Content Guide December 2003FILE/ContentGuide.pdf · 2004-01-13 · Chapter 3 Content Integration...

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Content Guide December 2003 Learning Management System R1 software

Transcript of Content Guide December 2003FILE/ContentGuide.pdf · 2004-01-13 · Chapter 3 Content Integration...

Content Guide December 2003

Learning Management System R1

software

Disclaimer THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS DOCUMENTATION IS PROVIDED FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY. WHILE EFFORTS WERE MADE TO VERIFY THE COMPLETENESS AND ACCURACY OF THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS DOCUMENTATION, IT IS PROVIDED “AS IS” WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. IN ADDITION, THIS INFORMATION IS BASED ON IBM’S CURRENT PRODUCT PLANS AND STRATEGY, WHICH ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE BY IBM WITHOUT NOTICE. IBM SHALL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF, OR OTHERWISE RELATED TO, THIS DOCUMENTATION OR ANY OTHER DOCUMENTATION. NOTHING CONTAINED IN THIS DOCUMENTATION IS INTENDED TO, NOR SHALL HAVE THE EFFECT OF, CREATING ANY WARRANTIES OR REPRESENTATIONS FROM IBM (OR ITS SUPPLIERS OR LICENSORS), OR ALTERING THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THE APPLICABLE LICENSE AGREEMENT GOVERNING THE USE OF IBM SOFTWARE.

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Contents iii

Contents

Chapter 1 Overview ....................................................................................................................................1

Types of content ........................................................................................................................................................................ 1

Web-based content................................................................................................................................................................ 1

File-based content ................................................................................................................................................................. 1

Virtual Classroom content ................................................................................................................................................... 1

Servers that interact with content ........................................................................................................................................... 1

Learning Management System Server ............................................................................................................................... 1

Delivery Server...................................................................................................................................................................... 2

Content Server ....................................................................................................................................................................... 2

FTP Server .............................................................................................................................................................................. 2

File Server............................................................................................................................................................................... 2

Lotus Virtual Classroom (LVC) Server .............................................................................................................................. 2

The course delivery process..................................................................................................................................................... 3

Tracking standards ................................................................................................................................................................... 4

Web-based content................................................................................................................................................................ 4

File-based content ................................................................................................................................................................. 4

Chapter 2 Content Preparation in the Authoring Tool ............................................................................5

Importing courses into the authoring tool............................................................................................................................. 5

Specifying the location of content files................................................................................................................................... 5

Web content ........................................................................................................................................................................... 5

File-based content ................................................................................................................................................................. 6

Activating tracking ................................................................................................................................................................... 6

Inserting meta-data................................................................................................................................................................... 7

Meta-data categories............................................................................................................................................................. 7

Meta-data required for SCORM 1.2 conformance ............................................................................................................ 8

Packaging courses ..................................................................................................................................................................... 9

Chapter 3 Content Integration .................................................................................................................11

Utilities for importing course packages into the Learning Management System .......................................................... 11

With the authoring tool ...................................................................................................................................................... 11

With the command line import utility ............................................................................................................................. 12

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Registering imported course packages ................................................................................................................................ 13

Creating course offerings ....................................................................................................................................................... 14

About curriculums and certificates .................................................................................................................................. 14

Updating content..................................................................................................................................................................... 14

Deleting course masters and offerings ................................................................................................................................. 15

Deleting course masters ..................................................................................................................................................... 15

Deleting course offerings ................................................................................................................................................... 15

Chapter 4 Content Launching .................................................................................................................17

Launching content while working online............................................................................................................................ 17

About file-based content .................................................................................................................................................... 17

Launching content from a Windows-based Offline Learning Client............................................................................... 17

How sequencing affects a student's experience.................................................................................................................. 18

Settings that affect content launching .................................................................................................................................. 18

Delivery Servers .................................................................................................................................................................. 18

Lotus Virtual Classroom (LVC) Servers........................................................................................................................... 18

Launching activities outside of the Learning Management System interface ................................................................ 19

How does Independent Content Launch work?............................................................................................................. 19

Launch information ................................................................................................................................................................ 19

URL example ....................................................................................................................................................................... 19

Post method example ......................................................................................................................................................... 20

Considerations for independently launched activities .................................................................................................. 21

Chapter 5 Tracking and Scoring .............................................................................................................23

What gets tracked?.................................................................................................................................................................. 23

About students whose progress isn't tracked ..................................................................................................................... 23

The mechanics of tracking ..................................................................................................................................................... 23

Tracking Statistics ................................................................................................................................................................... 24

Rolling up student progress data.......................................................................................................................................... 26

Rolling up assessment data................................................................................................................................................ 27

Factors that contribute to rollup calculations.................................................................................................................. 27

Tips for setting rollup and delivery controls................................................................................................................... 28

Default rollup behavior...................................................................................................................................................... 28

About the SCORM-based Tracking Frameset ..................................................................................................................... 29

Contents v

Setting up tracking on a separate content server............................................................................................................ 29

Using apiWrapper.js ........................................................................................................................................................... 30

Tracking Logs .......................................................................................................................................................................... 31

Tracking Error Codes.............................................................................................................................................................. 31

Global tracking error codes................................................................................................................................................ 31

HACP-defined tracking error codes................................................................................................................................. 31

SCORM-defined tracking error codes .............................................................................................................................. 31

Appendix A Working with Content in the Forum Course Repository..................................................33

Opening the Forum Course Repository ............................................................................................................................... 33

Linking to other content in the Forum Course Repository ............................................................................................... 33

Using Forum content in a Learning Management System course.................................................................................... 34

Referencing Multimedia Library files stored in the Forum Course Repository............................................................. 34

Appendix B Converting Multiple AICC Courses to SCORM Packages................................................35

Installing the AICC Converter............................................................................................................................................... 35

Preparing the course information file................................................................................................................................... 35

Sample file............................................................................................................................................................................ 35

The file's main elements ..................................................................................................................................................... 36

Running the converter............................................................................................................................................................ 36

Viewing logs for the utility ................................................................................................................................................ 36

Appendix C Learning Management System Glossary ..........................................................................37

Index ..........................................................................................................................................................47

vi Learning Management System Content Guide

Chapter 1: Overview 1

Chapter 1 Overview Content in the IBM Lotus Learning Management System is the collection of words, pictures, videos, sounds, questions, and other interactions that make up a student's learning experience. Content is organized into courses, which are delivered and managed in the system. Such courses may be:

• supplied by online learning providers, such as IBM, NETg, SmartForce, SkillSoft

• developed in the Learning Management System authoring tool

• created by content developers, using software such as Macromedia eLearning Studio This guide describes how to integrate these different types of courses into the Learning Management System.

Types of content The Learning Management System supports a number of different content formats. A single course may contain a variety of different formats.

Web-based content

Web-based content is designed to be displayed in a Web browser. It is usually delivered as HTML files, but may be delivered in a proprietary format that requires clients to install a plug-in before they can launch the content. Web-based content needs to be stored on a Web server running HTTP.

File-based content

File-based content is content that usually runs from a local machine. The files may be accessed from CDs, file servers, or local client machines. The Learning Management System launches file-based content from a Web browser.

Virtual Classroom content

The Virtual Classroom contains activities that students and an instructor work on simultaneously at a prearranged time. They are associated with Virtual Classroom sessions created in the authoring tool or in the Lotus Virtual Classroom interface (available as a separate IBM product). Virtual Classroom sessions are run in a Web browser and the files are stored on a Lotus Virtual Classroom server.

Servers that interact with content Several types of servers are involved in the delivery of course content in a Learning Management System installation.

Learning Management System Server

The Learning Management System (LMS) Server is part of the Learning Management System installation. There can be only one LMS Server per installation, but each logical Learning Management System Server can be hosted on a server cluster.

The Content Manager servlet, located on the Learning Management System Server, does the following:

• Retrieves course packages from the FTP server and unpacks them on the Learning Management System Server.

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• Populates the Course Catalog with new and updated course masters.

• When a course offering is created, transmits content to a content server or an LVC server.

• Creates Offline Learning Client packages for users to download.

Delivery Server

The Delivery Server is part of the Learning Management System installation. The primary function of each Delivery Server is to sequence, launch, and track content, and to provide a content frame within the larger learning window. Each course offering is associated with a Delivery Server, but there can be one or more logical Delivery Servers in each installation. Each logical Delivery Server can be hosted on a server cluster.

Each Delivery server:

• Interprets sequencing instructions built into the content that navigate a student to the appropriate location in a course.

• Launches the course content in the student's browser window.

• Performs interim progress tracking and submits it to the Learning Management System Server for permanent storage.

Content Server

This server is a separate Web (HTTP) server. It is not part of the Learning Management System installation.

The content server stores all course content files, including HTML, image, and multimedia files. The Deployment method chosen during installation determines how content is sent to the content server when a course offering is created. It can be sent through FTP if the content server is set up for FTP or through the local file system if the content is already located on the content server. Each Delivery Server can use a single content server or a cluster of servers -- if a cluster is used, the content is sent to each of them.

FTP Server

This server is a server configured for FTP that client workstations and the Learning Management System Server can access. It is not part of the Learning Management System installation. This server might be running on one of the other servers; it isn't necessarily a separate machine.

The FTP Server:

• Receives course packages from the authoring tool or CLIMP utility, sent from client workstations.

• If FTP is chosen as the Deployment method during installation, receives content files from the Learning Management System Server. This method assumes the FTP Server is located on the same machine as the content server.

File Server

This server is a network-based server made available to students who need to access file-based content over the network. It is not part of the Learning Management System installation.

Lotus Virtual Classroom (LVC) Server

This server is a separate server that can communicate with the Learning Management System Server. It is not part of the Learning Management System installation, but is available as a separate product from IBM. You can add LVC Servers to the Learning Management System through the Settings - Collaboration Servers page.

The LVC Server:

Chapter 1: Overview 3

• Provides a user interface for creating Virtual Classroom sessions.

• Stores content files related to Virtual Classroom sessions, including presentation files, Web Page links, and ad-hoc question sets.

