Paul Hibbitts of Hibbitts Design helps educational organizations, as well as tech-savvy or curious educators and publishers, benefit from better online experiences while leveraging content in an open and collaborative workflow. He has created several open source projects based on tools such as Grav CMS and Docsify that can uniquely be used both inside or outside of other platforms (e.g. an institutional LMS). Recently, he launched the hosted Web app Docsify-This.net where Markdown files can be displayed as standalone Web pages without needing to host a Website.
Looking to create and manage your own course website independent of an LMS? Perhaps you need to overcome the content constraints within your LMS (e.g. Canvas)? Interested in leveraging the system-independent format of Markdown for your open education or publishing projects? Perhaps you are looking for a faster content updating process, with full version control? How about options for hosting a Website on either a Webserver or GitHub Pages? Hey then, you are in the right place!
Paul's ready-to-use Docsify projects such as Open Course Starter Kit and Open Publishing Starter Kit require no Webserver (or even a build process) as they can be hosted just using GitHub Pages. With his highly customizable Grav CMS projects such as Open Course Hub and Open Publishing Space, both which use the GitSync Plugin, a Webserver with PHP 7.3.6 or higher is required.
Want to see an example of Canvas LMS + Docsify at work in an actual course? Check out the Summer 2022 SFU CMPT-363 Canvas course site (using seamlessly embedded Docsify pages) or the multi-device friendly standalone Summer 2022 SFU CMPT-363 Docsify site. How about an example of a more customizable Grav Open Course Hub site with three terms of the same course (whose pages could also be seamlessly embeded into an LMS)? Explore the SFU CMPT-363 Grav Course Hub. Both the Grav Open Course Hub and Docsify Open Course Starter Kit projects have been fortunate to benefit from direct student usage and feedback, as both (unofficially) blended and fully online iterations.
Built using Docsify and the Docsify Open Publishing Starter Kit, Paul's first Web app Docsify-This.net provides a quick way to display Markdown files as standalone Web pages without needing to setup your own Docsify site. For example, you can turn a GitHub README.md file into a standalone Web page with a table of contents!
With this ability, Docsify-This also enables digitally savvy educators to overcome LMS content constraints and produce a better experience for both students and themselves. For example, you can seamlessly embed the Markdown file week-01.md file into a Canvas LMS course Module with a table of contents
In addition, individual pages within an existing Docsify GitHub Pages site can be presented as standalone webpages, with an optional 'Edit this Page' link. For example, you can turn this Docsify site page into a standalone Web page with an 'Edit this Page' link.
Paul can work with teams or individual educators to improve the learning experience of almost any online course by using the same processes and techniques that he has successfully applied on his own Simon Fraser University CMPT-363 course and open source projects. These techniques include empathy maps, journey mapping, job stories, task prioritization, rapid prototyping, and usability assessments. Remote design reviews are also available.
Paul also offers a range of services related to Grav CMS, Docsify and his open source education projects such as consulting, premium support, workshops, and custom development, and his brand new offering Grav and Docsify Kickstarts which combines a one-on-one learning session with a month of premium support.
To learn more and start a discussion, contact Paul via Twitter, LinkedIn or email him at paul@hibbittsdesign.org.
Docsify is a unique static site generator that automatically generates a Website directly from Markdown. Docsify has reached over 23K GitHub s.
Provides a quick way to display Markdown files as simple Web pages without needing to setup your own website. The resulting page URL can be copied and shared as a standalone page or used for embedding into other systems.
Docsify-This.net | Repo
A ready-to-use template of a Docsify site designed for hosting open course material on GitHub Pages. Global navigation elements can be hidden for seamlessly embedding pages (i.e. into an LMS). Includes an optional "Edit this Page" link.
Use as Template on GitHub | Repo | Docs
A ready-to-use template of a Docsify site designed for hosting articles, portfolios or documentation on GitHub Pages. Global navigation elements can be hidden for seamlessly embedding pages into other platforms or shared as standalone pages. Includes an optional "Edit this Page" link.
Use as Template on GitHub | Repo | Docs
A MultiCourse variation of the Docsify Open Course Starter Kit to quickly create a Markdown-based open multi-course site with the site generator Docsify. Global navigation elements can be hidden for seamlessly embedding pages (i.e. into an LMS). Includes an optional "Edit this Page" link.
Use as Template on GitHub | Repo | Docs
All of the below projects are built with the Grav CMS (which has over 13K GitHub s) and are available for download at getgrav.org. Grav requires a Web server with PHP 7.3.6 or higher.
Take LMS-constrained courses to the next level and empower tech-savvy educators with an open, collaborative and version-controlled workflow using Markdown and Grav. Includes Admin Panel and Git Sync.
Download |
Repo | Docs
Leverage a fast and version-controlled workflow using the text editor of your choice in the creation, sharing and collaborative editing of Markdown-based Grav sites. Includes Admin Panel and Git Sync.
Download |
Repo | Docs
A MultiCourse variation of the Open Matter Course Hub, including three different example courses using a range of page types and features. Includes Admin Panel and Git Sync.
Download |
Repo | Docs
Learn2 with Git Sync, a sample Markdown-based documentation site using the Learn2 Git Sync theme. Includes Admin Panel, Git Sync and TNTSearch plugins along with RSS/Atom Feeds.
Download |
Repo | Docs
This Grav Plugin displays the Hypothesis sidebar on your site, supporting public or private annotations on any page.
Download | Repo | Docs
🌍 Are you using one of my Docsify or Grav projects in connection with climate science education and action? If so, you may be eligible for no-charge premium support – contact Paul for details. 🌏
I’m blown away just by the fact you put a (Markdown file) URL into Docsify-This and then you get a URL back for a web page… done! Take the URL and go. It is so seamless.
