Building a Peer-to-Peer Learning Platform with Strapi, React, and PostgreSQL

[Okeke12nancy]

What is your article idea?

Introduction

• Briefly introduce the concept of a P2P learning platform where every user can act as both a tutor and a student.
• Highlight the advantages of P2P learning, such as collaborative learning, flexibility, and fostering a community of shared knowledge.
• Mention the goal of the article: to demonstrate how to build such a platform using Strapi as the backend, React as the frontend, and PostgreSQL as the database.

Section 1: Why Choose Strapi for the Backend?

• Introduce Strapi as a headless CMS and explain how it simplifies backend development.
• Key Features of Strapi for this project:
  • Content management for lessons, user profiles, and resources.
  • Built-in authentication and roles management (students and tutors).
  • Support for GraphQL and REST APIs.
  • Flexibility with relational databases like PostgreSQL.
• Comparison with traditional CMSs and custom backend approaches.

Section 2: The Tech Stack

• Overview of the technologies that will be used to build the platform:
  • Frontend: React (or Angular) with Tailwind CSS for a clean UI and Redux for state management.
  • Backend: Strapi CMS with Node.js, Express, and PostgreSQL for data management and APIs.
  • Real-time features: Using Socket.IO for real-time messaging and scheduling between users.
  • Authentication: JWT-based authentication and role management for students/tutors.
  • File storage: Amazon S3 or Cloudinary for storing lesson materials and profile pictures.

Section 3: Designing the Backend with Strapi

• Creating the User Roles:

  • Define roles like student and tutor using Strapi’s role-based access control (RBAC) system.
  • Allow users to switch roles or assume both roles.

• Setting up Lesson Content:

  • How to use Strapi’s content model to create a schema for lessons, including fields like title, description, skill level, schedule, and resources.
  • Integrating file upload capabilities for lessons.

• Managing User Profiles:

  • Using Strapi to create and manage user profiles that contain information about the subjects they can teach and want to learn.
  • Handling profile updates and data validation.

• Authentication with JWT:

  • A quick guide on how to enable JWT-based authentication in Strapi.
  • Managing user registration and login, ensuring secure access to lessons and tutor features.

Section 4: Building the Frontend with React

• Setting up the React Environment:

  • A step-by-step guide on creating a React app using Create React App or Next.js.
  • Installing Tailwind CSS for UI styling and Axios or Apollo Client for making API requests.

• Creating User Interfaces:

  • Design user profiles where users can display the subjects they teach and learn.
  • Building a lesson scheduling system where tutors can list available lessons and students can book.

• State Management with Redux:

  • Setting up Redux to manage the state for user profiles, lessons, and real-time features.
  • Example code for handling global state in the platform (e.g., logged-in user, lesson booking status).

• Making API Requests to Strapi:

  • Guide on how to fetch data from Strapi using REST API or GraphQL (depending on preference).
  • Creating endpoints for fetching and displaying lessons, tutors, and student information on the frontend.

Section 6: File Management with Amazon S3 or Cloudinary

• Handling Media:

  • Uploading lesson resources (documents, videos, etc.) via Strapi and storing them in Amazon S3 or Cloudinary.
  • A quick guide to configuring Strapi’s media library with S3/Cloudinary for secure and scalable file storage.

• Displaying Resources on the Frontend:

  • Fetching uploaded files and displaying them within lessons on the React frontend.

Conclusion

• Summarize the steps to build the P2P learning platform and highlight the benefits of using Strapi, React, and PostgreSQL together..

What are the objectives of your article?

Learn how to build a P2P Platform using React, Strapi and Postgres DB

What is your expertise as a developer or writer?

Advance

What type of post is this?

Tutorial

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[Theodore-Kelechukwu-Onyejiaku]

Hi @Okeke12nancy ,

Please at the moment, we are looking at Strapi internals and customizations based on Strapi 5.