the course.

In the beginning of the course we created a resources page that covers all of the course contents. This is still available in the 'Course Material' page. Along with the Codex I feel this is more than necessary to accomplish the assignments, given you already know basic PHP+HTML (the required knowledge for this course).

As for a demonstration to help fulfilling the assignment we consider it should be provided (when necessary) at the end of the assignment, as it was last week. See here http://bit.ly/i2VVNa

In my understanding this way gives you a better challenge than just following a 'demo script'. I'm sure there are better ways but also give me a break, it's my first course and I hope to improve it in the future :-)

darren coen's picture
darren coen
Wed, 2011-04-06 18:41

-

Alexey Polarny's picture
Alexey Polarny
Thu, 2011-02-24 03:36

Well guys i think there is no point to be so strict. First p2pu is a huge experiment itself, for both learners and teachers. Second it's peer to peer university, and there is nothing that bothers us exchanging our experience (or a lack of it) with each other via chats or threaded discussions, Nuno isn't here for giving each of us ready-made solutions but for guiding us, as far as i understand. We also should understand it's his first course too, he might be lost sometimes too, and yes probably we don't get a list of read weekly here like it is in other courses but a) we've got the codex (which is already an extra chic source) b) there is google.

Personally i've got weak knowledge of php, i'm neither waiting this course to make me an expert of wordpress (that's unreal for such a deadline), i simply take this course as a good playground where i get some practice. Do i have to say that reading tons of books, articles and specs on our own is a must? It's impossible to know everything so why complain - just turn your brain on and try to do your best, no one is going to blame anyone for failing here, because failures are experience too. In this course we learn how to solve problems, once again dealing with real clients we will only have the codex and google and will have to force ourselves (would anyone complain that no one delievered detailed tutorials on changes in a new version of wordpress?).

What about feedbacks, i probably wouldn't mind trading messages with Nuno's comments about a plugin made of 30 lines of code, but we all should understand he has to review dozens of assignments and i'm sure besides the course he also has his job to be done, his life, whatever - so why is it hard to complete an assignment a week for us but should be easy for someone to review them all simultaneously explaining what we could understand on our own if we had put more effort? Somehow i guess it'd be easier and more productive if the learners cooperated while we have such opportunity.

Personally i don't find anything frustrating in the way this course runs. Everyone will take from it as much as one can hold.

Matej Rokos's picture
Matej Rokos
Thu, 2011-02-24 08:54

I like the way this course is led. Nuno is doing a good job and I'd like to thank him this way.
I like the fact that people who are not able to search for the answers and get things done give up.

Nuno is here to point us, to show us a way to go and explore. Not to take our hand and teach us like at primary school.

It's us who want to learn, so we should learn and take the opportunity Nuno gives us.

Ron Allison's picture
Ron Allison
Thu, 2011-02-24 16:43

It was inevitable when you post some criticism and suggestions like I did that someone would come in and say quit your whining, you have everything you need. My request was not for hand holding, it was for a little more direction than do this and figure it out by reading the codex.

I was also not suggesting that Nuno needs to write something for us that we can copy and then call our own. My original suggestion was that we be given some reading that related to the topic of the week and maybe an example of what he would like. This does not mean he has to code anything for us, just an idea. Also, maybe pointing us to something other than the general codex, maybe a section of it.

Now don't get me wrong, I think Nuno is doing a great job and working very hard. He does make some suggestions with each assignment as to a general way to accomplish the task. Also, when I can be in the chat on Wednesday I am able to ask questions and get a better understanding. If I miss the chat though I can be pretty lost. This weeks assignment was easier for me to grasp than last weeks for some reason, so it was not as frustrating. The chat sessions are great, but if you do not have the ability be on or go back and look at an archive, then it isn't as helpful.

I understand this is the first attempt at P2PU so my post was about how can we make this better going forward. It was not meant to say that Nuno isn't working hard, just that there may be ways to make the course better in the future.