Core Contributor Update: Oct 11th - Oct 25th, 2024
Use the jump links below to view the section that interests you:
1. Working Groups Updates
1.1. BTR Working Group
Chair: @jalondonot
Latest news
- Redwood retrospective action items follow-up
- Sumac
- sumac.master ~ 2024-10-23
- Risks/blockers/calls for help
- sumac.1 ~ 2024-12-09
- Alignment with the 2024-2025 Community Release Plan and monthly follow-ups led by the Product WG Community Release Planning
- Changing the BTR meetup frequency during the testing phase
- Release blockers
Meeting notes
1.2. Contributor Coordination Working Group
Chair: Jorge Londoño
Past meeting notes 2024-10-01 CC Working Group Meeting Notes
- Discussion on Newsletter Plugin Proposal:
The conversation shifted towards a proposal to implement a new plugin for the community’s discussion forum which would automatically generate newsletters from forum posts. The idea aimed to address a communication gap within the community by ensuring members are regularly updated with the latest discussions and changes, which had previously been identified as a significant issue. Doubts about how to proceed with the plugin’s installation and administration were raised, including who would have the authority to install and manage it, and lead the effort behind the proposal. To volunteer for this, it was encouraged to submit a proposal to the upcoming Core Contributor Summit.- Core Contributor Summit Preparations:
The discussion largely focused on the upcoming contributor summit. There was an emphasis on organizing the summit to make sure it serves as an effective platform for discussing and deciding on various proposals, including the aforementioned plugin. It was also mentioned that the summit would be a good opportunity to address communication needs more broadly, discuss how the community interacts, and how best to target different audience segments with relevant information. The future steps involved dividing the time appropriately among the various proposals and ensuring a robust review process to facilitate productive discussions at the summit.- Next Steps:
The meeting wrapped up with confirmation of the procedures for the upcoming summit. It was agreed that the summit proposals need to be organized, reviewed, and presented effectively during the summit. A plan to introduce ground rules for the proposal presentations was discussed to ensure clarity and efficiency will be drafted and reviewed async by the working group, before the date of the summit.
Meeting notes
1.3. Data Working Group
Chair: @e0d & @blarghmatey
Latest news
- Upcoming Open edx data work
- Brief overview of some upcoming data work we’re in the process of scoping: Making our data actionable
- We want to harness the power of the events data we’re currently capturing and make taking action easy and customizable (for those who want to customize)
- Slide deck
Meeting notes
1.4. DEPR Working Group
Chair: @feanil
Past meeting notes DEPR Meeting Notes (2024)
- Discuss DEPR pilot addendums in the linked issue comment: Pilot: Use the DEPR process for breaking changes · Issue #595 · openedx/open-edx-proposals.
- Discuss how to close [DEPR]: Complete removal of EdxRestApiClient · Issue #189 · openedx/public-engineering (see linked comments).
- Review the page MFE Rewrite Tracker and ensure that all the information is as up to date as possible.
- Robert Raposa clean list of accessed legacy frontend views from edx.org / Datadog and use it to supplement the above page.
- Kyle McCormick file a bug for view live on custom-pages studio view
- [inform] Attempt to complete [DEPR]: USE-JWT-COOKIE header · Issue #371 · openedx/edx-drf-extensions did not go as planned.
- There is an updated plan, that may sit for a very long time.
- DEPR of a CORS Allowed header ain’t easy.
Meeting notes
1.6. Tutor Users’ Group
Chair: Kyle McCormick
Latest news
- Kyle/Hina: Tour of GitHub - overhangio/tutor-indigo: An elegant, customizable theme for Open edX
- Emad:Superset does not support Arabic language -RTL- layout · Issue #25258 · apache/superset
- Max: Mini update on RG’s use of verdaccio to mitigate the fact that npm-install is regularly timing out / getting rate-limited
Meeting notes
1.7. Educators Working Group
Chair: @john_curricume
Past meeting notes 2024-10-07 Educator WG
- In this session of the Open edX Educators Working Group, Eric J. Larson discusses AI literacy, focusing on the distinction between AI capabilities and human-like reasoning. Participants, primarily educators, explore the implications of AI in education, emphasizing the potential and limitations of current AI technologies. Larson elaborates on his book ‘The Myth of Artificial Intelligence,’ highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of AI as an educational tool. They discuss issues such as hallucinations, the impact of AI on student learning, and the importance of maintaining critical and creative thinking. Larson promotes leveraging AI thoughtfully to complement human cognitive abilities, especially in educational settings, while acknowledging the inherent challenges and unpredictable errors of AI systems.