— Jim Groom, Reclaim Today Episode 39 (Co-founder, Reclaim Hosting)
Docsify-this feels like a rope ladder dropped from the software-development ship down to my mechanical engineering dingy. As an educator, I can't do a great job of instruction until I can do a great (modern) job of documentation. So, I'm using Docsify-this to create highly readable, dynamic content without an intensive study of coding - it has a perfect learning curve for technical experts in fields outside of coding.
— David Malawey (Multidisciplinary Lab Coordinator, Texas A&M University, United States)
I've been using Docsify-This for my graduate publishing production course, partly to explore new models in markdown publishing, but partly also to tame Canvas, which I find awkward and cumbersome. Keeping all my course notes as plain text files and deploying them through Github and Docsify-this is easy and makes my course development a breeze. Plus, I keep all my materials locally, and can use re-use them without being reliant on Canvas.
— John Maxwell (Director & Associate Professor in the Publishing Program at Simon Fraser University, Canada)
Docsify-This has significantly improved my WordPress themes by being able to seamlessly embed into the interface the same documentation I use in the GitHub repository. This in turn has lead me to write better docs! I've barely scratched the surface of what Docsify-This can do as a simple-to-use web publishing tool.
— Alan Levine aka CogDog (Independent Educational Technologist, Saskatchewan, Canada)
I've found Paul Hibbitts' Docsify Open MultiCourse Starter Kit was a fantastic way to get a course up and in the open quickly and I really appreciate how efficient it makes rolling content into a new shell for the new term. The aesthetics are great, and the open source foundation of the project is very appealing. I love that I can host my courses with GitHub Pages and that I can easily mirror content in my college's CMS, Brightspace. On top of that, Paul has been very responsive when it comes to support and change requests, which has helped me to dial in my course to just the way I want it.
— Ashley Blacquiere (DIGITAL Design + Development Faculty at North Island College, Canada)
The Docsify Open Course Starter Kit is a follow-up to Paul's Grav Open Course Hub projects. The Docsify Kit provides a dead-easy(!) entry point to build content from scratch or migrate from existing Markdown files. The strength of the Docsify approach is the possibility of using GitHub Pages to provide a highly reliable hosting option. While some basic technical knowledge is expected, you can very easily and quickly update your course content once you get things going.
— George Chow (Instructor at Simon Fraser University, Canada)
The Grav Open Course Hub was easy to set up and get running and my students loved having a one-stop place to go to for their course content. I really love that it syncs with GitHub so easily and seamlessly. I was able to have an open, collaborative, easily updatable, fully version-controlled site up and running in little time, with fairly modest technical skills. On the student side, it is all beautiful and easy to use on any device!
— Mark Coster (Associate Professor at Griffith University, Australia)
I wanted to use something to get around the restrictions of our LMS. Everything was so plain vanilla there, and didn't provide the flexibility I needed. Grav Open Course Hub was the perfect answer to my problem. Using the available documentation, I was able to get it up and running, integrating it into my Canvas course. I did run into a few issues - and Paul of Hibbitts Design was immediately available to help me get past them. I highly recommend trying it - I think you will like it and the support is fabulous!
— Dr. Cindy Corritore (Professor at Heider College of Business, Creighton University, United States)
Paul is an inspired individual, capable of inspiring others. His work in Grav is excellent. I've found his knowledge of Grav CMS—applied to Higher Education sector needs—to be a breath of fresh air. It's simple, logical, and smart. His Learn2 with Git Sync project has allowed me and colleague to roll out numerous internal web systems in-house, saving countless hours and dollars by not having to outsource the work—all while making staff more knowledgeable and competent. Thanks to Paul's work, I've been able to create many win-win-win situations in my work.
— Kevin Call (Web Developer, East Tennessee State University, United States)
The Grav Open Course Hub will allow TWU to deploy multiple versions of courses, all based on the same core content, to learners in widely diverse communities across the world. Since the core content of each course is centralized and versioned in GitHub, then displayed in Grav, we can ensure that all learners are interacting with the same content. Furthermore, since the content can be embedded directly into our LMS, we can build interactions, activities, and assessments unique to each community of learners, whether they are in India, Kenya, China or Canada.
— Colin Madland (Online Learning and Instructional Technologies at Trinity Western University, Canada and PhD student in Educational Technology)
This is by far the BEST remote Computing Science course I’ve taken.
The online offering of this course is phenomenal.
Overall, I thought this was the best course taught out of all the courses I’ve had in the past.
Absolutely loved how the course was handled online.
Paul Hibbitts has designed the best Computing Science course experience I’ve taken, online or in person. I think this says a lot considering I don’t even like UI/UX design and only took this course to fulfill a major requirement.
Have you used one of the above Grav CMS projects? If so, help shape its direction by sharing your feedback:
How about one of the above Docsify projects? Then help shape its direction by sharing your feedback:
Would you prefer to have a quick chat to share your thoughts and experiences? Visit the Grav Discord Room or the Docsify Discord Room and feel free to directly message Paul Hibbitts.
By leveraging his extensive UX design expertise and systems-oriented approach, Paul helps teams and individuals utilize open content in a range of education and publication settings, especially in connection with his Markdown-based Docsify and Grav CMS open-source projects. These services include user experience consulting, premium support subscriptions, workshops, and custom development. Sound of interest? Send a note to paul@hibbittsdesign.org.
Interested in making a single or reoccurring financial contribution to help support Paul's open source work? You can do that too - thank you!
Looking for another way to show a bit of ❤️ for Paul's open source work? Give one of his GitHub Repositories a ⭐️. Thanks!
