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Productivity & PKM Hacker News · 2021-11-19

Why is there no good open-source LMS for people starting a teaching business?

想开课做教学业务，却找不到一个像样的开源 LMS

At a glance · 30-second read
  • WhoHacker News · 2021-11-19 · 157 upvotes · 159 replies
  • The askWhy is there no good open-source LMS for people starting a teaching business?
  • The openingCourse delivery for independent teachers: video, assignments, certificates, subscriptions.

What was actually said

“The state-of-the-art seems to be Moodle or Canvas which are designed for universities — they use archaic UI and features.”

— Hacker News · 2021-11-19 · news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29275470…

Background and pain

The pain

Independent teachers need selling, delivery, certificates and community — not university administration.

A buildable angle

The opening

Course delivery for independent teachers: video, assignments, certificates, subscriptions.

How to validate it

  1. Read the whole thread and note the recurring scenarios — repetition is the density of the need.
  2. Search existing tools around "edtech / open source" and check which single step they actually cover.
  3. Put up a one-line landing page, share it back to Hacker News, and see whether anyone asks about pricing.

Existing options

Teachable, Thinkific, Moodle

From the thread · top comments

You should try this out - https://www.pupilfirst.com/

— ashwinm

This looks pretty cool. Thanks, I'll take a look.

— seestraw

I tried Open EdX once, it was unbelievably difficult to get it up and running, despite it being a Django app and me being pretty experienced with Django.

— drcongo
Open the source thread

More threads on this pain

Notes & knowledge (7)

Related opportunities

Open the source thread More in Productivity & PKM Back to library