Meeting notes
1.8. Frontend Working Group
Chair: @arbrandes
Past meeting notes 2024-09-26 Frontend Working Group Meeting Notes
- Slot Documentation and Release Notes (Sarina Canelake):
- Sarina proposed improving the release notes for plugin slots, specifically aimed at non-technical decision-makers. She emphasized using screenshots and user-friendly descriptions to show the value of new features.
- The discussion covered providing before-and-after comparisons in screenshots to demonstrate the changes, like how a header or course card could be customized with plugins.
- Sarina clarified that she’s not asking engineers to write release notes but would need clear visual examples to assist her in crafting non-technical documentation.
- Plugin Slot Props and Standards (Adolfo Brandes):
- Adolfo introduced the topic of slot props and clarified that adding props to slots is a non-breaking change. This allows for flexibility and evolution of the slots without breaking previous functionality.
- Jason and Max, who authored a plugin-related PR, discussed how they can meet the technical documentation standards and Sarina’s request for more user-friendly examples.
- Modifications to Plugin Slots (Brian Smith):
- A conversation around how plugin slots are being used in modifying components. The group agreed on the need to ensure plugins do not rely on default content but use provided props.
- The team discussed how plugin props can be merged without explicitly passing them and considered the risks of plugins assuming default content that might change in the future.
- Handling Arbitrary JavaScript in MFEs (Max Frank):
- Max raised the idea of improving how arbitrary JavaScript can be injected into micro frontend environments (MFEs). Currently, a workaround is used by placing scripts in the footer slot, which isn’t ideal.
- He proposed refactoring the external scripts functionality to pull loaders from an
end-config.js
file, making it more configurable and efficient. There was broad support for this idea, though considerations around performance were also mentioned.
- Upcoming Releases and Deadlines:
The team was reminded of the upcoming Sumac release cutoff on October 23rd. Developers were encouraged to ensure any final features are submitted before that deadline.
Key Takeaways:
- The group emphasized improving communication and documentation between technical and non-technical stakeholders.
- Slot props were highlighted as a flexible tool that can evolve without causing breaking changes.
- There was an interest in improving how JavaScript is injected into MFEs to accommodate more diverse needs efficiently.
- The next major event will be the Sumac release, with a final cutoff in late October.
- This meeting was productive in addressing both technical and user-facing improvements related to the frontend development workflow.
Meeting notes
1.9. Large Instances Working Group
Past meeting notes 2024-09-17 Large Instances Meeting Notes
- Internal Hackathon Project and Harmony Works Implementation
Jhony Avella discussed the progress of an internal hackathon project, which involved the implementation of integration tests for their Harmony chart and plugin. He mentioned that the project is still a work in progress and will be reviewed once a more stable version is available. Jhony also shared that they plan to start implementing the Harmony Works technology on their stack in the next few weeks. He mentioned that they are analyzing what is missing to implement this technology and will propose adjustments before proceeding with the migration.- Pod configuration
Jhony also discussed the changes they are making to the configuration of their pods, including the number of workers, HPA settings, and memory limits, to improve performance and prevent errors. The team is using the K6 load testing library to evaluate these changes.- Administrative Details
Felipe Montoya mentioned a potential shift in hosting calls to Google meets and promised to keep Braden and others informed. The team also discussed the recording of their meetings, with Braden noting that he receives an email with the recording link.
Meeting notes
1.10. Marketing Working Group
Chair: Eden Huthmacher
Past meeting notes 2024-09-18 MWG Meeting Notes
- Next Open edX Meetup: UniDigital & Open edX Sandbox Update
- Link to register: Open edX LMS: Transformative Enhancements and Hands-On Exploration
- Engaged Consultant to define revised go to market strategy
- Next conference to attend in early 2025 - 2 proposals:
- BizDev sub-group - weekly update
- OKR Strategy Review in GitHub
- Relevant link: Marketing Working Group • openedx
Meeting notes
1.11. Maintainers
Chair: Feanil
Latest news
- Teak Maintenance Agenda:
- Focus on the Django Upgrade for the next two release.
