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Open Source Software for Learning Object Repositories

Open Source Software for Learning Object Repositories. A Study Commissioned by the OnCore Blueprint Project Florida Distance Learning Consortium. Open source software is free!. Not as in free beer …. Open source software is free!. But as a free kitty!. Today’s presentation.

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Open Source Software for Learning Object Repositories

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  1. Open Source Software for Learning Object Repositories A Study Commissioned by the OnCore Blueprint Project Florida Distance Learning Consortium Moen

  2. Open source software is free! Moen Not as in free beer …

  3. Open source software is free! Moen But as a free kitty!

  4. Today’s presentation Brief overview of open source software Components of the study Typology of LOR implementations The platforms/applications In the trenches – implementors’ views Final thoughts Moen

  5. You are using open source Apache HTTP server Lucene Perl Tomcat Linux Operating system MySQL Database system And more… Moen

  6. Cathedral vs BazaarProprietary vs Open Eric S. Raymond. The Cathedral & the Bazaar: Musings on Linux and Open Source by an Accidental Revolutionary. 1999. Moen

  7. What is Open Source Software? Several characteristics Free to download and use Access to and ability to modify source code Licenses that govern use Free software is software that is distributed with a license that authorizes its users to run the software for any purpose, to redistribute copies of, and to examine, study, and modify the source code. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Free_Software Moen

  8. Open source definition Open Source Initiative provides a definition focused on ten criteria http://www.opensource.org/docs/osd Free Redistribution Source Code Derived Works Integrity of The Author's Source Code No Discrimination Against Persons or Groups No Discrimination Against Fields of Endeavor Distribution of License License Must Not Be Specific to a Product License Must Not Restrict Other Software License Must Be Technology-Neutral Moen

  9. For our purposes, OSS … Is software that is available free of charge to download and use Provides access to the source code and allows modifications to the code Use and reuse of software and derivative work are governed by licenses Unfortunately, the license landscape is not simple See http://www.opensource.org/licenses/category Moen

  10. The study A review and assessment of open source software for use in learning object repositories Purpose: Identify open source software (OSS) applications and platforms that are currently being used for learning object repositories (LOR) or could serve as a platform for such repositories, and then review and assess those OSS options according to a range of criteria. Moen

  11. The project team Background using open source software Using DSpace for a learning object repository for the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board http://txcdk1.unt.edu/THECBLOR_v3/ Jill Siewert LIS Masters student Samuel Muwanguzi Information Science Ph.D. student Cadi Lusk LIS Masters student Moen

  12. Methodology Identified OSS platforms/applications to review Drupal DSpace eduCommons EPrints Fedora Plone Rhaptos Used publicly available information to develop reports on each Implementor interviews Moen

  13. Assumptions LOR landscape was straightforward Each platform/application would be used in multiple implementations of LORs Good instances of LORs using the platforms could be identified People associated with the platforms would readily review our compiled information for accuracy Relatively easy to solicit time with implementors Moen

  14. Learning object repositories An E-Learning repository is a database that contains useful teaching and learning information that is available via the Internet. Users are allowed to query the database in an attempt to locate information that can help to explain and clarify various topics. Tomer, 2008 Moen

  15. Four core functions • An interface for adding content (actual objects and metadata) to the system • An interface for searching/browsing/retrieving content • A database for storing content • An administrative interface to facilitate collection management, configuration, preservation, and other activities Moen

  16. Four major components • A server, typically using Unix/Linux or Windows as an operating system • A web server (e.g., Apache or IIS and related web application tools) • A relational database (e.g., MySQL, DB2, Oracle, Postgres, SQL server) • Repository software Moen

  17. Typology of LOR implementations Digital repository application DSpace, EPrints, Fedora Content management system (CMS) Drupal Plone Hybrid eduCommons Rhaptos Moen

  18. EPrints Fedora DSpace Web Server Apache IIS Database System MySQL Oracle Operating System Linux Windows Digital repository approach Moen

  19. Plone Drupal Web Server Apache IIS Database System MySQL Oracle Operating System Linux Windows CMS approach Moen

  20. Drupal Islandora Fedora Rhaptos Plone eduCommons Plone Web Server Apache IIS Database System MySQL Oracle Operating System Linux Windows Hybrid approach Moen

