DeL eTools - Interactive Logbook
Links
Interactive Logbook Project Web
Site
Interactive Logbook CETIS Development
Page
Distributed
eLearning - eTools Page
Software Description
The existing commercial Personal Information Management
(PIM) tools fail learning in both design and cost. Whilst designed to
support the world of office workers, they do not best support specific
learning activities such as Personal Development Planning, portfolio
recording, assessment, and the somewhat different timetabling requirements
of learners. The back-end systems that underpin the collaborative aspects
of these tools are cost-prohibitive and do not operate to fully open
standards that would allow for alternative replacements. Furthermore, there
is little peer to peer support, making these tools highly dependent on the
back-end systems. These commercially-available PIMs often integrate well
with other productivity suites from the same software house, but not from
external suppliers.Integration with VLEs, portals
and other online systems is currently poor. The aim of the Interactive
Logbook is to offer a ‘best of both worlds’ approach, providing a common
interface through which learners may access the full range of client and
server side tools available to them.
Aims and Objectives
The following developments are planned and will be carried out under this
project to create a toolset that is of immediate value to the HE community,
extending the Personal Learning Environment to operate across a wider range
of platforms, in multiple institutional contexts to more fully support the
process of Lifelong Learning:
Reimplementation
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A version of the client will be built on the J2ME platform together with
the same plug-ins for connection to institutional web services as above.
The interface will be designed appropriately for the devices likely to
host this implementation, and will take advantage of the native tools
that may be available on the devices (email, SMS, WAP or web browsing).
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The Windows client will be improved to allow for an open plug-in
architecture. The current implementation draws on the functionality of
Microsoft Office tools. The open architecture will allow users to
substitute other applications including open source tools. This client
will be built on the .NET architecture, and will also be tested on the
Mono platform (open source .NET platform for Linux and Mac OSX. see: http://www.mono-project.com/)
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Tools currently unique to the IL will be reconfigured for the plug-in
architecture, allowing them to be changed for better/more appropriate
ones as they become available.
New tools
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A tool will be added to the collection, in plug-in form, that enables
learners to create a profile containing their PDP and portfolio. The
process of building the profile will be as informal as possible, reducing
the cognitive load and sense of obligation, whilst at the same time
creating a complete, evidence-based record that could be presented
formally when required. This tool will be IMS LIP compliant
(http://www.imsglobal.org/profiles/index.cfm) ensuring integration with
other PDP/portfolio systems that may be used by the institution. This
development will be made in tandem with the University’s ePDP and Student
Portal projects. (http://www.ppd.bham.ac.uk/progress_files/pdp.htm)
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A set of plug-ins will be generated that provide direct access from the
IL to various institutional learning functions such as WebCT Vista,
Microsoft SharePoint and SCT Luminis Portal (built on uPortal).
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Where web services do not exist (and are not in development) for key
learning functions of the above institutional systems, where practicable,
web services will be built on those systems’ APIs.
Distribution
Documentation will be produced to accompany the open source code that will
not only provide adequate end-user guidance, but also all the information
necessary for developers at other institutions to build client plug-ins for
other web services and applications. The web site will play host to a code
exchange, where developers in the community can find and share new
plug-ins, clients for new platforms, and improvements to existing code.
Pedagogical consistency will be ensured during development based on:
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the guidelines for developing mobile learning technology produced as part
of the MOBIlearn IST project www.mobilearn.bham.ac.uk.
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the findings of the JISC e-Learning and
Pedagogy projects.
Project Staff
Main Contact
Dan Corlett
Email: d.j.corlett@bham.ac.uk
Institution: The University of Birmingham
Address: Centre for Educational Technology & Distance Learning, The
University of Birmingham, Birmingham.