Content Reusability in Learning Management Systems

Priit MägiDAP01s

Contents

Reasons for migration Learning Management Systems

WebCT and Moodle e-learning standards

IMS Content Packaging SCORM

Alternative schemas Migration Process

Reasons for migration

Cost Licence fee increased annually Latest price for the licence was 13

500 euros per year (limited to 6000 seats)

OVI-portal launch Better control to customise LMS

Learning Management Systems

Definition:LMS is the platform which deploys and manages learning content.

LMS should support: information distribution management of learning material offer of multiple communication facilities class management

Learning Management Systems

WebCT (Web Course Tools) is one of most popular commercial Web-based Learning Management Systems available

History of WebCT reaches back to 1995, when Murray Goldberg from Computer Science Department of University of British Columbia started development of supportive system for web-based education

More than 5,8 million students around world using WebCT Amongst countries who have most WebCT licences Finland is

placed in fifth position In EVTEK WebCT Campus Edition version 3.8 is currently used

Learning Management Systems

Moodle (Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment) is a free open source learning management system originated by Martin Dougiamas

Project started in the 1990s at the Curtin University of Technology (Perth, Australia)

Motive for development: Dougiamas was “frustrated by the fact that he wasn’t allowed to tweak the proprietary software and link it up to other administrative systems.”

Moodle has a modular design that supports customisation and scalability

e-learning standards

The Dublin Core Metadata Initiative (DCMI)

The Aviation Industry CBT (Computer-Based Training) Committee (AICC)

The IEEE Learning Technology Standards Committee (LTSC)

The Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL) Initiative

The IMS Global Learning Consortium

ARIADNE (Alliance of Remote Instructional Authoring and Distribution Networks for Europe) Foundation.

Institutions

e-learning standards

Interrelationships of e-learning standards

IMS Content Packaging

Created by Global Learning Consortium, latest version 1.1.4

Describes data structures, XML binding and best practices that are used to assure interoperability for Internet based content with content creation tools, learning management systems, and run time environments

Specification is focused on defining interoperability between systems that wish to import, export, aggregate, and disaggregate packages of content

IMS Content Packaging

Package contains two main elements:

A manifest element, an XML document with stable name (imsmanifest.xml) that describes the encapsulated contents and their organization.

The actual educational contents, described in the manifest, such as media and text files, assessment objects or other data in file form.

IMS Content Packaging

SCORM

Sharable Content Object Reference Modellatest version "SCORM 2004“

Developed by Advanced Distributed Learning Initiative

Consolidates standards of different groups e-learning specifications into a single specification (includes also IMS Content Packaging)

SCORM

Documentation contains four parts: SCORM Overview: Covers the history and objectives of the

ADL Initiative and SCORM, including the specifications and standards from which SCORM borrows.

SCORM Content Aggregation Model (CAM): Describes components used in a learning experience, how to package those components for exchange from system to system.

SCORM Run-Time Environment (RTE): Describes the Learning Management System (LMS) requirements for managing the run-time environment.

SCORM Sequencing and Navigation (SN): Describes how SCORM-conformant content may be sequenced through a set of learner-initiated or system-initiated navigation events.

Alternative schemas for content transfer

Using Moodle SCORM module

XML to MySQL transfer

XML to XML transform

Migration process

Mapping course units Exporting data using WebCT’s IMS Content

Migration Utility Changing character encoding from IS0-8859-1

to UTF-8 Parsing data to Moodle backup Importing WebCT formatted quizzes Manual refining of course contents

Migration process

Summary and conclusions

about 150 courses were transfered during project

e-learning standards significantly improve the interoperability and content reusability between different learning management systems

using different built-in and third party tools learning content transferring between systems can be accomplished quite effectively