e-Learning Platforms Implementation

on a Virtual Campus ProjectA Polytechnic Institution Case

Hugo RegoTiago Moreira

Francísco GarcíaUniversity of Salamanca

Summary

IntroductionContextPlatform ImplementationConclusionsFuture Work

Introductione-Learning First Appearance in Portugal

Training Systems on enterprisesEducation → appeared as small pilot projects

Virtual Campus Project, e-UInfrastructure componentWireless componentContent component

Institutional Portal and Virtual Academic ServicesE-learning

Make e-learning gain a national importanceAll higher-education institutions have to implement it

This case reports to implementationPolytechnic Institute with about 7500 usersLocated on an interior region

ContextQuantity DescriptionItems

76Wireless Access Points

Teachers (IT Courses) ± 30; Students (IT Courses) ± 300; IT Technicians 8; IT Specialists 5

333Expert

Employees (IT area)20Advanced

Employees, Teachers, Students± 7147Basic

Users

1Studio and Video Conferencing Rooms

25IT Labs

8Auditorium rooms

10Multimedia Labs

Building Structures

0E-learning Tools

Macromedia, Adobe, Corel, Microsoft Tools.223Authoring Tools

WindowsPer computerOperative Systems

Software

Headphones. Microphones, Webcams223Multimedia equipment

102Laptops

971Desktop PCs

Hardware

ContextE-Learning Services

Continuous formation on Mathematics Web site

Bibliography

Classes Sumaries

Events and news management

Courses Information

Grades review

Departments’ Web pages

Classes’ Web pages

Teachers’ Web pages

Information about E-learning

e-U Project E-learning Web page

Context

Project goal to our institution → use e-learning Mean to seek/catch new audiences for polytechnic educationShow the public what is taught in these type of institutionsWay of spreading and sharing information and knowledge

So it is imperativeDefine an e-learning planDefine strategiesChoose best e-learning solution

Platform ImplementationNowadays → several e-learning platforms and tools

Commercial and open source/freewareDifficulty on choosing the best solution to fit our needs

Open Source/Freeware SolutionsLack of / few documentation

Maintenance

Support

Extensibility of the platform

Cost of licensing

Installation

Maintenance

Commercial PlatformsProblems

Important decision factorUsers Know-how Users IT skills

Platform Implementatione-learning solution implementation → contribute to education success

Effective complement or alternative to presential classesSynchronous and asynchronous collaboration Share resources and messagesAllow real time interaction between students and teachers

Institution wants a solution based on technology that allowsExpansibility of functionalitiesHigh level of availabilityIntegrate, Import and Export data from existent systems

To implement the e-U Project e-learning component we propose Flexible implementation process → divided in the following great phases

Inquiries about the necessities of the Polytechnic Institute communityInitial phase → Identify available e-learning techniques, tools and softwareDevelopment/Acquisition PhaseProduction phase → contents are inserted in the platformsEvaluation phase

Focus on the strategy followed to choose platforms and tools

Platform Implementation Chronogram

e-Learning current approaches

Necessities Inquiries

Platform Usage Monitoring

Sensitization

17 18 19 20 21 22 2313 14 15 167 8 9 10 11

Decision about future solutions

Impact Evaluation

Integration of e-learning component on courses curriculum

Production phase

e-U Project post-certification strategy

Certify Platform

Training

Platform Customization

Software installation

Technological platform licensing

e-U Project certification strategy

Planning

Survey & Planning

2412654321Months

Platform Implementation Survey & Planning - Current Approaches

Accessibility

XXXXXXXLOs and other types of content Mng.

Content Authoring and Editing

Resources Management

XXTracking users

Admin. workflows quality & functio.

XProduce reports

XXDatabase Access mechanisms

Student Manage. / Monitor. tools

Administrative

XXXXXXXXCourses and Resources adaptability

XXXXXXXXStudents previous knowledge

XChoose Interface Language

XInterface Costum. and personaliz.

Adaptation and Personalization

XXXXExtensibility

(6)(6)(1)(1), (2)(1), (6)(1), (2), (3), (4), (5)

(6), (1)(1), (2), (3)Standards and specs compliance

Interoperability/integration

Technical Aspects

.LRNSakaiMoodleATutorAngelIntraLearnWebCTBB

Open SourceComercial

Platforms

Tools/Features

SCORM - (1); IMS - (2); AICC - (3); LRN - (4); Section 508 - (5); Some IMS Specifications - (6)