The course delivery process This section describes the process by which courses are delivered to the Learning Management System. Explanations of the numbers and arrows on the illustration are included below the picture.

1. The content developer uses the authoring tool or a different authoring product to create the course, or purchases a course from a third-party vendor. If the content developer uses the authoring tool to work with course content, he or she packages the course into a .zip file to prepare it for importing into the Learning Management System.

2. The course developer or administrator uses the authoring tool or the Command Line Import Utility to import the course to an FTP server and to notify the Learning Management System Server of the existence of the course.

3. Based on settings set by the administrator, the Learning Management System Server imports the course package from the FTP server.

4. The Learning Management System Server creates a course master and enters information about the master into the database. This is an unregistered master.

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5. The course administrator uses the Learning Management System user interface to locate the course master in the Masters Catalog and then registers the master.

6. The course administrator or an instructor uses the Learning Management System user interface to create offerings in the course catalog. As part of this process, the administrator specifies a Delivery Server to use.

7. The Learning Management System Server sends the structure of the course to the Delivery Server. Note If the offering is a scheduled offering –- that is, it contains a Lotus Virtual Classroom session, for example –- the LVC session is transferred to the LVC Server, and a link to the session and schedule information are transferred to the Delivery Server. If there are multiple scheduled offerings, each offering could use a different LVC Server and a different Delivery Server, although that is optional.

8. The Delivery Server enters information about the course structure into the relational database that the database manager created for the Delivery Server.

9. The Delivery Server sends a request to the Learning Management System Server to send the course content to the Content server that the Delivery Server specifies. (The Delivery Server can specify multiple Content servers to receive the course content.)

10. The Learning Management System sends the course content to the Content server. At this point, the Content server contains the course content, the Delivery Server contains the course structure, and the Learning Management System Server contains the course catalog and the course description.

Tracking standards Tracking refers to a learning system's ability to follow a student's progress through a course and store that progress for reports and to guide the student's future learning choices. The Learning Management System takes advantage of the newest standards for tracking.

Web-based content

As Web-based learning grows in popularity, two standards have emerged that guide the development of content and learning systems. In 1993, the Aviation Industry CBT Committee (AICC) developed a specification called “CMI Guidelines for Interoperability” and has continued to add to it as the online learning industry matures. This specification (available from www.aicc.org) included guidelines for HACP-based communication between Web-based content and learning systems. Because the AICC specification has been available for some time, the Macromedia eLearning Studio tools and most third-party content providers fully support the HACP-based protocol. The Learning Management System supports AICC version 3.5.

A newer standard has also emerged from the Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL) initiative (www.adlnet.org). The initiative outlines an API-based standard, known as the Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM), which is gaining in popularity because it gives content developers more flexibility. The Learning Management System supports SCORM version 1.2. Third-party content providers, such as NETg, now offer SCORM-based content. Macromedia has also begun to provide tools and support for building SCORM-based content with its eLearning Studio tools. The Macromedia Web site (www.macromedia.com/learning) has the latest updates. When you integrate SCORM-based content with the Learning Management System, you can take advantage of this newer tracking standard.

File-based content

Unlike Web-based tracking, which uses HTTP for communication between the content and the Learning Management System, file-based tracking uses temporary files stored on the student's computer to collect and send information about the student's progress. The browser-based plug-in called the CMI Adapter takes care of launching the content and storing tracking information.

Chapter 2: Content Preparation in the Authoring Tool 5

Chapter 2 Content Preparation in the Authoring Tool The authoring tool provided with the Learning Management System is a course planning, development, and packaging application. Full documentation on the tool is included in the Authoring Tool Guide. Any course that is not supplied as a SCORM 1.2 course package must be processed in the authoring tool to convert it to a package that can be imported into the Learning Management System. This requirement applies to courses you've purchased from vendors or created with course development software. If your course is supplied as a SCORM 1.2 course package, you can also use the authoring tool to make changes to settings, add authoring tool content, or add information designed for use in the Learning Management System. Content you develop in the authoring tool automatically adheres to the SCORM 1.2 runtime standard and is packaged appropriately for importing into the Learning Management System.

SCORM 1.2 course packages that don't need any changes can be imported directly into the Learning Management System with the Command Line Import Utility. See Chapter 3 for more information.

Importing courses into the authoring tool Importing with the Import tab on the File - New screen makes all the components of a course known to the authoring tool. It produces a course outline, populates the outline with course components, and picks up all properties, URLs, file references, and meta-data from the original course.

Importing requires you to know whether your course is supplied as AICC files or a SCORM package. AICC and SCORM are two different industry standards for defining and packaging course information. AICC files have a main course file with a .crs extension; SCORM packages are supplied as .zip files. The course developer can tell you which standard was used to develop the course.

After you import a course, you can enhance it by adding other course items from the Planner Screen toolbox. You can also add or change properties for any course item in the outline. See the Authoring Tool Help for more information.

Specifying the location of content files The next step is to verify the location property for each course item's content. The Delivery Server and Offline Learning Client use that property for launching learning pages. Content can include HTML files, style sheets, media files, image files, and file-based activity or presentation files. The location is either a URL that points to a resource on a Web content server or the Delivery Server or, in the case of file-based content, a path that points to an executable file on a student's local hard drive, a CD drive, or a network file server.

Web content

The following course items have Web-based content files. Select an item in the authoring tool's course outline, then click the Ellipses button (...) next to the Web Launch Setting "Address." Specify a URL in the form http://hostname/webpage file name to denote which Web page to launch.

• Content Link (Content Type: Web) This course item refers to Web-based learning pages that were not created in the authoring tool. They can either be on the local file system or on a content server. Click the Ellipses button (...) to open the Launch window. Then specify a "Launch File Path" to include a URL that points to content on a content server or click Modify to include content with the package. Tips for including content If you decide to include content in the package, it becomes part of the course package. To get the course files from a Web server, specify the Web address of the course launch file. If the course files are located on a

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content server, use the Select button next to the "Launch File Path" field to find the directory where the course launch file is located and then select the file.

Clicking "Select a Content Directory" and choosing a directory allows you to specify where the authoring tool can find the course files on your local machine.

• Content Pages This course item contains content pages created and published in the authoring tool.

• Assessments This course item contains question pages created and published in the authoring tool.

• Pre-recorded Live Sessions This course item contains a Virtual Classroom session that was recorded as a Web page for later use. Click the Ellipses button (...) to open the Launch window. Then use Launch to check the selection or Modify to assign or change the address.

• Lotus Virtual Classroom (LVC) Web Pages This course item is used in a Virtual Classroom session to provide Web site links to students. Click the Ellipses button (...) to open the Launch window. Then use Launch to check the selection or Modify to assign or change the address.

File-based content

The following course items use file-based content. They require a drive and file name to denote their location.

• Content Link (Content Type: File-based) This course item contains file-based learning pages that were created elsewhere and imported into the authoring tool. File-based content needs to be located where the student can access it, either on his or her local machine, in a CD drive, or on a mapped, shared network drive. On Windows 95 and 98, the student must map to the shared directory where the course is and must have a user account on that system. The following are acceptable Activity File values:

a. A file name with a placeholder path: {drive}:\{path}\course1.exe Surround drive and path substitutions with curly braces. Then fill in the Substitution Parameters field to define the substitutions; for example: drive=c,d;path=windows,program files\content,cmi-content The substitution is packaged with the course.

b. A UNC path to specific shares on a content server: \\contentserver\courses\course1.exe

c. A specific mapped network drive: n:\courses\course1.exe

d. A specific drive and file name: c:\courses\course1.exe

• Lotus Virtual Classroom (LVC) Presentation File This course item contains a file to be shown on the Whiteboard during a Virtual Classroom session. Specify a drive and file name or browse to find the file.

Activating tracking Tracking is the process of monitoring a student's work in a course and recording it for future reference. If you want your course to be trackable in the Learning Management System, the next step is to activate tracking for the course items that contain content.

Chapter 2: Content Preparation in the Authoring Tool 7

Content Links Set tracking options in the Content Links properties sheet in Planner mode. Choose one option.

• Standard SCORM 1.1 or 1.2-based Web content will be tracked using the API Adapter. AICC Web content will use HACP tracking. File-based content will use CMI tracking.

• User Sets Completion Means the student marks the course item as complete when the work is done.

• Set as Completed on Launch Means the course item is considered complete as soon as a student opens it.

• Set as Incompleted on Launch Means the course item is considered incomplete as soon as the student opens it.

Content Pages and Assessments Set tracking options for content pages and assessments in Authoring mode. Select the Content Pages or Assessments item in the authoring outline and choose Selected - Page Properties. Scroll to the Learning Management System settings:

• Uses IBM Lotus Learning Management System API When set to True, the content or assessment will track in the Learning Management System using the ADL SCORM standard.

• Version The only version supported is SCORM 1.2.

• Report Interaction When set to True, this sends interaction data to the Learning Management System. Interaction data is more detailed results information, such as the user's response in an interaction or the time it took to complete a single question.

For more information about tracking, see Chapter 5.

Inserting meta-data The final step for preparing content is to add meta-data to courses and course items. Meta-data is additional course information that is useful for categorizing and organizing learning material. SCORM 1.2 meta-data, defined by the Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL) initiative, requires certain types of information, such as search keywords, the course's location, and a description. Meta-data is relevant to course catalog and knowledge searches in the Learning Management System.

To add meta-data, select the course or course item in the course outline (in Planner mode) and choose Selected - Add Meta-Data. Fields required by the SCORM 1.2 specification are marked with an asterisk (*). To assign a value, expand a meta-data category and select the meta-data element from the list. Assign a value and for language-specific values, select the language to which this meta-data applies. After a course is packaged and imported into the Learning Management System, meta-data is stored in database tables and fields and corresponds to a specific course or course item.

Meta-data categories

There are currently nine categories of meta-data elements. For more information, see Section 2.2 of the SCORM 1.2 Content Aggregation Model document (http://www.adlnet.org/ADLDOCS/Documents/ SCORM_1.2_CAM.pdf).

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• General Information that applies to the item as a whole, such as a title, description, and the Learning Management System catalog search keywords.

