1. A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk Approaches To E-Learning: Key Standards And Technologies Brian Kelly UKOLN University of Bath Bath, BA2 7AY Email B.Kelly@ukoln.ac.uk URL http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/ UKOLN is supported by:

2. A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk Contents Standards The Context The Need For Standards Key Web Standards E-Learning Standards Other Relevant Standards Key Application Areas The Web Collaborative Systems Learning Systems

3. A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk The Context Standards have a partial (but important role) in development work. Standards: concerned with protocols and file formats Architectures: models for implementing systems Applications: software products used to implement systems Resources: financial and staff costs needed to implement systems Open standards vs. Proprietary HTML / XML vs. PDF CSS / XSL vs. HTML GIF vs PNG Which standards are applicable NT / Unix File system / database application HTML tools / content management Development vs. Migration costs Use of in-house expertise In-house vs. out-sourced Licensed vs. open source Apache / IIS FrontPage / Dreamweaver Oracle / SQLServer ColdFusion vs ASP Note the talks will illustrate applications, but we are application-neutral

4. A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk The Bigger Context In learning / e-learning users cover bother learners and teachers. User issues are not just usability, functionality, etc. but also learning styles, student needs, pedagogy, etc. In learning / e-learning users cover bother learners and teachers. User issues are not just usability, functionality, etc. but also learning styles, student needs, pedagogy, etc. Applications Standards Architecture Users Resources Users

5. A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk Why Do We Need Standards? Any suggestions on why we need standards? Standards

6. A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk What Standards Provide Standards are needed: To provide application-independence – remember when documents were trapped into particular word processing software To provide platform-independence – allowing us to move between PCs’ Macs, Unix systems, etc. To provide long term access to data – avoiding the digital dark ages. To provide a coherent architectural model – which allows for evolution and integration. To provide an open marketplace – allowing users to choice their preferred solution. Standards

7. A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk Key Web Standards HTML: Universal native language for the Web Should be used for the structure of Web resources (and not their appearance) Simple to use (but not necessarily for everyone) You should create compliant HTML, and not just HTML that seems to work CSS: Used to define how HTML tags appear An elegant solution, allowing the appearance to be managed and changed Greater use should be made of CSS Web Standards

8. A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk HTML’s Limitations Although HTML is deployed world-wide it has its limitations: It cannot easily be extended (e.g. to add scientific tags) If can only describe basic document structures It was designed as an output format It cannot easily be reused for other purposes Web Standards

9. A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk XML To The Rescue XML: Extensible Markup Language A meta-language, used for designing other languages Designed to be extensible Used to create languages such as MathML, CML, SMIL, SVG, etc. Has been a tremendous success in a short period Should form the basis for your networked applications Web Standards “Flash? No thanks, I’ll stick with XML” - or do you not trust my salesmanship?

10. A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk XHTML XHTML: HTML expressed as an XML application XHTML are: In lowercase: and not Must be closed: most have xxx Empty elements thus: and not Attributes quoted: XHTML must be compliant Better suited for repurposing – but more important to get it right Current applications should probably aim to create XHTML Web Standards

11. A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk Other Key Web Standards SVG: Scalable Vector Graphics Vector graphics formats designed for Web Can resize graphics without losing resolution Particularly applicable in scientific applications See SMIL: Synchronised Multimedia Integration Language Potential for use in many scientific applications (simulations, etc.) See Web Standards SVG and SMIL are both XML applications

12. A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk Other Key Web Standards MathML: Mathematical Markup Language Rendered natively in Mozilla browser See CML: Chemical Markup Language Java and JavaScripted browser support available See Web Standards MathML and CML are both XML applications

13. A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk Pulling These Together Because W3C standards are designed to be interoperable you can: Integrate SVG, MathML, CML and XHTML fragments into a single document Use SMIL to manipulate these fragments for use in simulations, animated displays, etc. Process them by other applications (algebraic systems, molecular modelling applications, …) … Web Standards

14. A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk Examples A MathML Page A CML Page

15. A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk E-Learning Standards Why do you think we need e-learning standards? What areas will be addressed by e-learning standards? E-Learning Standards

16. A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk E-Learning Standards E-learning standards: The content of the learning is more important than the technologies used to deliver the learning There is very rapid changes in technologies: printed resources, open learning materials, videos, CBL tools, BBC micros (in the UK), Gopher, Web, VRML, VLEs, … We need to be able to easily move content to new or different applications and delivery systems Teachers need to take 'chunks' or content and integrate them into their own learning environment … E-Learning Standards

17. A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk E-Learning Standards Areas which e-learning standards may cover: Resource discovery – finding e-learning resources Assessment – defining assessment in an open way User profiles – describing user characteristics Management – management of e-learning environments (VLEs, MLEs, …) … E-Learning Standards See < http://www.cetis.ac.uk/ >

18. A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk Other Relevant Standards What other areas related to e-learning will have standards which we will need to consider when developing e-learning systems? Other Standards My Thoughts Communications tools Interactive systems Publishing tools … My Thoughts Communications tools Interactive systems Publishing tools …

19. A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk Communications Standards Email: SMTP and POP /IMAP HTML support What will your VLE support? IM: Currently driven by vendors (MSN, AOL Messenger, Yahoo Messenger) Interoperability difficulties XMPP Jabber open source work Video-conferencing: Studio based / Web cams Covered elsewhere? Other Standards

20. A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk Key Application Areas What are the key applications areas which you may wish to use when developing an e- learning environment? Key Application Areas

21. A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk Communications Email: Direct, lists, list archives Email output, alerts, … Phone Technologies SMS alerts, 3G, … IM Technologies MSN Chat, … Shared Desktops Groupware tools Key Application Areas

22. A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk Publishing Web resources: Conventional Web pages and HTML tools Use of CMSs Blogging technologies Structured resources Calendar metaphor Web-based authoring tool Collaborative Publishing: Wikis Key Application Areas

23. A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk Interaction Various types of interaction: Quizzes Testing Simulation … Key Application Areas

24. A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk Managing Applications for managing e-learning environments: Managing resources Managing students Managing assessment … Key Application Areas Rather than discuss these key application areas you will have the opportunity to try out various applications in the next session

25. A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk It May Not Be Easy However using standards is not always easy: Many proprietary solutions can be very good Many users will have expertise in use of proprietary solutions Moving to open solutions may be expensive, especially in the short term. Some open solutions may be immature, difficult to implement or fail to take off (OSI X.400 email, anyone?) Selection Of Standards

26. A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk A Matrix For Selection In order to provide objective criteria for selection of open solutions the following matrix is proposed: Maturity of standard: acceptance, stability, availability of tools, etc. Appropriateness of standard: fitness for purpose, timescales & budget, … Ease of deployment: costs, training, expertise, … Organisation culture: readiness to experiment, views on standards, OSS, etc. There will not be a single universal solution. The solution you chose should be based on your needs & circumstances. (Beware of salesmen of all types!) Selection Of STandards See “Matrix For Selection Of Standards” at < http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/qa-focus/documents/briefing/briefing-31/ > See “Matrix For Selection Of Standards” at < http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/qa-focus/documents/briefing/briefing-31/ >

27. A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk Conclusions To conclude: Use of open standards is important in development of richly functional and interoperable e-learning services Proprietary solutions ("let's buy everything from Microsoft") can be tempting – but this can have dangers! Use of open standards also has challenges: Standards complex to understand Standards wars Standards may be immature … It is for you and your organisation to resolve these conflicts (but workshop lecturers are here to help)

28. A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk Questions