[Xerte] e-learning editor-which one?

[Fred Riley]

> I am using and selling space on a LMS to individual teachers 
> (not coders)and any body who would like to have a safe secure 
> spot on the web for their students to access their work.
> To start with i was just looking for an organiser to assembly 
> ideas into content and then upload individual bits of data 
> into the LMS.

My immediate thought is that you do need a packager rather than a
development tool, which would explain why you mentioned RELOAD. However,
RELOAD is highly user-unfriendly and 'quirky', and IMO strictly a tool
for those who understand metadata and packaging. I'd rather not use it
for packaging as it does my head in every time but it is, simply, the
only game in the Open Source town. I'd never inflict it on ordinary
users, though. A possible commercial alternative would be Compendle
(http://www.compendle.com/) produced by MyKnowledgeMap
(http://www.myknowledgemap.com/) (yeah, I know, crap names, but what can
you do?), which I know is being used with the NHS Learning Object
repository (an installation of Intralibrary) to enable ordinary NHS
users to contribute materials, and more importantly compile materials
into packages which can be imported into LMSs. How effective it's
proving I couldn't say as I'm only a contributor to the repository. 

However, we're moving off-topic for the Xerte list, and I'd advise you
to pursue packaging tools further on other e-learning-related lists. 

> I guess Reload or Xerte would do fine for 
> this....and Xerte has a few more templates, which could be a 
> lot of fun for my students to use. I dont believe i or my 
> clients have the skill (non coder) to create total elearning 
> developments. 

Xerte (both the desktop tool and toolkits) is very good for creating
e-learning applications and learning objects, not so good at collating
existing content into packages. However, I'm no Xerte expert and sit
ready to be corrected by the developers who watch this list with eagle
eyes. 

> I do have one question that i would like to know the answer to please.
> Does SCORM actually work. Do people create course work , Zip 
> it up and place it in a LMS (that is SCORM compliant)...and it works?

SCORM, like IMS from which it's derived, is just a metadata and
packaging schema. In that sense it works. Do people package in SCORM and
IMS for import to LMS/VLE? Yes, because these are international
interoperability standards. Does import work? Usually, but that's down
to the LMS/VLE companies - WebCT used to be sh1te at IMS import despite
falsely claiming IMS compliance, but in recent years they've fixed this
and now IMS packages can be imported, complete with structure and
metadata, seamlessly into the VLE. I know - I've done it. 

Cheers

Fred Riley
Learning Technologist
School of Nursing, Midwifery and Physiotherapy, University of Nottingham
Vcard: http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/nursing/sonet/about/fr_uon.vcf  




> I value all comments.
> Cheers
> JohnD
> 
>  On Tue, 9 Feb 2010 12:04:18 -0000, Fred Riley 
> <Fred.Riley at nottingham.ac.uk>
> wrote:
> > That's rather a vague 'user requirement', John. There are more 
> > authoring tools / development environments than pips in a 
> pomegranate, 
> > so you really need to be a bit more specific. There isn't a 
> tool which 
> > doesn't "handle multimedia easily" - even Microsh1te Word 
> can do that.
> > 
> > The two environments you mention are highly unsuitable for 
> e-learning 
> > development. Eclipse is a programming framework developed 
> by IBM aimed 
> > at distributed programming teams in large corporate environments. 
> > RELOAD is a metadata editor which I have a lot of 
> experience of, and 
> > which you would use to 'bag and tag' resources into IMS or SCORM 
> > packages for import into repositories and LMS/VLE-style 
> environments.
> > 
> > Cheers
> > 
> > Fred
> > 
> > Fred Riley
> > Learning Technologist
> > School of Nursing, Midwifery and Physiotherapy, University of 
> > Nottingham
> > Vcard: http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/nursing/sonet/about/fr_uon.vcf
> > 
> >> -----Original Message-----
> >> From: xerte-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk
> >> [mailto:xerte-bounces at lists.nottingham.ac.uk] On Behalf Of 
> >> john at digitalteacher.com.au
> >> Sent: 09 February 2010 02:22
> >> To: xerte at lists.nottingham.ac.uk
> >> Subject: [Xerte] e-learning editor-which one?
> >> 
> >> Hi,
> >> I have just got connected to an LMS and for my customers (and 
> >> myself)I am looking for a suitable editor.
> >> Some design needs are:
> >> Must be able to handle multimedia easily Free or cheap Easy to use 
> >> (non coders)  I am looking at Reload...any views on 
> Reload....  and 
> >> does anyone know about Eclipse?...looks like a very worthy 
> business 
> >> cheers John Doubleday 
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> >> 
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