• Lifecycle Information about the development of this course item, such as its revision history and developers.

• Meta-metadata General information about the meta-data record.

• Technical Technical information about the course item, such as its format, file size, and which browsers it runs on.

• Educational (Optional) Information about educational aspects of this course item, such as its purpose (simulation, questionnaire, test, and so on) and its intended audience.

• Rights Details about copyrights and conditions for using this course item.

• Relation (Optional) Information about how this course item relates to other course items.

• Annotation (Optional) Comments on the educational use of this course item.

• Classification Information about how this course item should be classified.

Meta-data required for SCORM 1.2 conformance

To be SCORM 1.2 conformant, every course built or imported into the authoring tool needs the elements, attributes, and values shown in the table below. When a course is imported into the authoring tool, both required and optional meta-data from the original course are maintained. If required meta-data is missing, the authoring tool automatically adds it with the default values. However, if the imported course has improper meta-data values or attributes, the authoring tool doesn't change them automatically; you must edit the values or attributes yourself to match those shown below. Also, if you used a previous version of the authoring tool, you must import the course into this version of the authoring tool, edit the elements shown below, and repackage the course to make it conformant.

Meta-data required for SCORM 1.2 conformance Category Required Element Attributes Value General CatalogEntry:Catalog none any user value CatalogEntry:Entry:langstring language: must be x-none any user value Keyword:langstring language a value from the pulldown

list Lifecycle Version:langstring language a value from the pulldown

list Status:Source:langstring language: must be x-none LOMv1.0 Status:Value:langstring language: must be x-none a value from the pulldown

list MetaMetadata CatalogEntry:Catalog none any user value CatalogEntry:Entry:langstring language: must be x-none metadatascheme none any user value Technical Format none any user value Location Type: TEXT or URI any user value Rights Cost:Source:langstring language: must be x-none LOMv1.0 Cost:Value:langstring language: must be x-none no or yes Copyrightandotherrestrictions:Source:langstring language: must be x-none LOMv1.0 Copyrightandotherrestrictions:Value:langstring language: must be x-none no or yes Relation Resource:CatalogEntry:Catalog none any user value

Chapter 2: Content Preparation in the Authoring Tool 9

Resource:CatalogEntry:Entry:langstring language: must be x-none any user value Classification Purpose:Source:langstring language: must be x-none LOMv1.0 Purpose:value:langstring language: must be x-none a value from the pulldown

list Description:langstring language a value from the pulldown

list keyword:langstring language a value from the pulldown

list

Packaging courses The final step for preparing content for the Learning Management System is to create a package, where all files needed for running the course are stored in compressed form. As described in Chapter 3, this file is sent to the Learning Management System, where the files are extracted into a directory on the Delivery Server.

Note The authoring tool does not contain the packaging wizard that is mentioned in Help. That feature was not included in the final product.

The authoring tool creates a Package Interchange File (.PIF) that contains these two components:

• An XML Manifest file that explains how the course is organized and lists what files it uses and any meta-data associated with the course.

• The course files (all content and media files needed for running the course). If the files are not included in the package, a URL is included for each course item that defines its launch location. Note If you plan to reimport a course into the authoring tool and it has content pages that were created with the tool, be sure to select "Include Source Files" when you package the course. Otherwise, you will receive errors during the reimporting process and content will be missing.

The File - Package Course command in the authoring tool creates the course package. Each new package receives a Package Identifier, a uniquely created number that stays with the package, no matter how many times the course is updated and repackaged. The Version field in the Package Course dialog box contains three version numbers for monitoring Package, Content, and Structure changes. If you import a course into the authoring tool, these versions are picked up from the imported course if they exist or, if they don't, the authoring tool sees the import as a new version. The authoring tool increments the package, content, and structure changes when a course undergoes updates that require repackaging. For more information, see "Updating content" in Chapter 3.

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Chapter 3: Content Integration 11

Chapter 3 Content Integration A course that has been packaged is ready for importing into the Learning Management System. After a package is imported, you use it to create a course master in the Course Catalog and then create course offerings that inherit the master's structure and content. At that point, the content is ready to be delivered to students who are enrolled in the course offerings.

Utilities for importing course packages into the Learning Management System The Learning Management System provides two standalone tools for integrating course packages into the system. You install and run these tools on a workstation. A system administrator can make these tools available for downloading from a network file server. For more information about installing these utilities, see the Installation Guide.

• Authoring tool The authoring tool is an application that runs on a Windows 2000 or XP workstation. You can use it for creating and planning content and then packaging it, as described in the previous chapter. It can also send a content package to an FTP server, where the Learning Management System picks it up and imports it into the system. The authoring tool is useful for importing content that is not already supplied as a course package or that needs changes. Note that third-party courses imported into the authoring tool do not maintain any sequencing or rollup rules because those rules are not part of the SCORM 1.2 specification.

Note for international sites The authoring tool must be running on a machine whose operating system uses the same language as the language of the content you want to import. Otherwise, language characters may not be imported properly into the Planner.

• Command line import utility

The command line import utility is an application that runs in a DOS-based or UNIX-based command window. It uses a set of commands to send one or more packages and initiate the import process. The utility imports pre-packaged content that needs no changes.

The system's Content Manager creates a new directory for each imported package and extracts the contents into that directory — the name of the directory is generated randomly. By default, the directory is created in a top-level directory called "packages" in the system's Web application directory.

If the package contains course content, and the course is enabled for offline use, the Learning Management System also creates a download package file that will be used to download the course content to students.

With the authoring tool

The authoring tool uses two Planner mode commands for the importing process.

1. Send Package command File - Send Package sends a course package via FTP to an FTP site that the Learning Management System Server can access. You need to have access to the package from your workstation. The FTP user name and password need read/write/create access to the FTP server.

2. Server Import command File - Server Import initiates the import process into the system. The person doing the import needs to be a rostered user with the ManageMastersCatalog permission. That person supplies his or her user name and

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password to start the importing process. The Learning Management System Server picks up the package from the FTP site and extracts the files for use in the system. You must specify at least one address in the E-Mail Address field.

With the command line import utility

The import utility provides command line options that are equivalent to the authoring tool's Send Package and Server Import commands. You can combine the FTP transfer and the import process or initiate the import process by itself if the package has already been placed on the FTP server. Multiple packages can be imported in one command line, as described in the Command Line Import Utility Options table that follows.

Running the command line import utility

You can run the import utility from a command window in one of these ways.

climp [option...] package file name...

./climp [option...] package file name... (some UNIX shells require this format)

java -jar climp.jar [option...] package file name...

Command line options Command Line Import Utility Options

Option Usage Help -h -?

Displays usage information for the import utility commands.

FTP Transfer -ftp ftpserver URL of FTP server to contain the course package files(s). If the -u (upload) option is included in the

command line, the specified files are uploaded to the specified FTP server and imported from there. If the -ftp option is not included, the specified files must be accessible to the Learning Management System Server via the file system.

-ftpu username FTP server user name. The Learning Management System Server uses this user name to get the course package file from the specified FTP server. In addition, if you include the -u (upload) option, the utility uses this user name to upload the course package file to the FTP server. If no user name is specified, anonymous access is used. The user must have read/write/create access on the FTP server.

-ftpp password FTP server password; required if an FTP user name is specified. Importing -cm url URL of Learning Management System Server to receive the course package file(s). -cmu username Your Learning Management System logon name. -cmp password Your Learning Management System password. -u Uploads course package files to specified FTP server and imports them from there. If this option is not

specified, the specified package files must already reside on the specified FTP server. If no FTP server is specified, the files must be accessible to the Learning Management System via the local file system. This option only works from the command line, not in a properties file that contains command-line options.

Other options -d Enables the course for disconnected (offline) use. Course packages produced by the authoring tool

contain information about whether the course can be downloaded for disconnected use, but other course packages will not typically contain this information. By default, courses cannot be downloaded for disconnected use. This option only works from the command line, not in a properties file that contains command-line options.

-e emaillist Required. Comma-delimited list of e-mail addresses to receive import status notifications. Any valid e-mail address can be specified — recipients do not have to be Learning Management System users. E-mail notifications are sent when the course package has been imported (or if an import error occurs), and for updates, when the update has either been accepted or rejected. An e-mail address must already be set up on the Settings page.

-l locale Specify a locale for use with this utility. This information is used by the Learning Management System to select the appropriate language for error messages and e-mail notifications. If you don't specify a locale,

Chapter 3: Content Integration 13

the utility supplies one based on your operating system settings. -p file Properties file containing command line options. Each entry in the properties file uses the command line

option name without the '-' prefix, for example, ftp=ftp.xyz.com. Options specified on the command line take precedence over the same options specified in a properties file. Note that the options without a value (for example, -d and -u) can only be specified on the command line.

Running CLIMP in an SSL environment

To use CLIMP to import into an SSL environment, follow these steps.

A. Accept the self-signed certificate

1. Navigate to the server https://learningserver.company.com/lms-lmm using Internet Explorer.

2. When the certificate dialog The security certificate was issued by a company you have chosen not to trust... appears, click View Certificate.

3. Click the Details tab.

4. Click Copy to file.

5. Go through the wizard and export the certificate to the CLIMP\bin directory. Name the file CLIMPSSL.cer.

B. Run the keytool utility

1. In the command prompt, navigate to the CLIMP\bin directory.

2. Enter the following on one line: ..\java\jre\bin\keytool -import -file CLIMPSSL.cer -keystore -mystore.jks -alias learningserver -trustcacerts

3. Enter CLIMPPASS as the keystore password.

C. Modify the run4.cmd file

Add the following to the run4.cmd file:

-keystore mystore.jks -storepass CLIMPPASS

Registering imported course packages When you import a course package into the system, it is added to the Course Catalog as an unregistered master. The next step is to create a new course master from this unregistered one, using the Administrator interface. You need to be logged in to the interface with permission to create course masters to complete the following steps.

