PRODUITS D'ENSEIGNEMENT A DISTANCE


BSCW Shared Workspace System    (bscw.gmd.de)--> ALLEMAGNE
Collaborative Learning Applications (sawhney.kellogg.nwu.edu) -->USA
CommonSpace   (www.sixthfloor.com/CS1.html)-->USA
CourseInfo   (courses.goshen.edu)-->USA
FirstClass Collaborative Classroom  (www.education.softarc.com)-->CANADA
Generation21   (www.gen21.com/products.html)-->USA
Knowledge Forum  (www.learn.motion.com/lim/kf/knowledgeforum.html)--> USA
Learning Space   (weber.u.washington.edu/~lspace)-->USA
Learning Server - DataBeam   (www.databeam.com/learning_server)-->USA
Lotus Learning Space    (www.lotus.com/home.nsf/tabs/learnspace)-->USA
Norton Connect    (helios.acomp.usf.edu/~tboring/nortonc.html)
PlaceWare    (www.placeware.com)-->USA
Top Class - WBT Systems    (www.wbtsystems.com)--> USA
Virtual-U Research Project   (virtual-u.cs.sfu.ca/vuweb)-->CANADA
WebBoard    (www.webboard.ora.com)-->USA
Web Course in a Box - MadDuck Technologies(www.madduck.com)--> USA
WebCT-World Wide Web CourseTools    (homebrew1.cs.ubc.ca/webct)-->CANADA
Workmates4    (www.kas.utu.fi/tporukka2)--> FINLANDE
Certains produits/systèmes sont construits avec du HTML et des cgi-scripts, d'autres produits comme Lotus Notes utilisent la technologie db (databases) et des applets Java. Certains incluent des streaming media .

Le World Wide Web offre à l'heure actuelle un moyen efficace de distribuer du matériel didactique et pédagogique par Internet. Cependant,  il n'y a pas ni standard et ni  modèle décrivant comment les cours devraient être créés et distribués sur le Web, ce qui entraîne une prolifération d'outils pour développer du matériel éducatif et le rendre accessible aux étudiants qui souhaitent travailler à distance.


BSCW Shared Workspace System (a product from  OrbiTeam Software GmbH)

OrbiTeam Software GmbH was founded in July 1998 as a spin-off company of the GMD - German National Research Center for Information Technology. GMD is a non-profit, limited liability private company (GmbH). Its shareholders are the Federal Republic of Germany (90%) and the Federal States of North Rhine-Westphalia (3,3%), Hesse (3,3%) and Berlin (3,3%). GMD's headquarters are in Sankt Augustin, Schloss Birlinghoven.
 
 
BSCW is a 'shared workspace' system which supports document upload, event notification, group management, etc.
 It supports collaboration by providing shared workspaces over the Internet.It allows storage and retrieval of documents and sharing information within a group. This functionality is integrated with an event mechanism to provide each user with an awareness of the activities of others within the workspace. It comprises numerous features, e.g., support for threaded discussions, version management of documents, group management, search features and many more. The system is designed primarily to support self-organising groups.

The BSCW developments have been partially funded by the European Union through the CoopWWW project and the CESAR project of the EU's Telematics Applications Programme. Partners of these projects contributes to the development of the system (http://orgwis.gmd.de/projects/COOPWWW/#Goal). The CoopWWW provided a comprehensive set of interworking tools for efficient group cooperation using the WWW. The tools were based on the Internet and specifically on the World-Wide Web. The CoopWWW project was closely related with the BSCW Project. Most developments of the CoopWWW project are now part of the BSCW system.

CESAR will provide a comprehensive toolkit for asynchronous and synchronous multimedia collaboration based on Internet and World Wide Web technology. CESAR will provide a comprehensive toolkit for asynchronous and synchronous multimedia collaboration based on Internet and World Wide Web technology (http://orgwis.gmd.de/projects/CESAR/).

Possibility to use  an existing BSCW with a browser or to create your own workspaces:To run a BSCW server you need a Python interpreter for your machine (including the standard Python libraries) as well as a standard Web server. The BSCW server runs on

                             Unix (including Solaris, SunOS, Linux, DEC OSF, HP-UX, Irix and AIX)
                             Windows NT (version 4.0 or above)

BSCW is freeware.
 

BSCW functions:

The central concept of BSCW is the Shared Workspace -- in Macintosh or Windows terminology: a folder
 for a specific group of registered users (represented by the  icon), who can access the information objects contained in this folder and add new objects.

The figure shows a view of a folder with examples of the kinds of objects which BSCW can store:

Several different classes of objects can be shared in a BSCW workspace. The figure shows an instance of each class. For the purpose of demonstration, each object has been given the name of its class. Obviously, users would choose names describing the contents or purpose of each individual object. Since BSCW is designed to make sharing of information easier, it is very important to choose descriptive names which will be understood by the other people sharing the workspace.