  21. DSpace • http://www.dspace.org/ • Developed for institutional repositories • Released: 2002 • Current release: 1.5.2 (2009) • Operating System: Unix-like OS (Linux, UP/UX, Solaris) or Microsoft Windows • Database: PostgreSQL or Oracle • Web Server: Apache • Applications Server: Apache Tomcat 4.x , Jetty, or Caucho Resin • Programming Language: Java, Perl • Other Tools: Apache Maven 2.0.8 or later, Apache Ant 1.6.2 or later • Texas Course Redesign Repository • http://txcdk1.unt.edu/THECBLOR_v3/ Moen

  22. EPrints • http://www.eprints.org/ • Developed for institutional repositories • Released: 2000 • Current release: 3.2 (2009) • Operating System: Linux, Unix-like OS (such as OSX), Vista or XP • Database: MySQL • Web Server: Apache • Programming Language: Perl • Language Box • http://languagebox.eprints.org/ Moen

  23. Fedora • http://www.fedora-commons.org/ • Flexible Extensible Digital Object Repository Architecture • Released: 2003 • Current release: 3.2 (2009) • Operating System: Unix, Linux, OSX, or Windows • Database: MySQL, Oracle, or PostgreSQL • Application Server: Tomcat 5.5.26 (included), can also be run on any application server that implements Servlet 2.4/JSP 2.0 or higher such as Jetty or Jboss • Programming Language: Java • Other Tools: Apache Any 1.7 or higher • The National Science Digital Library (NSDL) • http://nsdl.org/ Moen

  24. Drupal • http://drupal.org/ • Developed for creating web sites and web publishing • Released: 2001 • Current release: 6 (2008) • Operating System: Unix, Linux, BSD, OSX, or Windows • Database: My SQL 4. 1 or higher, PostgreSQL 7.4 or higher • Application Server: Apache 1.3, 2.x or Microsoft IIS • Programming Language: PHP 5.2 or higher • Joining Educational Mathematics • http://jem-thematic.net/ • Penn State University Open Educational Resources • http://open.ems.psu.edu/ Moen

  25. Plone • http://plone.org/ • Developed as a usability layer to work with the Zope Content Management Framework • Released: 2000 • Current release: 3.2 (2009) • Operating System: Windows, Mac OS X, Linux, or Solaris • Database: Zope Object Database (built in) • Application Server: Zope 2.10.x • Programming Language: Python 2.4 or 2.5 • Open Educational Resources (OER) Commons • http://www.oercommons.org/ Moen

  26. eduCommons • http://educommons.com/ • Designed to facilitate the creation and maintenance of OpenCourseWare projects • Released: 2001 • Current release: 3.1 (2009) (3.2 coming soon) • Operating System: Linux or OSX • Database: Zope Object Database (built in) • Application Server: Zope 2.10.5 • Content Management System (CMS): Plone 3.0.6 • Programming Language: Python 2.4.4 • Open.Michigan Educational Resources • http://michigan.educommons.net/ • University of Notre Dame OpenCourseWare • http://ocw.nd.edu/ Moen

  27. Rhaptos • http://rhaptos.org/ • Created to facilitate the creation and publication (both digitally and in print) of learning materials and scholarly works • Released: 2005 (although under development and implementation for longer period) • Current release: 2.0 • Operating System: Linux (Debian or Ubuntu) • Database: PostgresSQL 8.2 and/or CVS Repository (to be phased out in future development) • Application Server: Zope • Content Management system (CMS): Plone 2.5 • Programming Language: Python • Connexions • http://cnx.org/ Moen

  28. Discovery Personalization Community and Evaluation Meta Tagging Content Upload & Management Aggregation and De-aggregation Digital Rights Management Presentation Integration and Interoperability Installation and Support System Considerations and Specifications Platform Profile Desktop Requirements Training Documentation/Help Scalability Technical features inventory Primary and Secondary Categories Moen

