[ARCHIVED] Partnering a modern flat-file CMS with Canvas

[paul]

Any tech-savvy educators here interested in using Markdown pages in Canvas or support a Git-based collaborative workflow for your external website content within Canvas?

I've been working on an open source project called Open Course Hub using the modern file-based (no database) Grav CMS, and you can learn more about this project in my recent guest blog post Enabling an open and collaborative course environment with GitLab and the Grav CMS at GitLab.com. By using the unique `chromeless` feature of the Open Course Hub, multi-device friendly page content can be re-used within Canvas using the standard Redirect Tool, as shown with this Resources page within Canvas versus the standalone page at Resources | CMPT-363. This approach also works for Modules, as shown with this Week 1 (Sep 6-12) Materials Module versus the standalone page at Week 1 (Sep 6 - 12) | CMPT-363.

If this project is of interest to you, or you have any questions, please share your thoughts below.

UPDATE: The launch of my Simon Fraser University CMPT-363 (User Interface Design) Canvas course site for this summer demonstrates the highest level of integration yet with the Grav CMS and Canvas:  https://canvas.sfu.ca/courses/38847.

[laurakgibbs]

 @paul ‌ it is so great to see you here! And thanks to awilliams‌ for the ping about your post. I tried out Grav at the Domains conference in Oklahoma City this summer, and I was really impressed at how easy it was to use.

I've been making good use of the Redirect Tool to pull in live streams of my students blogs and of their projects (you can see that here for example: Myth.MythFolklore.net), and I am so happy at how easy Canvas makes that.

So, THANK YOU for sharing this here, and I am hoping to see others here who are interested in these ways to work with content that is more open, dynamic, and sustainable than the usual mix of Canvas files (ugh) and pages (double-ugh).

Who else is up for an adventure like this?

Pinging  @jgraves ‌ because I know he is on the lookout for useful content management solutions!

And pinging  @keeganlong-whee ‌ of course!

[paul]

Thanks for the warm welcome laurakgibbs, nice to connect here! I always enjoy your Twitter shares about your uses of the Redirect Tool.

I've been meaning to post something on the Canvas boards to see if other folks here might be interested in the Open Course Hub project, and the GitLab guest post finally got me over the hump to do that 

Looking forward to any questions or comments!