[Xerte] The future of Xerte

Tue May 19 14:57:42 BST 2009

Thanks. It's not really a dilemna. We simply cannot undertake work, for
free, for a rival institution. What we can do is facilitate the
community aspects of things so that others can collaborate on
development in an organised and systematic way, and help manage things
like the code repository, the wiki, this mailing list, the project web
sites and so on.

The main things we are looking at right now are any support required for
the Xpert Project, which in fact we got mostly done in version 1.0 with
the addition of the Dublin Core metadata to the RSS feeds coming out of
toolkits, and the options for syndication. What we will do towards the
end of the work on expert is embed the respository search back into
toolkits so that syndicated content can be serched for from within the
site as well as from the xpert hub.

There are a load of training materials in development by techDis which
will appear over the next six months. I'd like to see the Wiki develop a
good deal.

I don't have many plans for Xerte itself right now.

We have some partner institutions who will be feeding in some feedback
onver the next six months as well, and we'll respond to that.

J

From: xerte-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk
[mailto:xerte-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk] On Behalf Of Nicola
Wilkinson
Sent: Tuesday, May 19, 2009 2:44 PM
To: Xerte discussion list
Subject: RE: [Xerte] The future of Xerte

I can see your dilemma.

Having been there myself, I suggest that you stick with the immediate
needs of the UoN and the key stakeholder for the project. 

By roadmap / themes and priorities I mean that you put what you intend
to do first. These in essence become your top priorities, the other
elements such as the non-LDAP become secondary and are pushed out to the
community to develop  - hopefully with your support and guidance.

As for database abstraction - put it as a 'we will look at if we have
time' - its not as easy as you think, each database has its own SQL
nuances that need to then be catered for. Stick with what you have and
know, but assist some one who wants to go down a different
path/database.

Just out of curiosity can you list the next 5-10 developments that you
want to make? Also as you have a database for the online tool kits, you
need to think how you will support any mods made to it, for those
already with an install. I personally went down the line of having
scripts - one that is the full database to be used during the install
and another that is an update to bring the database in line.

I hope this helps and gives you some more information as to a direction
to take. Its so easy to become bogged down into delivering everything
for everyone.

Nic

________________________________

From: xerte-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk
[mailto:xerte-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk] On Behalf Of Patrick
Lockley
Sent: 19 May 2009 14:15
To: Xerte discussion list
Subject: RE: [Xerte] The future of Xerte

I think (ideally) this needs a little reciprocation.

I (for my side of things with PHP/MySQL) am stuck between adding new
things that need say database changes, and trying to keep the code
stable for the people with installs. Then there is what we develop.

For example

At Nottingham we have no need for non-LDAP authentication, so we've not
written it. But I could think of a lot of places which would like this. 

We are happy with MySQL, but a lot of places use SQL server so there is
a case for an abstraction layer for the database maybe?

From: xerte-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk
[mailto:xerte-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk] On Behalf Of Nicola
Wilkinson
Sent: 19 May 2009 13:55
To: Xerte discussion list
Subject: RE: [Xerte] The future of Xerte

Hi,

I think it would be nice to see a roadmap of developments intended for
the next 6-12 months. That would give people an idea of what you as the
developers at Nottingham are expecting to achieve. Some other open
source project use a themes and priorities style document to convey this
information to the community surrounding their projects.

I hope it is something you consider putting together as I think it will
help potential users 'sell' the Xerte tool to institutions and senior
managers.

Nic

________________________________

From: xerte-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk
[mailto:xerte-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk] On Behalf Of Julian Tenney
Sent: 19 May 2009 13:45
To: Xerte discussion list
Subject: RE: [Xerte] The future of Xerte

Hi,

The University of Nottingham have sunk a lot of money into this so far
and it is a key part of our elearning strategy. The Xpert Project is to
develop a repository that will sit alongside Xerte Online Toolkits - it
is that project that will complete in September. Beyond that we
anticipate at least another year of refinements, and will be doing more
to promote the tools to the outside world, and to develop the communiuty
of users to the point where the software would be sustainable, even if
the UoN went for a ball of chalk. Right now the software is gaining the
UoN much i) kudos and ii) funding, so it's unlikely to go anywhere in
the near future.

The long term future of the software will lie with the open-source
community around it. I imagine key developers from the Xerte project
team would remain members of that community and continue to play an
active role. There are already a number of key stakeholders from other
institutions and organisations. It is hoped that people like yourself,
that have a stake in  the project's sutainability, that use and like
using the software, will play a part in helping to sustain it into the
future.

J

From: xerte-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk
[mailto:xerte-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk] On Behalf Of Johnathan
Kemp
Sent: Tuesday, May 19, 2009 1:19 PM
To: xerte at lists.nottingham.ac.uk
Subject: [Xerte] The future of Xerte

Hello Xerte Team,

I am in the process of trying to convince the company I work for to use
Xerte On-line Toolkits as their preferred solution for developing
e-learning modules for posting on a Moodle site.

I have been looking at the Xerte site for details of the project,
particularly with respect to the future plans for Xerte - its ongoing
development and maintenance. I note that Xerte is a product of the Xpert
project which has on its page a headline "Xpert Project, April 1st -
September 30th 2009". 

Are there any details available regarding the future plans for Xerte?
Any roadmap for its future development? Any indications of what level of
resource, if any, will be available to support the longer term viability
of Xerte?

Xerte is a very interesting product but I will need to be able to
demonstrate to my colleagues that they do not have to worry about
Xerte's viability in the longer term.

Kind regards

Johnathan

Johnathan Kemp
IT Dev. Manager
Connexions Staffordshire
www.cxstaffs.co.uk <http://www.cxstaffs.co.uk/> 
01785 355714

________________________________

This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and are
intended solely for the use of the individual(s) or entity(s) to whom
they are addressed. All messages are monitored for virus, high risk
files and inappropriate content. As a result users should be aware that
this mail maybe accessed, read and the right is reserved to reject,
return, remove attachments or delete if considered to be inappropriate
or unsuitable. Liability cannot be accepted for any loss or damage
arising from this email (or any attachments) or from scripts or any
virus transmitted. This communication represents the originator's
personal views and opinions, which do not necessarily reflect those of
Connexions Staffordshire. If you are not the original recipient or the
person responsible for delivering the email to the intended recipient,
be advised that you have received this email in error, and that any use,
dissemination, forwarding, printing, or copying of this email is
strictly prohibited. If you received this email in error, please
immediately reply to the sender or notify postmaster at cxstaffs.co.uk
Connexions Staffordshire Limited is registered in England No.4355170
Registered office: Foregate House, 70 Foregate Street, Stafford,
Staffordshire, ST16 2PX

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://lists.nottingham.ac.uk/pipermail/xerte/attachments/20090519/2b086c4c/attachment.html