1. In the Course Catalog, click Register a Master.

2. Click Course Master, then click Continue.

3. Choose the unregistered master from which you want to create the new master.

4. Click Continue.

5. Fill in the Details and Prerequisites screens, clicking Continue after each one.

6. Save the master in a folder. The saved course master is now registered in the Masters catalog and can be used by others to create course offerings. The course offerings inherit this master's structure and content, but have different enrollment dates and possibly different instructors, locations, and collaboration features.

14 Learning Management System Content Guide

Creating course offerings The next step is to create one or more course offerings based on the new master. You create and manage course offerings in the Course Catalog; they also appear in the Student Catalog for previewing and enrollment. You need to be logged in to the interface with permission to create course offerings to complete the following steps.

1. In the Course Catalog, click Register Course Entry.

2. Click Course, then click Continue.

3. Find the course master, either through a search or by opening the folder where you saved the master.

4. Select the master, then click Continue.

5. Fill in the Details screen, selecting a Delivery Server, Instructor, and all other options that apply. Then click Continue. Options on the Details screen are determined by selections made when the course was developed and by selections you made in the Master Details screen.

6. Save the course offering in a folder. The saved course offering is now registered in the Offerings catalog and can be seen by students in the Student Catalog.

About curriculums and certificates

Curriculums and certificates offer two different ways to group related course offerings for more convenient enrollment and management. Curriculums contain courses that are related by subject area or course of learning. Certificates contain courses that, when completed successfully, deem a student certified in an area of expertise. Certificates also carry optional expiration dates to force students to repeat the requisite courses after a certain amount of time. You build curriculums and certificates by creating curriculum or certificate masters in the Course catalog with the "Register a Master" command. Then use the "Register Course Entry" command to add prerequisites and course offerings that are to be included. The Curriculum or Certificate course entry becomes part of the Offerings catalog and appears in the Student Catalog. When students enroll in a curriculum or certificate, they enroll in all its associated course offerings.

Updating content Over time, a course may require updates to accommodate new or obsolete material or improve the student's learning experience. The authoring tool distinguishes between structure and content changes and keeps track of version numbers for each.

• Structure changes affect a course's outline - the components and sequencing that make up the flow of a course. Note Structure changes also cause progress results to be restarted for students who haven't completed the course.

• Content changes affect the properties of the course items, the location of the files, and the text, images, or media files that students see when they take a course. These changes do not affect progress results for students who haven't completed the course.

The following steps outline the process of sending updates to the Learning Management System.

1. Update the course in the authoring tool and then repackage it, as described in Chapter 2. The authoring tool increments the package number, as well as the structure or content version numbers if structure or content have changed. The package ID, which allows the Learning Management System to identify which course master this package belongs to, does not change.

2. Import the updated package into the system.

3. The owner of the course master decides how to handle the update.

Chapter 3: Content Integration 15

For more information about integrating the update into the system, see the Administrator's Guide.

4. Students participating in the course offline check the server for updates and download the updated course offering to the Offline Learning Client machine.

Deleting course masters and offerings When course masters or offerings become obsolete, use the Learning Management System Administration interface to remove them from the catalogs. All students enrolled in those offerings are automatically unenrolled and receive notification of unenrollment. Deleting a master or offering does not delete any content files associated with that course, nor does it delete database records associated with the course.

Deleting course masters

1. In the Course Catalog, open the Masters Catalog.

2. Search for and open the master you want to delete.

3. In the Details page, click Delete.

4. Confirm that you want to proceed with the deletion.

Deleting course offerings

1. In the Course Catalog, open the Offerings Catalog.

2. Search for and open the course offering you want to delete.

3. In the Details page, click Delete.

4. Confirm that you want to proceed with the deletion. All enrolled students receive e-mail notification of the deletion.

5. Remove obsolete content files from the content server.

16 Learning Management System Content Guide

Chapter 4: Content Launching 17

Chapter 4 Content Launching When you save a course offering, the Delivery Server tells the Learning Management System to transmit all imported content to the content server associated with the Delivery Server. For Lotus Virtual Classroom course items, session materials are transmitted to the LVC server instead. Be aware that the transmission process takes a few minutes and the course won't become active until the process is complete. If content is stored on a different server, you need to install all related files onto the remote content server. The directories and file names must match the URL or file name associated with the content when it was created.

After students enroll in a course offering, they log on to open the course and launch its content. The Delivery Server coordinates the launching process.

Launching content while working online When students work online, they launch content by clicking an activity from the course offering's outline. The file named by the URL address or activity file setting for that course item appears in the browser window. If the course item is a Virtual Classroom session, the student must launch the activity at the scheduled time. The Delivery Server associated with the course offering retrieves the content from the content server or the Lotus Virtual Classroom server, as is appropriate for the course item. Tracking information, such as student scores and completion status, passes from the content file to the Learning Management System and is stored in its database.

About file-based content

The Learning Management System includes the CMI Adapter, a browser plug-in that lets students launch file-based content from their browsers. The plug-in converts file-based tracking information to a Web-based format and transfers student progress back to the system. The plug-in downloads automatically when students open any file-based content for the first time.

The Learning Management System can launch executable content. The content needs to be located where the student can access it, either on the local machine, in a CD drive, or on a mapped, shared network drive. In addition, on Windows 95 and 98, the student must map to the directory where the content is and must have a user account on that system.

Launching content from a Windows-based Offline Learning Client If a course is enabled for offline use in the authoring tool or through the command line import process, the Learning Management System creates a download package file that contains any course content included in the original course package. When students launch the content offline, this package downloads the course content to the local machine. Students have to reconnect to access any content that wasn't contained in the course package.

When the course includes file-based content, students can launch the content from the offline learning content as long as the content is accessible from the local machine. If the file-based content is on a network, students must work online and access the content from the network. An active internet connection (and a connection to the LVC server) must exist for students to access a Prerecorded Live session from an Offline Learning Client.

Whenever the Offline Learning Client connects to the network, it checks to see if the course offering properties or content have changed and, if they have changed, gives students the opportunity to download the latest changes. If the course structure changes, students must download a new offering, rather than update the existing offering, to receive the changes.

1

How sequencing affects a student's experience Sequencing is the process of presenting elements of a course in a predictable order. Although content may simply present items in the order in which they appear in a course outline, most content developers prefer to embed more detailed instructions about the conditions under which a student sees parts of a course. Sequencing may be governed by prerequisites, objectives, or assessment scores that must be met first. For example, a course could direct students with low assessment scores to repeat course items or allow students to bypass a course item if they receive a high score on a pre-test.

The ADL (www.adlnet.org) has published the IMS Simple Sequencing Specification as part of the SCORM 1.3 specification, which speaks to a standard for designing the sequence and behavior of course items. The Learning Management System supports content that adheres to the Simple Sequencing Specification. You can define these attributes in the authoring tool to have them included in the course package. The Learning Management System interprets the instructions that display, exit, track, and rollup items on cue.

Settings that affect content launching The Settings pages in the Learning Management System ensure that the Learning Management System Server can connect to the appropriate Delivery and LVC Servers when students launch content and when their progress is reported back to the system.

Delivery Servers

When you create a course offering, you assign it a specific Delivery Server. The Learning Management System can support multiple delivery servers. After installing a Delivery Server, you use the Delivery Servers Settings page in the Administrator's interface to add Delivery Servers to the list. The settings must match the ones you used during the installation process.

Lotus Virtual Classroom (LVC) Servers

The Learning Management System can support multiple LVC servers. You use the Collaboration Servers - LVC Settings page to add LVC servers to the system.

8 Learning Management System Content Guide

Chapter 4: Content Launching 19

Launching activities outside of the Learning Management System interface The Independent Content Launch (ICL) feature allows students to launch activities without working in the Learning Management System interface. This method of launching is useful when you want students to work on activities from an independent Web site, Web application, or HTML page, but plan to track and manage student progress information in the Learning Management System. You can use this feature with any kind of activity that can be launched in the system. Students have to be rostered and enrolled in the course before they can launch activities independently.

How does Independent Content Launch work?

The Independent Content Launch feature uses HTTP to send activity information to the Learning Management System, allowing you to monitor and track students' sessions without requiring the Learning Management System interface. Students who are not logged on to the system are prompted to do so before the activity launches, so the system can authenticate them. You can send the activity launch information through a URL query string or a form that combines user input with a POST method. As long as the launch information is valid, the course is active, and the student is eligible to work on the course and the activity, The Learning Management System launches the requested content in the browser. If the content has code that sends student progress and tracking information, the Delivery Server receives it and sends it to the Learning Management System Server for use in progress reports and results pages. The Delivery Server tracking logs and output to the Java Console work the same as they do when you launch content from the Learning Management System.

Launch information To launch content independently, the Learning Management System needs information about the Delivery Server, the activity to be launched, and the course containing the activity.

• http://<ds-server-name>:<port>/<path-to-ds>/icl/launch.ds This is the URL that denotes the location of the Delivery server and invokes Independent Content Launch. Replace "ds-server-name:port" with the fully qualified Delivery Server name and port. Replace "path-to-ds" with the path to the Delivery Server application.

• courseNumber=course number This required parameter identifies which course is being launched; for example, Training 101. This value can be specified for a course master, and the value for a course offering can be viewed in the Course Catalog.

• itemIdentifier=activity ID This required parameter identifies which activity is being launched; for example, ITEM_8BDF4906CCC04EDD8AD5408D34B672F0, an activity identifier that appears in the SCORM manifest file for a course packaged in the authoring tool.

The two required parameters for courseNumber and itemIdentifier can either be added to the query string as a GET or set up in a form as a POST to the Delivery Server.

URL example

When constructing a URL to launch content independently, keep in mind that parameter names and values are both case-sensitive. The values have to be URL-safe; for example, use %20 to add a space in a name. Parameters start with a question mark (?) and are separated by an ampersand (&).

Given these values:

• The Delivery Server is ds1.acme.com using port 9082

20 Learning Management System Content Guide

• The course number is Training 101

• The activity identifier is ITEM_8BDF4906CCC04EDD8AD5408D34B672F0 the launch URL looks like this:

http://ds1.acme.com:9082/ds/icl/launch.ds?courseNumber=Training%20101&itemIdentifier= ITEM_8BDF4906CCC04EDD8AD5408D34B672F0

Note The URL is shown on two lines to fit on the page. It would appear on one line in the browser.

