Yes we finally have a website to call "home"
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We have settled for a subdomain of the TESOL Arabia site.
Why? For a number of good reasons. Our "subdomain" will be treated the same way as any other website yet we can dovetail with any SEO work that's already been done by TESOL Arabia (e.g. Google search listings). It also comes available to us for a very attractive price - FREE.
Wordpress has been installed (no cost)
Why Wordpress? Easy to install, easy to use, yet incredibly robust for realising just about anything on the web.. including the option of charging for our tutorials, services, etc. should we ever see the need or urge to do so.
BadgeOS plugin has been installed (no cost) (not yet activated)
Why BadgeOS? This plugin allows for the easy integration of open badges. In fact it allows us to set up automatic awarding of badges, allows users to automatically post earned badges to their badge backpacks, allows users to see how many badges they've earned via our site, etc. Check it out
LearnDash plugin has been purchased / installed (activated)
Why LearnDash? It essentially provides a way to convert a Wordpress site into a "Learning Management System" (LMS) that is easy to use and easy to operate yet robust enough to allow some attractive featuring (i.e. Credly badge integration). It also allows us to more easily monitor usage, monitor quiz or test results (should we use them). Check out the LearnDash demo course or these live examples for a sneak peek at how it looks..
Credly Pro Verification has been purchased / installed (not yet activated)
This gives us a variety of things. Most notable here is having our new website verified by Credly. This should help increase the validity of,, currency of and trust in our badges. It also allows us to have our Credly based badges fully and seamlessly integrated into the new website thus making the awarding of badges so much easier. We can have the same badges that earners earn and then post, linked back to our website rather than to Credly so that others can learn how they were earned - a wonderful marketing strategy.
University edu wordpress theme has been purchased / installed
Why University edu wordpress theme when the default one will do?
Comes highly recommended for its tested compatibility with LearnDash, explicitly designed for setting up online learning, 5 star rating for quality design and ease of use, professional look, full featured. Also supports events promotion, translation into other languages, course enrolment & payment, tablet compatibility. Has also been used by many institutions to support professional conferences. Check it out.
We now have almost in place, a high quality e-learning website that makes it possible to deliver high quality online PD to EFL instructors in all corners of the Arab world (and even beyond). There is much work still to be done to set up the site ... but we do need your work on the content for those online tutorials sooner than you might think. Exciting times ahead of us.
Jim Buckingham
MAODE (Online & Distance Education, Open U, UK)
MA (Adult Education, CMU, USA),
TEFL (Trinity College, UK)
Latest badges earned. Click on any one of the badges below to learn more about how they were earned.
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