Section 2
By the end of this section you will be able to
Building open course content doesn't require learning a new authoring system from scratch. The tools covered here are designed to layer on top of workflows you likely already use.
Grav is a flat-file CMS – all content is stored as Markdown files, with no database required. Pair it with the Git Sync plugin and every save is automatically committed to a GitHub or Codeberg repository.
Best for: Educators who want a full-featured course or reader site with an Admin Panel, multi-contributor support, and rich theming.
Docsify-This takes a different approach – paste the URL of any public Markdown file and get back a styled, shareable web page instantly. No account, no configuration, nothing to install.
Best for: Sharing a single page or section instantly, or publishing a reading without setting up a full site.
Both Grav and Docsify support clean content-only views via a URL parameter:
https://yoursite.com/open-education-essentials/what-is-open-education?chromeless=trueAdding ?chromeless=true removes the header, sidebar, and footer – leaving only the content for embedding in an iFrame inside Canvas, Moodle, or Brightspace.
Tip for Canvas Users
Use the External Tool option (not iFrame embed) for the best accessibility and mobile experience when embedding open content in Canvas.