Post method example

A more secure alternative is to use a form that uses the POST method to send the requisite information to the Delivery Server. An example of such a form is shown below, followed by the HTML code it uses. The input fields are shown filled in.

<HTML> <HEAD> <TITLE>Easy ICL</TITLE> <SCRIPT LANGUAGE="javascript">

function submitForm() { var iclForm = document.forms['ICicLe']; var url = iclForm.elements['url'].value iclForm.action = url; iclForm.submit(); } </SCRIPT> </HEAD>

<BODY BGCOLOR="black" TEXT="white"> <FORM METHOD="post" NAME="ICicLe"> Course Number<BR>

<INPUT TYPE="text" NAME="courseNumber"> <P>

Item ID<BR> <INPUT TYPE="text" NAME="itemIdentifier"

SIZE="50">

Chapter 4: Content Launching 21

<P> ICL URL<BR>

<INPUT TYPE="text" NAME="url" VALUE=" http://ds1.acme.com:9082/ds/icl/launch.ds" SIZE=50> <P> <INPUT TYPE="button" VALUE="Submit" ONCLICK="javascript:submitForm()"> </FORM> <BR> </BODY> </HTML>

Considerations for independently launched activities

• ICL bypasses the Learning Management System interface, rendering certain student features irrelevant in this context. Examples include discussion, chat, e-mail, announcements, and self-enrollment, as well as the Offline Learning Client.

• Sequencing properties, including limit conditions, still apply when content is launched via ICL.

• The logon session stays open on the server until the timeout period for the learning session expires.

• To offer navigation to a second activity, include an Independent Content Launch URL or form at the end of the first activity.

22 Learning Management System Content Guide

Chapter 5: Tracking and Scoring 23

Chapter 5 Tracking and Scoring The Learning Management System can track a student's work in any self-paced course item and use the information to sequence items within the course and generate progress reports or student results summaries. The system stores each student's status in a record in the Learning Management System database and updates it as needed over multiple learning sessions. The system does not keep track of work done by anonymous users or not-for-credit students. In addition, work in the Virtual Classroom, in Discussions, and in Chats is not tracked.

Progress and interaction reports offer snapshots of student progress information stored in the Learning Management System. Results retrieved from the Course Management module show any progress information related to scoring and completion status.

What gets tracked? The Learning Management System automatically tracks how many times a student launches a course item and when it was last launched. Other details about a student's work, including scores achieved for courses and course items and which objectives the student has fulfilled, must be sent to the Learning Management System through tracking features built into the content by the course developer. Ready-made courses from courseware companies have built-in tracking. The authoring tool offers tracking features for courses built or imported into the tool, as described in Chapter 2. Course development products, such as those from Macromedia, offer tracking options too.

If a student repeats a course item multiple times, the progress information reflects the student's most recent result, even if the student fails a course item that was passed previously. In the course of a single session, the Learning Management System also stores the latest progress information it receives from the content.

About students whose progress isn't tracked Students can audit courses in the Learning Management System without getting credit for them. If a user is anonymous or is enrolled in a not-for-credit course offering, the Learning Management System doesn't attempt to track the user's progress, no matter what tracking features are built into the content. In the case of not-for-credit students who log into the system, the Learning Management System creates a record for each student, but doesn't update any completion or scoring information.

Any other logged-in user who takes a course is considered a for-credit student. As the student works in a course item, the Learning Management System monitors the user's progress in accordance with tracking features built into the content.

The mechanics of tracking Tracking is the process of matching a particular student with a body of work and saving the status of that work in the Learning Management System. To be successful, the system must do the following:

• Identify the student When a student logs in, the system creates a session ID that identifies this student for the work session.

• Identify the current course item The Learning Management System keeps an indicator of the course item a student is working on.

24 Learning Management System Content Guide

• Launch the tracking mechanism The Learning Management System has a tracking mechanism that adapts to the type of content and where it is located. When students work with Web-based content, the content uses the appropriate AICC or HACP tracking mechanism. When students work offline, the system saves their work on the local machine until they reconnect to the network, log on, and send their tracking data to the system. When students work with file-based content, the CMI Adapter tracks students' progress by referring to information stored in several local files. The files are PARAM.CMI (which stores current student progress information), PARAM.CBT (which stores updated student progress information), PARAM.CMT (which stores student comments), and PARAM.INT (which stores student interactions). In all these scenarios, tracking data is sent to the Delivery Server first, then sent from there to the Learning Management System Server to store in the system's database.

Tracking Statistics

Attempts Statistics

An attempt is a student's effort to complete a course item. An attempt can span multiple launches, depending on the exit status indicated by tracking. When content indicates an exit status of “suspend,” a new attempt record is not created on a subsequent launch. The previous attempt is simply “resumed” in this case.

• Attempt Start and End Dates This is the date and time when the student first attempted the course item and when the attempt ended.

• Attempt Duration This is the total amount of time a single attempt lasted.

• Last Attempted and Times Attempted These are the statistics for when the student last attempted the course item. They are the "Last Attempted date/time" and a "Times Attempted" number. The "Times Attempted" number increases by 1 with each record, so the final record shows a cumulative number for Times Attempted.

Activity Duration Statistics

• Activity Start and Completion Dates This is the date and time when the course item was started and when the course item was completed.

• Time Spent Time Spent (for both individual and total attempts) is tracked by the Learning Management System. If the content tracks a “session time” for an activity, then that value overrides the “attempt duration” value tracked by the Learning Management System. Code in the content either calculates the time spent on all interactions in the course item or contains an automatic timer that starts when the student opens the content. Content built in the authoring tool sends this statistic to the Learning Management System.

Completion and Satisfied Status

Completion status refers to how far in the course item a student has progressed. On progress reports and in student results, a student's status is often shown as a vertical progress bar, with a different color representing each type of status. Possible values are:

• Not Started The student is enrolled in the course and hasn't started the course item; the student is a guest and progress won't be tracked; or the student has launched the course item, but the content doesn't track. When the student exits the course item , the Learning Management System sets a status of "Complete" unless the course item's "Set as Completed on Launch" setting is set to True or sets a specific value.

Chapter 5: Tracking and Scoring 25

• Incomplete The student has either started a trackable course item that has sent status as Incomplete, the course item's "Set as Incompleted on Launch" setting is set to True, or the course item status was set to Incomplete in the Results page.

• Complete Trackable content has sent a "Complete" status when the student finished the course item, the user marked the status as complete in the student interface, the course item was set to be marked as completed after launch, or the course item status was set to Complete in the Results page.

Satisfied status indicates if the student's score has met the minimum mastery score. The values are:

• Passed, Failed You'll see these values only if the content tracks and sends progress values to the Learning Management System or someone has added or changed values in the Results page. A course item is passed if the student's score is greater than or equal to the item's minimum mastery score. A student can also pass a course item if a shared global objective is passed or has a score greater than or equal to the item's minimum mastery score.

Barring any special exit conditions or rollup rules, the Learning Management System sets an untracked item as “complete” when it is exited.

The above values for Topics and Courses are always calculated via rollup rules or default rollup behavior.

Objective Status

An objective is a learning goal that is considered met when a student passes its associated course item. A student who fails or does not complete the course item does not achieve the objective. In the authoring tool, you can assign objectives to Courses, Topics, Content Links, Content Pages, Assessments, Face-to-Face Meetings, Pre-Recorded Live Sessions, and Virtual Classrooms. Individual Virtual Classroom items can't have objectives.

Score

The Learning Management System assigns a score only if the content sends a score and the item is set up for tracking. This is also the only way to have an activity score included in topic-level and course-level scoring unless you edit the Results page in the Learning Management System. Scores aren't saved if the course item isn't tracked or if it is completed by an anonymous or not-for-credit student.

The Mastery Score defined for the course item is the minimum score a student can get and still receive a passing grade for the course item. To base an item's status on its score (rather than on any other status information provided by the content), you must define a Mastery Score for the item. To guarantee that the minimum mastery score will be used to calculate pass/fail status, the item's primary objective must have its "Objective Satisfied by Measure" set to "True." In the authoring tool, this is set in the Objectives tab in Planner mode.

The following examples demonstrate how the system evaluates status and score information for an item:

• If an item's primary objective has a minimum satisfied normalized measure (minimum mastery score) and the content sends a score but no passed/failed status, the status is based on the minimum satisfied normalized measure.

• If an item's primary objective has a minimum satisfied normalized measure, and the content sends a score and a passed/failed status, the status is used.

• If however, an item's primary objective has a minimum satisfied normalized measure and "Objective Satisfied by Measure" is "True", and the content sends a score and a passed/failed status, the status is based on the minimum satisfied normalized measure.

26 Learning Management System Content Guide

Interaction Data

Interaction data is more detailed results information, such as the user's response in an interaction or the time it took to complete a single question. This information is saved only if the content is set up to send interaction data to the Learning Management System. For content pages and assessments created in the authoring tool, the page property "Report Interaction" performs this function when it is set to True.

When you generate a User Interaction Detail report, you can view interaction data that the content sent. If you want to see additional interaction data that isn't shown in the report, you can create a custom report that shows the data you need to see.

Rolling up student progress data The Learning Management System calculates progress data for a student by evaluating individual course items and combining, or rolling up, the results for each level of the course. The Learning Management System first calculates the lowest-level (child) items in a course outline, then continues making calculations at each higher level of the course hierarchy until it reaches the course level. The course outline shown in the picture below has four levels. Rollup calculations start at the lowest level, the fourth level, with the course items "Learning About Your Workstation" and "Frequently Asked Questions." Data from these items rolls up to their parent, the third-level item called "Collecting Information About Your System," which in turn rolls up to its parent, "Getting Help with Your Computer System." After fourth-, third-, and second-level rollups are completed, the course rollup for the first level (the course) can occur. Now the Learning Management System has an accurate evaluation of the student's scores, objective status, and progress for the course "Welcome to Acme Corporation."