  29. Technical features reports • For each platform/application • Overview narrative • Technical features inventory • Technical features comparison report • Report structure can be used as guide • Identifies salient features to consider • Provides a structure for you to use to document your information gathering on OSS options Moen

  30. Technical features reports issues • Used publicly available documentation • OSS documentation problematic • Typically no Sales Rep to send an RFI to • Moving target of version releases • Difficulty in getting reviews of our reports from key people in the development community • Mixed results from the implementors we interviewed to review the reports Moen

  31. Talking with the implementors • DSpace • Wiseplus • Drupal • JEM • Penn State Open Educational Resources • eduCommons (Plone) • Open Michigan • NotreDame • Eprints • Language Box Moen

  32. Focus and function vary • Storing and describing learning materials • Storing metadata about learning materials • Digital workspace for: • Storing and describing • Authoring and publishing • Reuse in new materials Moen

  33. Focus and function vary • Continuum of content Discrete Learning Objects/Assets Full Courses • Intended users • Content creators • Instructors and instructional designers • Students • Others Moen

  34. OSS choice drivers • Mandate • Funding agencies encouraged/required • Personal/organizational preference • Pilot project • Quick and low-cost way to get started • Flexibility and customization • Financial priorities • Allocate funds to course development rather than system • System already implemented Moen

  35. Benefits of OSSNote: Some platform specific • No annual license/maintenance fee • Community of developers • Being able to follow what is in the pipeline • Problems often well-documented • Assistance when needed • Solutions often quickly developed • Access to the code • Functionality can be expanded • Modularity for extensions Moen

  36. Is OSS for you? • OSS is free, but not as in free beer! • Low-cost for out-of-box implementation • Openness to open source • Organizational attitude • Central IT attitude • Customizing and enhancing • From simple configuration – sys admin, look and feel, metadata choices • To adding functionality -- programmer Moen

  37. Where are we with LORs? • Do we know the problem(s) we are trying to solve? • Are we identifying and understanding the problems as we do our implementations? • Who are we serving? • Do we make assumptions about potential users without really understanding what they want? • These are questions that go beyond OSS… Moen

  38. Final thoughts • Options available • Requirements should drive decision • More projects than production systems • Problem space still evolving • OSS offers flexibility to address evolving understanding • Sakai-like approach for a LOR-specific OSS solution? Moen

  39. Platforms/Applications • DSpace http://www.dspace.org/ • EPrintshttp://www.eprints.org/ • Fedora http://www.fedora-commons.org/ • Drupal http://drupal.org/ • Plonehttp://plone.org/ • eduCommons http://educommons.com/ • Rhaptos http://rhaptos.org/ Moen

  40. Implementations • DSpace • Texas Course Redesign Repository • http://txcdk1.unt.edu/THECBLOR_v3/ • Wiseplus • http://wiseplus.exp.sis.pitt.edu:8080/dspace/ • Eprints • Language Box • http://languagebox.eprints.org/ • EdShare • http://www.edshare.soton.ac.uk/ Moen

  41. Implementations • Drupal • Joining Educational Mathematics • http://jem-thematic.net/ • Penn State University Open Educational Resources • http://open.ems.psu.edu/ • Plone • OER Commons • http://www.oercommons.org/ • Teach Sustainability • http://www.teachsustainability.com.au/ Moen

  42. Implementations • eduCommons • Open.Michigan Educational Resources • http://michigan.educommons.net/ • University of Notre Dame OpenCourseWare • http://ocw.nd.edu/ • Rhaptos • Connexions • http://cnx.org/ • Fedora • The National Science Digital Library (NSDL) • http://nsdl.org/ • Open Learning Exchange Nepal • http://www.olenepal.org/about.html Moen

  43. References • Susan W. Alman & Christinger Tomer. Building Repositories for Digital Learning Objects: Challenges, Issues, and Opportunities. 2008. • http://www.sloanconsortium.org/conference/proceedings/2008/1225838630264.pptx • Eric S. Raymond. The Cathedral & the Bazaar: Musings on Linux and Open Source by an Accidental Revolutionary. 1999. • http://www.catb.org/~esr/writings/cathedral-bazaar/cathedral-bazaar/ Moen

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