- Looking a coordinator for that work.
- Access for teams that maintain many repos across the org:
- Please vote on New Proposed CC Role: Maintainer At-Large but we will likely accept the proposal via Lazy assent.
- Flaky test process. Flaky Test Process was updated to use Github instead of Jira. We need feat: add flaky-test label by robrap · Pull Request #566 · openedx/repo-tools to land.
- Status of Upgrades:
- Ubuntu
- Complete everywhere except for the codejail repo.
- We did roll back from latest to 22.04 for edx-platform
- Doubt about dependency on Ubuntu
- Node 20
- All MFEs support 18 and 20
- Adolfo has switched tutor-nightly for MFEs to Node 20
- Smoke testing seems to show no issues
- Jest
- Upgrade is complete.
- Enzyme
- Still need to update edx-platform then this is done.
- ubuntu-22.04 vs ubuntu-latest
- Revert out updates and pins many of the jobs to Ubuntu 22.04 by dianakhuang · Pull Request #35635 · openedx/edx-platform
- an issue with the lxml dep tree, not the OS version?
- we need info on test failures
- Related: feat: use jammy repositories to install mongo for testing and unpin lxml and xmlsec. by dianakhuang · Pull Request #35634 · openedx/edx-platform
- Mini-RCA doc: ubuntu-latest issues on edx-platform
- Closed with 24.04 in most places
- edx-platform and codejail are running on ubuntu 22.04
- See Ubuntu Upgrade Completed* for more details
- Ubuntu-latest vs ubuntu-
- RCA Info from Diana about the ubuntu-latest vs ubuntu- upgarde
- Our mongo setup was OS specific (hardcoded apt repository)
- xmlsec and python-xmlsec version mismatch
- feanil/ubuntu 24.04 by feanil · Pull Request #35713 · openedx/edx-platform
- Proposal: When we need to run on multiple OS versions, we should run the minimal set on the older version once we have gotten everything working on the newer OS version.
- We should also have a failing test in edx-platform for codejail given how critical it is.
- Smoke test that should be done
- Test apparmor by trying to access disk resources you can and cannot access.
- Testing sudo/rlimit for the child process by trying to fork or use other rlimit resources ( Memory)
- Test network access with and without DNS resolution
- Should we deprecate running codejail in the edx-platform system.
Meeting notes
1.12. Product Working Group
Chair: Jenna Makowski
Latest news
- UX/UI Working Group
- Current Projects Discussion:
- Updated the group on the ASU project, which is in the discovery phase, and other mobile projects that are progressing through the UX stage.
- The content libraries project is moving quickly toward development, with a code freeze anticipated in a few weeks.
- Content Libraries Preview:
- A demonstration of the content libraries was given, highlighting features such as:
- Creation and management of collections and components.
- Advanced filtering tools for easier navigation.
- A sidebar for library-level information.
- Review of the Notifications Proposal:
Discussion regarding the notifications proposal, emphasizing the need for clarity before sharing the screen to avoid overwhelming participants.
- Notification Complexity and Grouping
- The complexity of notifications across various channels (email, mobile push, etc.) was highlighted.
- The importance of grouping messages was noted, referencing that too many notifications can reduce user engagement significantly.
- Example: X’s platform has experienced a notable drop in click-through rates when users receive more than a certain number of notifications.
- Proposed Grouping Mechanism:
- Notifications could be grouped based on course relevance and urgency.
- Examples shared included:
- A notification indicating unread replies to a single discussion post.
- A summary notification for multiple discussion updates within a single course.
- A combined notification for upcoming assignments across multiple courses, which could simplify user experience.
- Database Overview for Notification Categories
There is a database that serves as a child page to the centralized multi-channel modifications proposal.
The database aims to categorize message types, levels, and routing details for both web and mobile notifications.