Platform Implementation Survey & Planning - Current Approaches

XXXXXXXLO Search and Indexation

File upload/download mechanisms

XXXXXXX

XXXXXXXX

Resources Management

Evaluation of quality of resources

Learning Objects Sharing/Reuse

Student Portfolios

XXXXStudent Communities

Groupwork

Collaborative

Documentation

NoneNoneNoneNoneHighHighHighHighCosts

XXXXInquiries

Tests

Self Assessments

Evaluation

Email

XXXXWhiteboard

XChat

Forum

Communication

.LRNSakaiMoodleATutorAngelIntraLearnWebCTBB

Open SourceComercial

Platforms

Tools/Features

Platform Implementation Survey & Planning - Current Approaches

ReloadAuthoring & Packaging

Tiki CMS/Groupware (aka TikiWiki)Help & e-learning/Web designOpen Source

iLife '06Apple Packages

Macromedia Breeze Presenter & Training Higher Education Edition

Macromedia Director MX 2004 (Mac/Windows)

Macromedia Authorware 7.0 (Windows) English

Macromedia Captivate 1.0 (Windows) English

Help & e-learning

Adobe Photoshop CS2 (Education version)Digital Imaging

Commercial

ProductTypeSolution

Authoring & Annotation Tools

Platform Implementation Survey & Planning - e-Learning Framework Paradigm

Platform Implementation Certification Strategy

On this phaseNoticed the users had no experience on e-learning environmentsAcquire an e-learning platform with consistent functionalitiesWider spectrum of implementation

Applied to several other educational institutions with successMinimal number of errorsUsers can acquire knowledge and get familiarized with e-learning

Adopting this kind of platform we can benefitFrom all the engineering project already made for other national institutionsAccess to all the information, documentation and eventsMaking easier the beginning of the process

Regarding the certification process we must cover e-U Project objectivesShort Implementation Time due to Project FinancingSet of requirements for certification

Conformance with the level A directives of Accessibility on Web 1.0 contentsSupport of Portuguese language and provide information in foreign languagesAssure data interoperability through SCORM 1.2 compliance

Platform Implementation Certification Strategy – e-Learning Platforms Analysis Criteria

Functionalities of the platformFunctionalities

Usability of the platformUsability

Licensing meritLicensing

Availability of the source codeSource Code

Integrability with other applicationsIntegrability

Quality of the support and maintenance of the platformSupport & Maintenance

5%Execution TimeExecution Time

20%Price of solutionPrice

20%Execution staff allocatedExecution Team

Documentation providedDocumentation

Level of Conformance of the web contentAccessibility

Takes care of the assessment issuesEvaluation

Takes care of the communications tools provided by the platformCommunication

Takes care of issues regarding the management the resources like creation editing and authoringResources Management

Takes care of issues regarding the management of the platformAdministrative

Takes care of issues regarding user personalization, adaptation and customizationAdaptation and Personalization

The standards and specifications that the platform supports.Standards and specs compliance

Takes into account some technical aspects that should be considered regarding the platforms flexibility

Technical Aspects

55%

Technical Merit

WeightDescriptionCriteria/Factors

Platform Implementation Certification Strategy – e-Learning Platforms Evaluation Grid Example

Platform B

Platform D

Platform C

Platform A

Support & M

aintenance (10%)

Integrability(20%

)

Source Code (5%

)

Functionalities (25%)

Usability (25%

)

Licensing (15%)

Total

Execution Time (5%

-1)

Price (20% -4)

Execution Team (20%

-4)

Technical Merit (55% - 11)

Platforms

Evaluation → Scale 0 to 20

Platform Implementation Post-Certification Strategy

Before the end of the first year of usage of the platformAnalyse the impact of the platformChoose the strategy to follow

The analysis we considerCollection of data and statistics of the platforms’ usageInquiries to measure the users level of satisfaction

After the analysis the e-learning solution should be revised3 scenarios

Continue with the current platformStart looking or develop a new oneCombine different solutions

Taking into account these scenariosWe have been developing an e-learning platform AHKME in a PhD contextCombine with an open source/freeware solution

AHKME PLATFORM

Platform Implementation Post-Certification Strategy

Communication Tools

Collaborative Tools

Evaluation Tools

Ecommerce Tools

Accessibility Mechan.

.LRN

Moodle

Sakai

ATutor

ConclusionsIn projects like Virtual Campus

Consider the implementation contextIn a first phase → Choose a reliable platform

low percentage of errors Wide implementation level

Gradually aim for the development of a platform → Best fits your needs

The paradigm of analysing an e-learning system deals with many factorsKnow the e-learning systems and tools to analyseMake the choice regarding the architecture of the system you want to implement

In a real scenarioConsider the environment and factors regarding the implementationDefine the criteria and its weights for selection of platforms an toolsConsider context and project management factors unlike on an empirical analysis

Accessibility → Make the system accessible to everyone

The system should support several languagesNative languageInformation in foreign languages – preferentially English and optionally French or Spanish.

So, analysing and choosing an e-learning system requiresPlanningKnowing very well the variables and factors that influences the decision

Future Work

Ending the Platform Certification

Implementing Post-Certification StrategySensitization processBeginning of the Production phase

Continue AHKME e-learning Platform development