Extending Open edX

Ned Batchelder

Goals

• Quick overview of interfaces
• Quick overview of process

​

A course

• Built of XBlocks
• Like <div>’s in HTML

XBlock runtime

• Container for XBlocks
• Provides service abstractions (+ data)

Runtime

Services

Data

LMS

• XBlock runtime
• Provides:
• User registration
• Progress tracking
• Grading
• Forums
• Data storage
• Course in Mongo
• Student data in MySQL
• Abstracted away by XBlocks

LMS: much more stuff...

Grading Queue

ORA

Forums

Progress

Registration

Profiles

Analytics

Instructor Dash

Reporting

Translation

Commerce

Wiki

Certificates

Theming

Cohorting

Studio Internals

• Courses are still XBlocks!
• Mongo database shared with LMS

Changing things

how can I implement my idea?

Extension Points

https://github.com/edx/edx-platform/wiki/

Five-ways-to-extend-edX

​

• XBlock
• LTI
• JSinput
• OLX
• Core code

XBlock

• Most likely choice
• Create new courseware components
• Designed for third-party devs
• http://xblock.readthedocs.org

What is an XBlock?

• A Python package
• runs on the server
• A class providing:
• Data fields
• Views for presentation
• produces HTML + CSS
• Handlers for user input
• A web app, one div at a time
• Uses existing assets and skills

LTI

• External standard
• Loosely coupled integration

JSInput

• Make a new Capa InputType with pure JS
• Good for new problem types
• http://edx.readthedocs.org/en/latest/�course_data_formats/jsinput.html

​

OLX

• XML representation of courses
• Import/Export courseware
• Manipulate outside of Open edX

Hacking core code

• Can change anything!
• Not easy
• Very few docs

Contribution

how can I get my idea to others?

XBlocks

• Don’t need to be contributed to edX
• Designed to be installed separately

Contributing to core

• Talk to us
• Make a pull request
• Work with reviewers
• Merge!

Getting help

• Docs
• IRC channel #edx-code on Freenode
• Mailing list: edx-code on Google Groups:
• https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/edx-code
• Please ask!

Questions?