Status Indicators: Messages are categorized as “proposed” or “draft” to clarify their development stage.
Feedback Request: Attendees were encouraged to review the simplified view of the database and identify any expected messages that may be missing.
- Event-Triggered Notifications Discussion
- Additional Ideas:T he possibility of implementing event-triggered notifications instead of relying solely on date-based triggers was raised.
- Examples of event-triggered notifications:
- Course completion notifications.
- Achievement notifications (e.g., certificate received).
- Community engagement updates (e.g., failed assessments).
- Connection to Course Updates: A discussion ensued about the potential for linking event-based triggers to course updates, enabling more timely and relevant communication with learners.
Meeting notes
1.13. Security Working Group
Chair: Feanil Patel
Past meeting notes 2023-07-26 Security WG Meeting
Meeting notes
1.14. TOC
Chair: Ed Zarecor
Past meeting notes 2024-08-13 TOC Meeting Summary
- Open edX’s Current Market Position and Future Potential
The dialogue opened with concerns about Open edX not achieving a definitive product-market fit which poses a risk to its ecosystem and stakeholders. It was highlighted that expanding the platform’s functionality to cater to residential (on-campus) learning could open new avenues and potentially invigorate its adoption. It would aim to create learning experiences that are more integrated and interactive, providing real-time feedback and support in physical classrooms. However, there was notable deliberation on whether Open edX, in its current architecture, could pivot to meet the demands of residential learning without extensive overhauls or if starting anew with a different product would be more feasible.- Concerns and Alternative Suggestions
Participants expressed concerns about fragmenting the Open edX community with a shift towards a new product. There was also skepticism about whether an entirely new platform was needed or if iterative improvements to Open edX could achieve similar goals. Suggestions were made to further modularize Open edX to allow for easier customization and extension, which could potentially support more interactive and residential learning experiences without starting from scratch.- Funding and Resources
The discussion touched on the need for funding innovative projects that could either extend or complement Open edX to support new forms of learning. It was proposed that small, funded projects could explore innovative educational technologies and tools that could later be integrated into Open edX or stand alone as new products.- Conclusion
The meeting concluded without a consensus on a specific course of action but opened several critical lines of inquiry about the future direction of Open edX. It was agreed that more discussion was necessary, particularly around defining the target customer and market for Open edX and understanding the technical and financial implications of expanding or altering its offerings. The possibility of setting up further discussions or working groups to explore these issues was suggested.- Agreed Next Steps:
- Further Discussions: Organize additional meetings or discussions, possibly involving external experts or stakeholders, to delve deeper into the feasibility and desirability of shifting towards residential learning platforms.
- Market Analysis: Conduct a thorough market analysis to better understand the needs and expectations of potential markets for Open edX, particularly in the residential learning sector.
- Technical Review: Assess the technical capabilities and limitations of Open edX in relation to the proposed new features for residential learning, considering both integration into the existing platform and the development of a new product.
- Community Engagement: Engage more actively with the Open edX community to gather input and feedback on the proposed changes and ensure that any new direction has broad support and meets the needs of current and future users.
Meeting notes
1.15. Translation Working Group
Chair: Eden Huthmacher
Past meeting notes 2024-10-02 Translation WG Meeting notes
- Migration updates:
- Progress of 70% has been made in the migration of Building and Running an edX Course and OLX. The PRs still need to be opened.
- What should we work on to avoid overlapping work?
- We can work on minor improvements in the Open edX Documentation — Latest documentation
- We have this project with some issues in the doc docs.openedx.org • openedx
- We can help improve the work already done with the migration to make sure we have checked a list of activities to ensure a good doc. John Swope will share that list with us and publish it as a PR in Open edX Documentation — Latest documentation to improve it.
Meeting notes
2. Events
- Would anyone like to highlight any past or upcoming events? Let us know in the comments!
3. Projects
Are there any new or ongoing projects you’d like to discuss? Get the conversation started in the comments below.
4. Next async update and meetup
- Tuesday October 29th - Join the meetup here!
- Friday November 8th - Async update
- Details and draft agenda on Confluence
Anything to add?
If there’s anything else you’d like to mention, please let us know in the comments below.