Topic and course items are assigned a score during rollup. Each child item has a "weight" associated with it for the purposes of rolling up the score. This value can be in the range 0-to-1, where 0 means that the item's score does not affect the parent item, and any other number indicates the fraction of the score to use in the rollup calculation.

Chapter 5: Tracking and Scoring 27

Rolling up assessment data

The content is responsible for rolling up the results of questions and interactions in an assessment, calculating the score, and communicating the student's progress to the system. For example, successful completion of the assessment "Testing Your Security Know-How" shown below generates a completed objective whose status is reported to the Learning Management System.

Factors that contribute to rollup calculations

In the authoring tool, the Sequencing and Objectives tabs provide properties that affect which items are included in rollup calculations.

Note The Objective Definition box does not contain the option "Objective Contributes to Rollup" that is mentioned in Help.

Sequencing properties

The Sequencing tab has Rollup and Delivery controls that you can set for the course or any course items.

• Rollup Objective Satisfied When set to True, the passed/failed status of the objective associated with the course item is included in the rollup calculations for the parent course item.

• Rollup Objective Measure Weight The weight is a value between 0 and 1, where 0 indicates that the score for the item does not affect rollup calculations. When the weight is greater than zero, the score for rolled-up items is weighted more heavily than other items with lesser weights. If the weight for an item is undefined, it is treated as 1.0.

Example: If a topic has three children whose scores are 50%, 75%, and 100%, and the corresponding weights are 0.0, 0.5, and 1.0, then the score for the container would be 91.667%, calculated as follows:

(0.0 * 50%) + (0.5 * 75%) + (1.0 * 100%)

score = ---------------------------------------- = 91.667%

(0.0 + 0.5 + 1.0)

• Rollup Progress Completion When set to True, the complete and incomplete status is included in the rollup calculations for the parent course item.

• Delivery controls: Tracked When set to True, the objective and progress data is recorded and the data contributes to the rollup for the parent course item.

28 Learning Management System Content Guide

Objective properties

An objective can be tied to a single course item or to other objectives. In the authoring tool, you associate a local objective with a single course item. The score and status for the objective affects that one course item. A global objective is not directly associated with a course item, but may be indirectly associated with course items through local objectives that are mapped to the global objective. The score and status for a global objective may affect any of the items to which it is mapped.

In the example course shown earlier in this chapter, there are two objectives. The local objective called Security is tied to the "Test Your Security Know-How" assessment. Each of the questions in the assessment use the Objective ID "Security," the name given to the objective. The Security objective is tied to a global objective called Course Completion.

Tips for setting rollup and delivery controls

When you are setting sequencing properties for a course item in the authoring tool, pay particular attention to "Rollup Controls" and "Delivery Controls" to ensure that the rollup behavior is what you intend. The rollup controls indicate which factors to include in the calculation for parent values: whether the objective was satisfied (passed) or not, whether objective measure weighting (score weighting) is to be considered, and whether the activity was completed or not. If an activity's content does not set a particular value through tracking, do not include this value in the rollup calculation.

Default rollup behavior

The following sections describe how rollup works for different kinds of information. A "child" item, in the descriptions below, refers to a course item that is indented under another item (called the "parent") in the course outline in the authoring tool's Planner.

For scores

• If any child whose score contributes to the rollup does not have a score, the parent will not have a rolled up score.

Chapter 5: Tracking and Scoring 29

• If all children whose score contributes to the rollup have a score, then the value of the rolled-up score will be the weighted average of the contributing scores.

For pass/fail status

• A pass/fail status of "Passed" is rolled up to the parent if all children whose pass/fail status contribute to the rollup have a status of "Passed."

• A pass/fail status of "Failed" is rolled up to the parent if all children whose pass/fail status contribute to the rollup have a status of either "Passed" or "Failed," and at least one of the children has a status of "Failed."

• If any of the children whose pass/fail status contributes to the rollup do not have a pass/fail status, the parent will not have a pass/fail status.

For completion amount

For all children whose completion amount contributes to the rollup, the average completion amount is rolled up to the parent. If a contributing child does not have a completion amount, then a value of 0.0 is used.

About the SCORM-based Tracking Frameset SCORM-based content uses a set of Tracking API files contained in a .zip file called TrackingFrameset.zip. These files contain the API Adapter, which is used for sending SCORM-based tracking information to the system. If you store content on a server other than the Delivery Server, follow the steps below to set up tracking.

Setting up tracking on a separate content server

1. Copy TrackingFrameset.zip from the Learning Management System Server to the content server. The .zip file can be found in the distribute directory; for example: C:\Program Files\IBM\lms\distribute.

2. Under the remote server's document root, create a directory called tracking.

3. Unzip the TrackingFrameset.zip file into the new tracking directory. For example, in an English installation, the directory may look like: /opt/IBMHttpServer/htdocs/en_US/tracking.

4. In the authoring tool, specify the tracking directory and the apiFrameset.html file in the Remote Tracking API Address field. For example: http://contentserver.acme.com/tracking/apiFrameset.html

If you use a remote tracking API address and want to receive alerts and Java™ console logging in the browser, you need to set debugging manually. In the tracking frameset file called apiframe.html, set the "debug" variable to "true."

Contents of TrackingFrameset.zip

TrackingFrameset.zip contains the frameset files needed to send tracking information from the content files to the Learning Management System. It also contains a prebuilt JavaScript file that works with the SCORM API Adapter. You can include the JavaScript file in your content files if you wish.

The following files are in TrackingFrameset.zip:

• apiFrameset.html This file is the html frameset used for tracking. Specify the URL to this file in the “Remote Tracking API URL” field in the Content Link properties sheet in the authoring tool.

• apiFrame.html

30 Learning Management System Content Guide

This file is a 0-width frame that contains a reference to the API Adapter. You can set the variable Debug to TRUE during development to obtain debugging information, such as the content URL, tracking ID, tracking URL, and the API Adapter URL. Client-side diagnostic information is also sent from the API Adapter to the browser’s Java console when Debug is enabled.

• contentFrame.html This file is an empty frame that takes up the rest of the space in the frameset. The Delivery Server loads the content into this frame.

• apiWrapper.js This working example provided by Lotus contains JavaScript calls to the API Adapter that adhere to the SCORM 1.2 specification. If you store this file with the content files and reference it in the content launching URL, you can successfully communicate with the API Adapter.

For more information, see “Using apiWrapper.js” in the next section.

Using apiWrapper.js

apiWrapper.js contains JavaScript functions outlined in the SCORM 1.2 specification that are recognized by the API Adapter. You can use the file as is by copying it to the directory where your content files reside and then including the file in the header of the HTML content with this line: "<SCRIPT LANGUAGE='JavaScript' SRC='apiWrapper.js'></SCRIPT>"

You can also use the file as a model or revise it to suit your content tracking needs. The table below shows the functions in apiWrapper.js that are of interest to content developers. The functions are described in more detail in the SCORM 1.2 specification. Function Description LMSCommit() Saves cached values from LMSSetValue to the Learning Management System database. The

parameter is an empty string (““). The function returns a value of “true” if the call is successful. LMSFinish() Saves any cached values from LMSSetValue and terminates the communication that was started

with LMSInitialize. The parameter is an empty string (““). This is the last function called in a communication. The function returns a value of “true” if the call is successful.

LMSGetDiagnostic(errorCode) Returns diagnostic information for the most recent error. The Learning Management System implementation of the API Adapter only returns diagnostic information for the most recent API function call. The return value is the function call with the parameters that were passed in. This is the same diagnostic information that is sent to the Java Console if tracking logging is enabled (see Tracking Logs below).

LMSGetErrorString(errorCode) Returns a string with the description that accompanies an error code. LMSGetLastError() Returns a string to the content that represents a SCORM-based error status code. This function is

useful for checking whether the most recent call to the API Adapter was successful. A status code of zero (0) indicates a successful call. Other possible values are in the 100s (general error), 200s (syntax error), 300s (problems with the Learning Management System communication), and 400s (data model errors).

LMSGetValue(elementName) Returns a string from the Learning Management System that contains information about elementName. The function returns a value of “true” if the call is successful.

LMSInitialize() Notifies the API Adapter of an impending SCORM-based tracking communication. The parameter is an empty string (““). This function must be called before any others. The function returns a value of “true” if the call is successful.

LMSSetValue(elementName, elementValue)

Allows the content to send tracking information (student progress, scoring, completion status, and so on) to the Learning Management System. The syntax is LMSSetValue(elementName,elementValue) where elementName is a fully qualified data element and elementValue is a case-sensitive string. The function returns a value of “true” if the call is successful.

Chapter 5: Tracking and Scoring 31

Tracking Logs You can store tracking data in the Delivery Server Tracking Log by selecting Debug for the Tracking Log in the system's Settings page. This is useful for debugging tracking in a test environment. It's not recommended for extended use in a heavy production environment as the log can grow very large quickly.

With the log enabled, all of the following tracking data can be collected:

• All content launch URLs are posted to the Tracking Log.

• All events from the sequencing process are posted to the Tracking Log.

• All client-server tracking request/response data is posted to the Tracking Log.

• For local SCORM-based content, client-side diagnostic data for the API Adapter is available in the Java Console of the browser. This same information can be collected for remote SCORM-based content, but the setting must be triggered manually. To do this, open the “apiFrame.html” file from the remote installation of the API Adapter and set the “debug” variable to “true."

• For file-based CMI content, client-side diagnostic data for the CMI Adapter is available in the Java Console of the browser.

Tracking Error Codes The TrackingErrors.properties file is contained in the Java "tracking" package (com.lotus.elearn.tracking.TrackingErrors.properties) and is also zipped into the api-adapter.jar for use by the deployed client-side API Adapter, which tracks SCORM-based content. The errors in the properties file are listed below.

