This website provides resources for teaching with WordPress. Some of the materials are specific to the IRIS Center at SIUE, which maintains a WordPress multisite and can create new websites for faculty and students. Other resources are broadly applicable to teaching with WordPress in any context.

Why WordPress?

WordPress can be used as discussion platform in both face-to-face and online classes. It can be a site for sharing portfolios or final projects. Students may also like a WordPress instance to develop their own final project.

There are many ways to use WordPress in class; if you have designed useful materials in your classes, please share them with the Center. The examples on this site are drawn from Dr. Jessica DeSpain’s Young Adult Literature class (asynchronous), her 400-level Technology and Literature class (face to face), and the CODES ePortfolio program.

WordPress Versus Other Digital Environments

Pros

• WordPress’s themes are designed for readability and multimodality, so they make the students’ experiences in reading and sharing materials more pleasant overall.
• Site administrators can determine the level of privacy they require, but the design and format of WordPress is more polished and may help with students’ perception of an audience for their work.
• Like with Blackboard, instructors can archive old posts and materials for new iterations of a class.

Cons

• It can be more time-consuming to set up the first time than Blackboard or Padlet. Instructors have to add plug-ins to get things up and running effectively.
• Students are familiar with Blackboard; though WordPress is easy to use, they may have anxiety about a new platform.

About this site

These materials were contributed by Jessica DeSpain (English/IRIS) and Meg Smith (IRIS).

Questions? Email iriscenter@siue.edu or visit the IRIS Center’s office hours.