Harrie Martens

CopperCore Service Integration - Integrating IMS Learning Design and IMS Question and Test Interoperability

This article describes a framework for the integration of e-Learning services. There is a need for this type of integration in general, but the presented solution was a direct result of work done on the IMS Learning Design specification (LD). This specification relies heavily on other specifications and services. The presented architecture is described using the example of two of such services: CopperCore, a LD service, and APIS, an IMS Question and Test Interoperability service. One of the design goals of the architecture was to minimize the intrusion for both the services as well as any legacy client that already uses these services.

A Reference Implementation of a Learning Design Engine

Since the release of LD there has been a need for a reference implementation of a player for the specification. CopperCore provides a way for implementers to jumpstart building an LD-compliant learning management system. It provides two major APIs to deal with the processing of LD. One covers administration-related tasks while the other deals with the runtime delivery of LD.

CopperCore Service Integration.

In an e-learning environment there is a need to integrate various e-learning services like assessment services, collaboration services, learning design services and communication services. In this article we present the design and implementation of a generic integrative service framework, called CopperCore Service Integration (CCSI). We will concentrate on the integration of two services: CopperCore, an IMS Learning Design service and an IMS Question and Test Interoperability service called Assessment Provision through Interoperable Segments (APIS). One of the design goals of the architecture was to minimize the intrusion for both the services as well as any legacy client that already uses these services. The result of this work is that the flow of learning activities can be made dependent on test results.

Using the Personal Competence Manager as a Complementary Approach to IMS Learning Design Authoring.

In this article TENCompetence will be presented as a framework for lifelong competence development. More specifically, the relationship between the TENCompetence framework and the IMS Learning Design (LD) specification is explored. LD authoring has proven to be challenging and the toolset currently available is targeting expert users mostly working for institutions of higher educations. Furthermore these tools re-enforce a fairly rigid top-down workflow approach towards design and delivery. This approach it is not always the most suitable model in all circumstances for all practitioners. TENCompetence provides an alternative bottom-up approach to LD authoring via its first implementation: the Personal Competence Manager (PCM). Constructs such as competence profiles and competence development programmes, let users define, modify, and acquire competences they need for achieving their personal goals. We will show how the PCM provides support for these constructs and stimulates the bottom-up development of learning materials. We will also show how these concepts can be mapped towards LD. This allows the ad hoc designs of the PCM to be captured in a unit of learning (UOL). These UOLs can be enhanced and eventually fed back into the PCM, therewith closing the edit cycle. This editing cycle allows for a gradual integration of bottom-up ad hoc designs with more formal top-down designs introducing LD in a gentle fashion.

An Architecture for Learning Design Engines

Vogten, H., Koper, R., Martens, H. & Tattersall, C. (2005). An Architecture for Learning Design Engines. In: Koper, R. & Tattersall, C., Learning Design: A Handbook on Modelling and Delivering Networked Education and Training (pp. 75-90). Berlin-Heidelberg: Springer Verlag.

The TENCompetence Infrastructure: A Learning Network Implementation

The TENCompetence project developed a first release of a Learning Network infrastructure to support individuals, groups and organisations in professional competence development. This infrastructure Learning Network infrastructure was released as open source to the community thereby allowing users and organisations to use and contribute to this development as they see fit. The infrastructure consists of client applications providing the user experience and server components that provide the services to these clients. These services implement the domain model (Koper 2006) by provisioning the entities of the domain model (see also Sect. 18.4) and henceforth will be referenced as domain entity services. Open image in new window

Personal Development Planner

We are facing many ever changing and increasing learning needs in our information society. Society is changing at an increasing pace, constantly pushed forward by emerging new information and communication technologies. New and changing demands of society on the individual, both on and off the job, are following these technological changes in a similar pace. In just one generation, information and communications technologies have revolutionised the way we live, learn, work and play. As a result, technical skills, communication skills, knowledge, in short competences are quickly outdated and require constant updating. Jobs for a lifetime have become the exception and are in fact considered undesirable by both the employer and the employee. Therefore, the traditional approach towards learning, which mainly took place during very specific stages of someone’s life, has been replaced by the idea of professional development. The information society has also lead to more active and involved society members, who are increasingly more demanding regarding their personal goals and developments. Individuals are regularly confronted with question such as: are my competences still up-to-date?; is my current job still satisfying and challenging enough?; in what directions can I change my career?; can I improve myself?; what other opportunities do I have? These types of question are not necessarily work related, although they often are. Open image in new window

The Personal Competence Manager

This chapter addresses some generic components shared by client applications that are using the core entity services described in Chap. 19. We will discuss these components and their implementation by example of the Personal Competence Manager (Vogten et al. 2008) (PCM). Because these components are generic for most client applications, discussing their implementation will support developers who want to implement their own applications using the Learning Network infrastructure (Lemmers et al. 2008). Although the PCM is a rich client application, the components discussed in this chapter are also relevant for web applications, although their actual implementation may be different for a web environment. Before going into details we will briefly introduce the PCM. Open image in new window