Global tracking error codes

0 = No error

900 = Invalid tracking request

904 = Invalid tracking URL

1000 = Internal tracking error

1001 = Unable to process tracking request

HACP-defined tracking error codes

1 = Invalid command

2 = Invalid AU password

3 = Invalid tracking ID

SCORM-defined tracking error codes

General Errors

101 = General exception

32 Learning Management System Content Guide

Syntax Errors

201 = Invalid argument error

202 = Element cannot have children

203 = Element not an array - cannot have count

204 = Element cannot contain a value

Learning Management System Errors

301 = Not initialized

Data Model Errors

401 = Not implemented error

402 = Invalid set value, element is a keyword

403 = Element is read only

404 = Element is write only

405 = Incorrect Data Type

Appendix A: Working with Content in the Forum Course Repository 33

Appendix A Working with Content in the Forum Course Repository The Forum Course Repository is a section of the Forum Migration Tool (migrate_courses.nsf) database; on the Notes™ workspace, the database title appears as “Forum Course Repository.” This database is intended only for the storage and maintenance of course content that was migrated from LearningSpace® Forum™ 3.6; the content should be used only with migrated Forum course structures and not with courses newly created in the Learning Management System.

If you migrated courses from LearningSpace Forum to the Learning Management System, you may have chosen to leave course content stored in the Forum Course Repository section of the Forum Migration Tool. This content can still be modified after migration.

Note If you previously migrated courses from Forum into LearningSpace 4 or 5, the associated content was stored in the LS Repository (migrate.nsf). When you migrate from LearningSpace 4 or 5 to the Learning Management System, only the Forum course’s structure is transferred to the Learning Management System database---the course content remains in the original LS Repository and can still be accessed and modified. Working with content within the LS Repository is just like working with content in the Forum Course Repository, so you can use the instructions below if you need to modify content in the LS Repository.

Opening the Forum Course Repository When you copy the Forum Migration Tool (migrate_courses.nsf) to a server, it doesn’t appear on the Notes workspace until you open it with the File – Database – Open command. Once it has been accessed this way, the Forum Migration Tool appears on the workspace as a database icon with the title “Forum Course Repository.”

In the database, click Repository on the navigator. In the Repository, content is listed by Author, by Category, or by Title. Click a view to see the list of content documents. Read and edit the documents as you would in any Notes database.

In the Forum Course Repository, you can:

• Edit any migrated LearningSpace Forum content.

• Reference Multimedia Library files.

• Use migrated content in a Learning Management System course by pasting the content's URL into an activity while editing the course structure in the Authoring Tool.

• Create new course content, which cannot be migrated to the Learning Management System, but can be accessed from the Learning Management System courses with a URL that you paste into an activity.

• Add document links to any new content, or to migrated content.

Linking to other content in the Forum Course Repository Within any Forum Course Repository document, you can add a link to another content document:

1. Open the document in Edit mode.

2. Click the Create Document Link. A list of documents stored in the Forum Course Repository appears.

3. Select the document you want to link to, and click OK. A link to the selected document appears at the bottom of the document you are editing.

34 Learning Management System Content Guide

In LearningSpace Forum, Schedule documents could link only to MediaCenter documents. In the Forum Course Repository, there is no distinction between Schedule and MediaCenter documents, so a document can link to any other document.

Using Forum content in a Learning Management System course To associate LearningSpace Forum content with a Learning Management System course activity, open the content document in the Forum Course Repository and click Show URL. A separate window displays the highlighted URL for the selected document. Click the button next to “Copy the URL to the clipboard.” When you create a new course activity in the Authoring Tool, you can paste this URL in the activity's properties.

Referencing Multimedia Library files stored in the Forum Course Repository LearningSpace Forum Multimedia Library files migrate to the Shared Media view in the Migration section of the Forum Course Repository. In Forum, these files contained attachments, such as JPEG or GIF files, which were referenced within HTML code in Schedule documents.

If any migrated Schedule documents contain HTML code that reference Multimedia Library files, you must change the file reference. The database file name changes from weblib.nsf to migrate.nsf, and the server name and directory name in the path may change as well.

For example, you could have the following directory path in a LearningSpace Forum Multimedia Library:

/lspace3/courses/weblib.nsf/Container/JPEG+Files/$FILEcorrect/Pen1.jpg

In the Forum Course Repository, the path may change to:

/learning/migrate/migrate_courses.nsf/Container/JPEG+Files/$File/Pen1.jpg

To obtain the path of the Forum Course Repository, open the Multimedia Library document in the Shared Media view. Highlight the path in the "Paths for referencing files attached to this document" section, copy it to the Clipboard, and then paste this path in the HTML code that references the attached file.

Note Make sure that you include the server name before any directory path in an HTML reference.

AppendixB: Converting Multiple AICC Courses to SCORM Packages 35

Appendix B Converting Multiple AICC Courses to SCORM Packages The Learning Management System requires that courses be imported to the Learning Management System Server as SCORM packages. If you have a lot of AICC courses to import, you can use the AICC Converter utility to create SCORM packages for multiple AICC courses simultaneously. Without the utility, you convert AICC courses by importing them into the authoring tool one at a time and packaging them individually. Using the utility speeds up the packaging process. After you create the packages, you then have the option of using the Command Line Import Utility or the authoring tool to import them into the Learning Management System, as described in Chapter 3.

Installing the AICC Converter The AICC Converter can be run on a Windows 2000 or Windows XP workstation. It is installed with the authoring tool into the same directory as IBMLSAAT.exe and must be run from that directory.

Preparing the course information file You must prepare a course information file before you can run the utility. It contains information about the location of the course files and the destination for completed packages. The sample below illustrates the use of the <aicccourselist>, <zipoutputpath>, and <aicccourseinfo> elements that are needed for the .XML file. You should place the file in the same directory as the authoring tool's IBMLSAAT.exe file.

Note The AICC Converter utility is case sensitive.

Sample file <?xml version="1.0"?>

<aicccourselist xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance"

xsi:noNamespaceSchemaLocation="CoursesAICC.xsd">

<zipoutputpath>c:\GMpacks\</zipoutputpath>

<aicccourseinfo>

<crslocation>C:\courses\aicc\GeneralMotors\Ch\Chevrolet.CRS</crslocation>

<contentlocation>c:\aicccontentdir\</contentlocation>

</aicccourseinfo>

<aicccourseinfo>

<crslocation>C:\courses\aicc\GeneralMotors\Bu\Buick.CRS</crslocation>

<contentlocation></contentlocation>

</aicccourseinfo>

</aicccourselist>

36 Learning Management System Content Guide

The file's main elements

aicccourselist - The list of courses to be imported.

zipoutputpath - The destination for completed packages.

aicccourseinfo - This tag gives information about a course that is to be packaged.

• <crslocation> is required. It specifies the location of the AICC .CRS file for the course.

• <contentlocation> is an option that allows you to have the content files included with the package. This is the equivalent of the authoring tool's Import option "Include content" when you import an AICC course into the authoring tool. If you have content files on a remote server; leave the element empty as it is in the example above for the course that points to Buick.CRS.

Running the converter When you're ready to run the utility, enter a command in a command window, such as:

LMS_AICC_CONVERTER filename.xml

where LMS_AICC_CONVERTER is the name of the utility and filename.xml is the name of the course information file you prepared.

Viewing logs for the utility

There are two places to look for information about the conversion process:

• AiccBatch.log, located in the same directory as the conversion utility, lists errors relating to the batch run. Such errors include not finding the authoring tool or not finding the CRS file specified in the crslocation.

• The authoring tool Logs directory contains any errors that occur during the importing/packaging process.

Appendix C: Learning Management System Glossary 37

Appendix C Learning Management System Glossary

ACL (access control list)

A security feature that determines the tasks each user, server, or group of users or servers in a Lotus Notes database can perform. Not to be confused with permission.

ADL (Advanced Distributed Learning)

A set of standards designed to facilitate the sharing of learning objects across disparate learning systems.

AICC (Aircraft Industry Computer-Based Instruction Consortium)

A body responsible for maintaining standards for computer-managed instruction.

assessment

A tool for evaluating student progress, otherwise known as a quiz or test.

audit

As a verb, to attend (a course) without requesting or receiving academic credit. When used as a modifier in such phrases as audit entry and audit log, the term refers to the mechanism for recording information about system events, such as enrolling a user or deleting a user record.

audit entry

The data captured for a single event and written to the Auditing database. These data include the ID of the user that initiated the event, the time that the event started and finished, and a description of the event.

audit log

A collection of audit entries. All entries reside in a single Auditing database.

audit stream

The subset of the entries in the audit log that describe the events initiated by users whose LDAP directory name and attributes match a given matching string.

38 Learning Management System Content Guide

authoring tool

A program installed on a course developer's workstation that is used to import or create course outlines and to design content pages that are delivered through the Learning Management System.

Authoring mode

A set of tools in the authoring tool that allows course developers to design and build HTML content pages and assessments to be delivered in the Learning Management System.

auto-enrollment

The process by which all users with the same auto-enrollment profile are automatically enrolled in a course.

calendar

A view used to display one or more schedules. A calendar groups events by the day in which they occur.

CBT (computer-based training)

Courses that are delivered and taken on the computer.

certificate

A statement to the effect that the student has met the requirements of a certificate program.

certificate program

A program made up of course masters, curriculums, or other certificate programs into which a student enrolls in order to receive a certificate.

classroom course

A course that is delivered outside of the Learning Management System. The system is used to enroll and schedule the course offering.

CMI (computer-managed instruction)

Software that allows you to manage record keeping, tracking, enrollment, and related tasks for computer-based training.

CMS (content management system)

Software that allows you to manage the design and delivery of courseware using the Web.

Appendix C: Learning Management System Glossary 39

Collaboration server

A server that hosts the Discussion database, Chat, and Live sessions.

content

Any launchable asset referenced by a course master; the physical files (HTML, SWF, AWP, and so on) that make up a course offering.

Content Aggregation

See course structure.

Course Catalog

In the Student user interface, a screen that shows all courses in which the student is eligible to enroll. In the Administrator user interface, the Course Catalog screen allows access to the Course Offerings Catalog and the Course Masters Catalog.

course list

A display showing a series of course names and numbers (for example, all the courses available to a student).

course master

a. The structure and meta-data information that is extracted from a course package to be stored in the database for use by the application; b. the application's interpretation of the course package; c. the course definition.

course offering

A specific instance of a course, offered at a particular date and time.

course outline

In the authoring tool, a hierarchical representation of learning events and progress tracking items. An item placed directly under the course plan is a parent; indented items are children of the parent under which they are indented. Course outlines become uncataloged course masters when they are packaged and sent to the Learning Management System.

course package

A compressed package interchange file (PIF) containing course structure and meta-data, and possibly course content. This is the form in which courses are imported into the Learning Management System.

