LearnModx - Interactive Modx tutorial

Presenting, the first and only interactive Modx tutorial

I had this idea a while ago, but did not have time to develop anything until very recently. I got some of the basics up and running and I'd like to share it with you.

The tutorial is a Modx Extra that has to be installed. The Extra presents the user with a set of tasks and challenges that the user must complete. Please see images below.

Introduction text


Chapters


Running setup


Verifying solution


The current chapters right now are:

• Introduction
• First meeting with Modx
• Templates and placeholders
• Chunks, snippet, plugin
• Template variables

Each chapter should explain itself and the content inside. If anyone have any good ideas for additional chapters and/or sections.

I am posting this because I could use some help to write the tasks, come up with good tasks and structure everything. Would anyone like to take part in this?

You can browse the source code (early WIP) here.

Looks promising! Any thoughts on i18n?

this is great idea! But why does it have to be an extra? Can you not just make it available on your webserver?

If the user passes all the tests does he end up with a usable website? If so that would be very cool. There could even be different packages to end up with different types of website. Like, a photographer's gallery, a company site with blog, help-desk and FAQ, etc...

Quote from: pavelsk at Dec 26, 2014, 02:08 PM

this is great idea! But why does it have to be an extra? Can you not just make it available on your webserver?

It would be very easy to have a MODX installation in a subdirectory with this installed for your client to work with at his convenience. A live demo site for public use would require a lot of extra server security processes, and a visiting user wouldn't be able to go through one feature, then come back later to pick up where he left off. The demo site would have to be restored to a clean state periodically. Having it as an extra that would be installed as a private tutorial site is an excellent idea.

Quote from: whitebyte at Dec 26, 2014, 12:28 PM

Looks promising! Any thoughts on i18n?

Not yet, but that would not be very hard to implement later. I think it would be wise to focus on getting an initial version working first.

Quote from: willyps at Dec 26, 2014, 06:16 PM

If the user passes all the tests does he end up with a usable website? If so that would be very cool. There could even be different packages to end up with different types of website. Like, a photographer's gallery, a company site with blog, help-desk and FAQ, etc...

Yeah, hopefully. Or, I don't think he will end up with a complete website, but touch every aspect that is required to make one later. It would be a bit more difficult to do tests on a system where older tasks were still present.

Running a setup for a task today will in most cases delete all content in the entire system to make it easier for a new beginner to navigate. For example having only one resource to worry about instead of 20 old resources from previous tasks.

Anybody here remember the old OS/400 tutorials? They were intended to be mandatory, and a record was kept for each user. They were fun to work through, and I was disappointed when I finished the first level and discovered that the second level had never been enabled. The creaky old AS/400 I was working with was in the process of being phased out, and the mandatory training sessions had never been implemented in the first place. I got the chance to see the hardware once, and it was three cabinets each the size of a good-sized refrigerator.