An authoring tool for structuring and annotating on-line educational courses : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Computer Science at Massey University

This thesis studies the design and prototype implementation of a new web-based course authoring system for the Technology Integrated Learning Environment (TILE) project. The TILE authoring system edits the course structure and allows the author to annotate the course structure with meta-data. It makes extensive use of XML technology to communicate structured data across the Internet, as well as for both local and web-side databases. The Authoring tool is designed to support development by multiple authors and has check-in and check - out, as well as version control facilities. It also provides an interface for adopting other multimedia tools such as AudioGraph. The tool has an easy-to-use graphical user interface. The technical problems that have been solved in this project include issues such as cross-platform support, drag and drop functionality using JDK l.l.8, etc. System environments, such as relational database set up, XML database set up, Java swing set up in Mac also have been discussed. The authoring system interface analysis, database analysis and function analysis have been completed for the complete the system as specified. An intermediate system, designed to a reduced specification, has been implemented as a prototype and details of this system, which can work independently of the TILE delivery system, are included. The Full TILE authoring system including InstantDB database access also has been partially implemented. The prototype application has also has been tested on the PC platform

Template-driven teacher modelling approach : a thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Information Science at Massey University, Palmerston North

This thesis describes the Template-driven Teacher Modeling Approach, the initial implementation of the template server and the formative evaluation on the prototype. The initiative of Template-driven teacher modeling is to integrate the template server and intelligent teacher models in Web-based education systems for course authoring. There are a number of key components in the proposed system: user interface, template server and content repository. The Template-Driven Teacher Modeling (TDTM) architecture supports the course authoring by providing higher degree of control over the generation of presentation. The collection of accumulated templates in the template repository for a teacher or a group of teachers are selected as the inputs for the inference mechanism in teacher's model to calculate the best representation of the teaching strategy, and then predict teacher intention when he or she interacts with the system. Moreover, the presentation templates are kept to support the re-use of the on-line content at the level of individual screens with the help of Template Server

Co‐operative cross‐platform courseware development

The UKMCC (UK Mathematics Courseware Consortium) is a Consortium funded under TLTP (Training and Learning Technology Programme) to produce courseware for service mathematics teaching, using the SEFI (Société Européenne pour la Formation des Ingénieurs) syllabus. There are agreed courseware design guidelines and a simple courseware management system which allows cross‐referencing. Courseware is divided into modules, with an author as implementer for each. On any one hardware platform, a variety of authoring languages is possible. Across hardware platforms, the design guidelines ensure that conversion is possible, and will preserve look and feel. We argue here that these arrangements provide a basis for continued co‐operation between authors and future development as the technology changes

Development Of Knowledge-Based Power System Protection Design Courseware

Power system protection is a relatively specialized topic that encompasses a large variety of areas from generator protection at the source side to as far as motor protection at the load end. However, the sources for a complete collection of information on power system protections comprising the generator protection, station bus protection, line protection, transformer protection and motor protection are obviously scattered. Having been in the engineering consultancy business for years, it is realized that finding even a fundamental knowledge of a particular protection scheme in the line protection area in a convenient way is somewhat cumbersome. There isn't any interactive multimedia application software that can offer a complete compilation of topics on various power system protections comprising not only theories but also some pertinent industry application recommendations. It is therefore the objective of the project to develop, using an expert system approach, an interactive multimedia courseware to serve as a computer-based training tool in power system protections by integrating technical theories, industrial application recommendations and some specific simulations by which the user has a wide range of choices for obtaining technical information on power system protection. The method involved in designing the courseware revolves around the approach of using an authoring expert system shell Macromedia Director. It provides the facility of blending the power system protection knowledge domain and interactivity knowledge

Migrating existing multimedia courseware to Moodle

Open source course management systems offer increased flexibility for instructors and instructional designers. Communities can influence the development of these systems and on an individual basis, the possibility to modify the system software exists. Migrating existing courseware to these systems can therefore be beneficial, sometimes even required. We report here about our experience in migrating an existing courseware system consisting of multimedia content and interactive, integrated infrastructure functionality to an open source course management system called Moodle. We will assess the difficulties that we have encountered during this process and, discuss the importance of standards in this context, and we aim to provide other instructors or instructional designers with guidelines and assessment support for other migration projects

Reviews

Brian Clegg, Mining The Internet — Information Gathering and Research on the Net, Kogan Page: London, 1999. ISBN: 0–7494–3025–7. Paperback, 147 pages, £9.99

A Pedagogy for Original Synners

Part of the Volume on Digital Young, Innovation, and the UnexpectedThis essay begins by speculating about the learning environment of the class of 2020. It takes place entirely in a virtual world, populated by simulated avatars, managed through the pedagogy of gaming. Based on this projected version of a future-now-in-formation, the authors consider the implications of the current paradigm shift that is happening at the edges of institutions of higher education. From the development of programs in multimedia literacy to the focus on the creation of hybrid learning spaces (that combine the use of virtual worlds, social networking applications, and classroom activities), the scene of learning as well as the subjects of education are changing. The figure of the Original Synner is a projection of the student-of-the-future whose foundational literacy is grounded in their ability to synthesize information from multiple information streams