40 Learning Management System Content Guide

course profile

A descriptive term (such as Engineering) used to label a course. The label can then be used as a search criterion in the Course Catalog to locate the course.

course structure

a. The navigational map, typically presented as a tree, used to combine learning resources into a cohesive unit of instruction; b. a student outline.

The term originates in AICC. SCORM calls this a Content Aggregation.

Course Tools box

A list of links available from the course content screen. These may include Progress Reports, Schedule List, E-mail, Chat, Discussion forum, and other items.

curriculum

A grouping of courses into which a student may enroll as a single unit.

customization set

A collection of settings that funnel users identified by a given matching string to an associated custom user interface.

Delivery Server (DS)

A server that delivers course content to the client, and provides content tracking and navigation features.

disconnected use

The use of the Learning Management System offline with no Web connection.

Discovery Server

The server component of the Lotus Knowledge Discovery system that hosts the Lotus K-station knowledge portal.

Discussions

The discussion collaboration feature as it is shown in the Student user interface.

Appendix C: Learning Management System Glossary 41

Distinguished Name

An LDAP attribute that uniquely identifies an entry in the directory. For example, cn=Alban Berg,ou=Berlin,o=IBM uniquely identifies a user whose common name is Alban Berg, whose organizational unit is Berlin, and whose organization is IBM.

event

Used in two different senses: (1) learning event and (2) system event.

FTP (file transfer protocol)

The protocol used for sending files to another computer over the Internet. The authoring tool uses FTP to send course packages to the Learning Management System.

group

A collection of users identified in the LDAP directory.

Help Desk

A mechanism that allows students to send e-mail to administrators concerning problems they are having with the Learning Management System.

LCMS (learning content management system)

Software that serves as a repository for shared course content and that supports the creation, storage, retrieval, and delivery of learning objects.

LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) directory

The repository for user and group information that the system uses to identify users and their attributes.

learning event

An activity within an offering that has a start and end time. Events are either physical or virtual. Examples include seminars, learning lunches, meetings, conferences, apprenticeships, videos, book readings.

learning object

The electronic representation of media, text, image, sound, or other data, or an aggregation of such pieces of data into a cohesive unit of instruction, that can be delivered to a Web client.

LearningSpace 5.x

Refers to all versions of Lotus LearningSpace 5: (5 and 5.01).

42 Learning Management System Content Guide

Live session

A session conducted using the Web in real-time (using the Lotus Virtual Classroom) where students and instructor can simultaneously view a Whiteboard, share applications, and, if they have audio-visual components in place, see and hear each other.

Learning Management System Server

The server that manages the Learning Management System Core operations.

logon name

The name a user enters to log in to the Learning Management System. Not to be confused with user ID.

LVC (Lotus Virtual Classroom) Server

A server that hosts Live sessions and Chat.

master layout

In the authoring tool, the design, properties, and objects that are preset for every page in a set of content pages or assessments.

masters catalog

The service that lists and manages course masters.

masters manager

A person who creates classroom and learning event masters through the Administrator interface; a person who manages the sum of learning content in the system.

matching string

An expression that identifies a user or group of users in an LDAP directory. For example, the string */Cambridge/IBM matches all ou=Cambridge,o=IBM entries in the LDAP directory; learningAdmins matches all users in the group learningAdmins; and Arnold Schoenberg/Cambridge/IBM matches the user cn=Arnold Schoenberg,ou=Cambridge,o=IBM.

Appendix C: Learning Management System Glossary 43

meta-data

Information about a course or its items. SCORM meta-data, which can be added to a course in the authoring tool, are predefined tags that describe parts of a course in a uniform way that allows them to be cataloged and searched for with consistent results across courses.

objective

What a student is expected to learn or achieve by completing a course or element of a course.

offering

An enrollable item made available through the offerings catalog. These include course offerings, curriculums, learning events, certificates.

offerings catalog

The service that lists and manages offerings.

offerings manager

A person who creates offerings.

Offline Learning Client

A version of the client software used for working offline.

page

A screen that contains information or activities for students. Pages are created or imported into the authoring tool and are delivered through the Learning Management System.

permission

The authority granted to users with a given user role to gain access to the Learning Management System features or functionality. Not to be confused with ACL.

Planner mode

A set of tools in the authoring tool that allows course developers to import courses, build course outlines, set up objectives, and establish course sequencing and rollup rules.

profile

The IBM Lotus Learning Management System supports two distinct kinds of profile: course profiles and user profiles.

44 Learning Management System Content Guide

question

One assessment item, which receives a score when answered by the student.

question pool

A group of questions that are available for random placement in assessments.

Recorded Session

A Live session that is recorded for future playback.

resource

An assignable entity required for completing or accessing an offering. Resources can be finite or depletable. A finite resource is a fixed resource with definable limitations, such as an instructor, projector, or classroom. A depletable resource is a resource that can be reduced in number and quantity; that is, materials such as pencils, paper, and chalk.

role

See user role.

rollup rule

In the authoring tool, determines how student results are tracked for multiple items in a course. Results from course items are calculated (rolled up) into the results for each parent item, such as a topic or a main activity that contains sub-activities. Results for parent items are calculated into the results for the course.

roster

As a verb, to add one or more user records to the Learning Management System database. As a noun, the set of user records in the database.

scheduled activity

Any activity that must be done at a specific time, such as (but not limited to) Live sessions.

scheduled offering

An offering with a start and end date that contains one or more learning events.

SCORM (Sharable Content Object Reference Model)

A set of standards that define a Web-based learning content aggregation model and run-time environment for learning objects.

Appendix C: Learning Management System Glossary 45

self-enrollment

The process by which users can enroll in a course without administrative intervention.

sequencing

A model that defines the relative order in which learning objects are to be presented and the conditions under which a learning object is selected or skipped in the presentation.

system event

An action in the Learning Management System, such as enrolling a user in a course or modifying a student progress record, that changes the system's state.

ToolTip

A message that the system displays when the cursor is on an icon or hot link. Otherwise known as hover or mouseover help.

tracking

The capability that a learning system provides to capture student progress and interaction data produced by content for storage in, and subsequent retrieval from, a data store.

unscheduled offering

An offering with no start and end date, and no events. Self-paced offerings are unscheduled.

user ID

A string stored in the Learning Management System database that uniquely identifies a registered user. Not to be confused with logon name.

user profiles

There are two kinds of user profile. The first kind is one that administrators create and assign to users or groups of users. This is known as a auto-enrollment profile and is used to enroll groups of users in courses. The second kind of profile is one that administrators create and that a user can select. This is known as a user profile. In each case, a profile is a descriptive label that can be used in various administrative functions.

In LearningSpace, a user profile represented a collection of permissions that controlled access to the product's features and functionality. That kind of profile is now known as a user role.

46 Learning Management System Content Guide

user role

A user role is a set of permissions. Roles are typically defined to include related permissions, and usually correspond to some real-world role; for example the Registrar role would be defined to include those permissions, such as the permission to create enrollments, that real-world registrars need in order to perform their work. In LearningSpace, a user role was known as a user profile, a term that now has a different usage.

Web pages

A list of links to Web sites that instructors can include in a Lotus Virtual Classroom session.

Whiteboard

A feature of the Virtual Classroom which can be used during the session to present files, draw objects, and type text.

Index 47

Index AICC, 4, 35

anonymous students, 23

authoring tool, 5 importing into, 5 importing into the Learning Management System,

11 objective properties, 28 packaging, 9 sequencing properties, 27 tracking, 6

certificates, 14

CMI Adapter, 4, 24

command line import utility (CLIMP), 12

content deleting from the Learning Management System, 15 file-based, 1, 17 importing into the Learning Management System,

11 launching, 17 location, 5 Lotus Virtual Classroom, 1 online, 17 tracking, 23 updating for the Learning Management System, 14 Web-based, 1

content in Format Course Repository, 33

Content server, 2

converting AICC files, 35

course delivery data flow, 3

course masters registering, 13

course offerings creating, 14

course packages, 9 registering in the Learning Management System, 13

curriculums, 14

data flow, in the Learning Management System, 3

Deleting content, 15

Delivery Server, 2, 18

disconnected use content for, 11 launching content, 17

editing Forum content, 33

error codes tracking, 31

file server, 2

file-based content, 1, 17 file name, 6 location of, 6 substitution parameters, 6 tracking, 4, 24

Forum content editing in Format Course Repository, 33

Forum Course Repository, 33

FTP server, 2

glossary, 37

guest students, 23

importing AICC, 5 authoring tool, 5 into the Learning Management System, 11 meta-data, 8 SCORM, 5

IMS Simple Sequencing, 18

launching content, 17 offline, 17

Learning Management System data flow, 3 settings, 2, 18, 31

48 Learning Management System Content Guide

Learning Management System Server, 1

log tracking, 31

Lotus Virtual Classroom content, 1 server, 2, 18

meta-data, 7

objectives, 25, 28

offline learning client content, 11 launching content, 17

overview, 1

packaging courses, 9

PARAM files, 24

PIF file, 9

progress calculating, 26 status, 24 tracking, 23

registering course masters, 13

scoring, 25

SCORM, 4 meta-data, 7 packages, 35 tracking frameset, 29

sequencing, 18 properties, 27

servers content, 2 Delivery, 2, 18 file server, 2 FTP, 2 Learning Management System, 1 LVC, 2, 18

settings in the Learning Management System, 2, 18, 31

SSL, 13

standards sequencing, 18 tracking, 4

substitution parameters, 6

tracking, 23 activating, 6 AICC, 4 error codes, 31 log, 31 SCORM, 4 standards, 4 statistics, 24

tracking frameset, 29

updating content, 14

Virtual Classroom content, 1

Web-based content, 1 location of, 5 tracking, 4

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