This is the RATATAT Project Work in Progress Page relating to the Online Learning Environment
It contains all working documents and links relating to the creation of an online learning environment for the project.
The objective is to present the students with a range of online functions that enable them to engage with the NDT MSc course remotely at a distance. The functionality will be through an online portal that will provide:
1. Online communications. This will include synchronous video conference, voice communications and interactive shared working space. It will also include asynchronous discussion forums, chat tools and instant messaging services.
2. Access to learning materials. All of the course materials needed to support online distance learners.
3. Document handling. The ability to upload and download documents through the portal as part of the course activities.
4. Remote desktop access. The ability to remotely take control of the computers that operate the NDT laboratory experiments at SMU.
A key aim for the online learning environment will be that it should be created, as far as is possible with current applications, from open source software. In the first phase of the project the social software wiki application WetPaint will be evaluated as the portal through which access to the learning environment functionality will be provided.
The learning environment can be viewed here:
Or by going to: http://msc-ndt.wetpaint.com/
Learning Environment Platform Page
This page contains all the documentation and examples relating to the comparison exercise between a range of different applications that could be used as a learning environment platform. It is primarily looking at functionality and usability and will show a range of mirror sites used in the comparison.
Widget Page
This page contains all the documentation and examples relating to the widgets/Apps/plug-ins being evaluated as part of the learning environment functionality. Ease of embedding and use in the learning environment platform(s) will be evaluated, as will be the ability to customise for LE usage and the limits of functionality.
Comments (5)
Tony Toole said
at 8:41 am on Jun 8, 2009
Learning environment reflective log.
Postings will be made here that trace the issues addressed and decisions taken regarding the learning environment design.
All users of the site are invited to comment.
Tony Toole said
at 9:58 am on Jul 10, 2009
The learning environment has been set up using the Wetpaint social networking wiki (as good an application as any. Has some drawbacks in terms of ability to tweak, but we may be able to get around that). The design is deliberately basic with pages for course modules, practical exercises, a set of communications tools etc. All these are accessed through the navigation frame that appears on every page.
At the moment I'm experimenting with web 2.0/sns plug-ins/widgets to create the required functionality. So far the learning environment includes:
1. a chat room tool created using chatango (www.chatango.com)
2. a webcam tool called WebcamXP5
3. a drop box tool called Dropbox (www.getdropbox.com)
What needs to be done at the same time is for others in the project to begin populating the site with content.
Tony Toole said
at 8:05 am on Aug 16, 2009
This week, Wetpaint announced that an ad-free version of their web 2.0 service would no longer be available for education sites. This is a major consideration in its usage and is a great disappointment - though understandable as the option was implemented manually and unsustainable on a large scale. I hope an alternative scheme can be devised, but in the meantime, other platforms will be evaluated for suitability.
Tony Toole said
at 8:51 am on Sep 3, 2009
A comparative exercise will begin today looking at a range of other learning environment platforms. This will be an ongoing process for much of the remainder of the project and will involve experimenting with the applications by setting up mirror sites to the existing Wetpaint site and comparing functionality and usability. A report will be produced in the latter stages of the project which will hopefully be of use to other groups looking at web 2.0 applications in education. It will be an additional project deliverable.
Tony Toole said
at 2:41 pm on Feb 15, 2010
The latest version of the learning environment has been built using Google Sites. This has the considerable advantage of not having adverts and (in my opinion) is much better than Ning and Wetpaint.
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