Each object name is preceded by three icons:
 -a checkbox to select the object for specific actions .
 -the "i" icon to call up the information page of the object. In addition to a variety of other information, it shows the access rights for the object.
 -an icon that represents the class of the object. This icon also distinguishes the MIME type of a document, the search area or search engine of a search, the type of an article.

The object names are followed by :

      -the user name of the owner of the object
      -the time or date of the latest relevant modification and,
      -possibly, a number of icons which indicate recent actions on the object.

Note that different actions are possible for different types of objects. The actions permitted on an object are indicated in the [Action] line below the object name.

N.B.
Note that the icons are not very meaningful:
-The three  persons represent the calendar
-the red book represents the address book
-the bag represents the clipboard (for the actions "CUT" et "COPY")
-if you want to undo an object, you must use the trash which allows you to manage the deleting or not of objects (three steps to delete an object BSCW):

BSCW allows you to undo the first two steps. The third step can be performed only by the owner of the
object (typically the member who created it). BSCW thus assigns a clear responsibility for actual destruction of an object:

A member of the workspace applies "DELETE" to an object. BSCW moves the object to the wastebasket of this member. The other members of the workspace can no longer see and access the object, but the member who performed the "DELETE" can easily  "UNDELETE" the object from his or her wastebasket.
      Note:
            If it is the owner who performs the "DELETE"  step, this first step alone will suffice to transfer the object to the wastebasket of its owner. Thus there is no room for the recoverable second step mentioned below. Any object in your wastebasket, that lists your user name as its owner will be irreversibly lost if you apply  "DESTROY" to it.
The member of the workspace applies "DESTROY" to the object. This will transfer the object to the wastebasket of its owner.
      Note:
            Any object that lists your user name as its owner will be irreversibly lost if you apply  to it.
The owner can "DESTROY" the object in their wastebasket irreversibly -- this action cannot be undone!

Actions on the current folder or workspace :
 -on existing objects : action "DROP"
 -new objects may be added by  selecting  the icons  "ADD..."

Actions on multiple objects in the current folder :
-actions "CUT"moves the selected objects to your bag, "COPY" moves copies of the selected objects to your bag;
-and "DELETE"moves the selected objects to your wastebasket.

Actions on one particular object:
Below each object name in the folder view, BSCW may display a number of [Action] buttons for operations to be applied only to that particular object, for example

 HTML Document (Marock) 2 Feb
            [Modify] [Edit] [Replace] [Convert] [Attach Note] [Version]

Figure 1.4-2: [Action] line of a document

The [Action] line depends on the class of the object -- for example, different actions are appropriate for 'URL' objects, meeting objects and documents.
 

Collaborative Learning Application

Main features: Classpace, E-mail, Discussions

CommonSpace

 Operating System(s): Windows 95/98/NT, Macintosh OS
 Licensing: Proprietary
 Type of Technology: groupware
 

CommonSpace 3.0 is collaborative writing software that allows users to interact on the creation and revision of a document. Writers and educators working on different platforms, writing in various word processing programs, and corresponding from separate locations can use this common workspace to support collaboration throughout the writing process.
Read a detailed description of the features of CommonSpace.

CommonSpace provides answers to many questions concerning the use, setup and licensing of this programme.
After you've taken a closer look at CommonSpace, you may wish to sign up for a 90 day trial .
An extensive collection of supporting resources is available, as well as pricing information .
Users of CommonSpace are invited to download patches, demos and sample documents.
 


CourseInfo (a product from Blackboard Inc.)

