GSoC Idea: SCORM Compliant Run-Time Environment for OpenACS

SCORM Compliant Run-Time Environment for OpenACS

• Mentor: Gustaf Neumann
• Difficulty: low to high (depending on the number of met requirements)

OpenACS is a powerful open source community system used for a wide set of application ranging from e-learning (DotLRN) over community site to e-commerce shops. The xo*-family of packages (xotcl-core, xowiki and xowf) has established itself as a flexible, generic, object oriented toolkit for OpenACS, enabling rapid development of arbitrary applications for both OpenACS and DotLRN. XoWiki is one of the most flexible wiki-frameworks, supporting advanced concepts like for example structured wiki features, multiple access policies, flexible application integration and workflows. In the e-learning context, XoWiki can be used as a single tool for content development for (adaptive) content presentation, (collaborative) content development, blog style content distribution and assessment.

SCORM is a collection of standards and specifications adapted from multiple sources to provide a comprehensive suite of e-learning capabilities that enable interoperability, accessibility and reusability of Web-based learning content.

This project is a follow-up project to last year's successful project "SCORM Compliant Content Packaging for Wiki-based Content Development", which focused on input/export and presentation of SCORM learning resources. During the last project, it turned out that implementing the runtime environment specified by the standard is a relatively big task. Thus, in the current state, the runtime environment makes use of the most basic RTE-API functions and is therefore only capable for importing simple packages. However, a standard conformant runtime Environment is still a precondition for using the outcome of the former project in real-world scenarios.

Goal

The main goal of this project is an implementation of a SCORM compliant Run-Time Environment (RTE) for OpenACS/DotLRN.

Minimum Requirements

• The Runtime environment should be "SCORM Version 1.2 Run-time Environment Conformant – Minimum (LMS–RTE1)", as defined in the SCORM Conformance Requirements Document

Optional Requirements

• Reaching Conformance Level “SCORM Version 1.2 Run-Time Environment Conformant – Minimum with Some Optional Data Model Elements (LMS-RTE2)"
• Reaching Conformance Level “SCORM Version 1.2 Run-Time Environment Conformant – Minimum with All Optional Data Model Elements (LMS-RTE3)"
• SCORM 2004: LMS RTE 1.1 – The LMS complies with the requirements defined in the SCORM 4th Ed. Run-Time Environment Version 1.1

Base materials and links

• http://www.adlnet.gov/Technologies/scorm/default.aspx
• http://media.wu-wien.ac.at/download/xowiki-doc/
• http://nm.wu-wien.ac.at/research/publications/b766.pdf
• Paper: SCORM Compliant Content Packaging for Wiki-based Content Development

Requirements for the student High motivation, experience with SCORM, OpenACS, DotLRN, XOTcl.

Benefits for the student

Gaining experience with e-learning standards, object oriented web 2.0 development frameworks and systems integration.

Benefits for the community

Users of the community framework OpenACS are provided with flexible means to launch (i.e. "play") learning content from other e-learning systems such as Moodle. https://wiki.tcl-lang.org/23190