-Learner Tools:
Bookmarks (Provides external links or other links and allows linking to anywhere on the web from within the CourseSites), Multimedia(Upload tool supports uploading of files: text, graphics, video, audio into a CourseSite, for the instructor or, for the student, into the Submission Box which is managed and created by the instructor), Security(Authenticates users by log-in and password and invites user to change passwords online. Access can be restricted and/or modified by the system administrator. Different views and privileges are provided to students, instructors and moderators. Courses may have opening web pages that are available for public view),  E-mail (supports: 1) pre-addressed "mailto" emails to instructors and classmates through the browser, 2) use of the email system inherent in the browser, and 3) form-based emails such as the Problem Report), BBS file exchange (BBS functionality is implemented through the Discussion Board system and the file upload/download capabilities of the Teachers Archive, student file archiving and group upload/download file  sharing), Newsgroups(Additional Newsgroups are server dependent and can be added by simply inputting the specific url.  The embedded Discussion Board system  gives instructors the ability to easily set up collaborative groups and define structures, tasks and objectives. Any user can easily learn to create and moderate conferences, authorize participants for each conference, and create sub-conferences to allow for more focused discussion of topics. Conferencing is supported graphically in context of assignments.  All users can insert multimedia elements such as video and animation into messages. BBS functionality is implemented through the Discussion Board system and the file upload/download capabilities of the course structure tool),  Chat(CourseInfo provides enabling/disabling functionality features and allows you to add a link to a virtual chat room by enabling the icon and  adding the specific URL. CourseInfo can provide information on  popular chat packages with tips for integration of archival data from the virtual  Chat environment to CourseInfo).
-Students Tools
Self-assessing (An extensive quiz and test making tool that allows instructors to make graded or sample quizzes and allows instructors to enter information that will assist students in learning course materials), Progress tracking(Teachers Gradebook allows instructors to grade students quantitatively or qualitatively, using either numeric grades and/or text comments. Students can view student results file which displays results on all quizzes and tests and lists the surveys taken), Motivation building(CourseInfo's Discussion Board and group homepages can provide motivation by providing an inclusive discussion session where students become active learners, participating in conference discussions with classmates and instructors. In addition, CourseInfo includes tips for instructors and Help for students on how to develop study skills in an online, asynchronous environment),  Study skill building (Discussion Boards can include tips for instructors and Help for students that describe how to develop study skills in an online, asynchronous environment).
-Support Tools:
Course planning (CourseInfo provides a guide to structuring course material and understanding placement), Course managing (Discussion boards allow instructors to group classes into separate study sessions Instructor can include or exclude subconferencing by students Upload Tool supports inclusion of multimedia or text into the CourseSite), Course customizing(CourseInfo CourseSite Editors allows rapid revisions through the online web-based Forms, and file upload capabilities), Course monitoring (Instructors can statistically analyze the use of their CourseSite), Instructional designing (CourseInfo provides outlines for the instructional design of information within the CourseSite and suggests specific areas for information. Links are present to specific areas on creating a collaborative learning, knowledge-building learning environment),  Presenting information (supports upload of instructor files, presentation of Unit, Topic, Assignment and Resource descriptions and online URL links to hypertext, images, video, and audio resources), Testing (CourseInfo CourseSite quiz/survey and test generators are the  most advanced creators on the internet today. The quiz/survey test  generators allows instructors to create multiple choice, short answer, T/F, long-answer and essay questions. Later versions will incorporate fill in the blank questions)Marking on-line(All quizzes/tests and surveys can be graded online. Results are logged in files with student information. Students can view their own file or instructors can view individual student results or group  student results as well as a master file),Managing records (The Teachers Gradebook allows instructors to view student results on quizzes, tests, surveys and provides the ability to export the information an application such as Excel for further manipulation. Students can be added using a batch feature or added individually either  by the student or the instructor), Analyzing and tracking (provides data tracking and analysis complete  hits to coursesite and each individual page. shows time, date, user computer, and browser. Uses bar graph displays to show information), Building knowledge(Building your CourseSite is an instructional guide to  putting information on the CourseSite in an organized manner and  includes constant updates of individual instructor hints and tips), Team Building (Individual instructors can share ideas through CourseInfo's reference site. The reference site contains a discussion board that allows instructors to work together in creating and managing a CourseSite)
-Administration:
Installation (provides the Sys Adm with a script library for operations such as Installation, Archiving,and Moving the server site), Authorization (Course Gateway allows administrators to track the  creation and placement of CourseSites and instructors),  Server security (uses the standard Web-based user/password  authorization, plus an encryption algorithm for the Teachers Gradebook),Resource monitoring (currently provides only the data tracking and analysis inherent in the UNIX-based application. Later versions of CourseInfo will provide tool support for the technical administrator.), Remote access(remote access tools inherent in the Web sufficient for the webmaster (FTP, TAR, etc.)),   Crash recovery (CourseInfo provides an extensive administrators area that allows sysadmins to backup and restore individual courses by week or date).
-Help Desk
Student support (Extensive online Help and FAQ files. Student manual for student use of the CourseSite), Instructor support(Instructor manual detailing every function of building your CourseSite. In addition, use of the online technical support problems and email system to CourseInfo is encouraged.)
-TechInfo:
Windows NT 4.0 Server, Unix Server
-Price 1999:
$200-$35 per CourseSite

FirstClass Collaborative Classroom

 
FCCC is a world class product that transforms the learning environment into an interactive place for students to learn and grow:
 --> to develop educational software that helps teacher teach, students learn and parents participate
 --> outils:
 
-Learner Tools:
Accessibility ( is supported by a fully text based interface via Telnet), Multimedia( supported in e-mail client), Security(FirstClass is very flexible in allowing certain users access to only certain sections of the server and with varying levels of privileges),E-mail, BBS file exchange (Can be upgraded with add-on to database client), Newsgroups(Both local and usnet news conferences with message threading. By setting the security levels on certain conferences, you can create discussions where only group members have access to discuss asynchronously), Chat (Chat service provided but can be compromised by network traffic and slow modems)
 

-Students Tools:
Self-assessing, Progress tracking,  Motivation building (supports student home pages. Also instructors can use a Peer-Help area on the server where students can help one another. Instructors also can have the students submit their assignments to a conference and have the students critique each other's work and then post he final version of theassignment to a conference where everyone can read it).

-Support Tools:
Course planning (Third Party Add-Ons are available to include Internet listserver abilities, Scripting, automation, Custom forms and backgrounds), Course managing (support for creating student groups with different access rights to folders, chats, chat rooms, and URL libraries), Course customizing (supports CGI and application development in BASIC. The FirstClass® Rapid Application Developer's Object Oriented Event Driven interface makes building applications for the FirstClass® Application Server easy enough for a non-programmer, yet  sophisticated enough to satisfy the needs of a seasoned professional. 'Bound Columns' Database access is accomplished with a simple point and click graphical database interface that makes your organizations data accessible to users in minutes. Database connectivity is accomplished via ODBC, the industry standard for relational database access),  Course monitoring (supports message history and tracking as well as monitoring who is online), Testing(is available through third party add-ons), Team Building (Supports instructor groups and access to usnet news groups .

-Administration:
Installation (Quick setup not requiring a dedicated server with small footprint (1.5megs ram)) Authorization(Comprehensive set of options), Registering (supports Real-time ODBC database access)   Server security(Can provide for encription), Resource monitoring (Resource monitoring is supported as a feature that is on the administrator's desktop), Remote access (Remote administration tools ), Crash recovery (supported with FirstClass Tools which allows scanning the Post Office for irregularities and correcting problems).

-TechInfo:
Windows NT 4.0 Server, Apple Server

-Price 1999:
?
 

 FCCC looks and works like America Online.
 Many educational sites with thousands of users are administered by a single IT professional part-time (different from Lotus Learning Space).
 

Generation 21


On July 1, 1999, Generation21 merged with Advantage  Learning Systems, Inc., a publicly traded (Nasdaq- ALSI)   learning information systems and training company in  the K-12 education market.
 
-Learner Tools:
Accessibility (Text-only use the text portions to develop the course),  Bookmarks (Supported Student can flag their current position in the course),  Multimedia (Accepts all media forms which are web deliverable. Totally open architecture system. Can be imported right into the  system for reuse),   Security(Password controlled access. Various levels of security. System is secure through use of passwords. There are five different levels of security),   E-mail (Email component built-into the system. Used as a collaboration tool), BBS file exchange, Newsgroups (Can also integrate other tools into the system  easily), Chat, Teleconferencing (Supports audioconferencing and real-audio
streaming),Videoconferencing (Supports video streaming)

-Students Tools:
Self-assessing (The pre-test drives learning objects for each module), Progress tracking(Built-in CMI. Can be checked through the Gradebook),  Searching (Search capability in the latest version. Peformance Support Centre- provides support to the student),  Motivation building(Can build in a self-help or performance support tool), Study skill building (Course in how to study effectively can be built in Generation 21 and the student can take this course).
 

-Support Tools:
Course planning (Allows building of course modules and lessons),  Course managing (A full management module provides record keeping and student tracking. The management module can interface with all Open System training and HR databases),  Course customizing (Each learner's knowledge of the subject matter is evaluated through course pre-testing, and the course is automatically reconfigured to present only the material the learner needs to master),Course monitoring (Management Module provides ability to track the amount of time the student spends in the course. Provides an activity log),  Instructional designing (Uses Bloom's Taxonomy of learning domains),Presenting information (Allows for multiple representation of content), Testing( linked to learning objects. Test formats include: multiple choice, fill-in-the blanks, matching, true and false, short answer, or essay questions. Essay questions have to be graded by the instructor), Marking on-line (Multiple choice marking online capability), Managing records(Complete CMI capability ), Analyzing and tracking, Curriculum Managing (Unlimited number of programs, dependent on server),   Building knowledge (The entire program is built on a database, which is searchable.), Building motivation (Discussion list for students to collaborate).
 

-Administration:
Installation (Will spend a week at the customer site to install software. Training is then provided to use the software. Real-world training to help the customer develop the course), Authorization,  Registering (Can be linked to ERP systems),On-line fees handling,  Server security(Password controlled access. Various levels of  security. System is secure through use of passwords. There are five  different levels of security),   Remote access(Authoring, administration and learning can be remote)

-TechInfo:
Windows NT 4.0 Server, Unix Server

-Price 1999:
?

-Help desk
Student support (Two kinds of support available: (1) Can be outsourced to Gen21. (2) Hosting organization can also do this themselves), Instructor support (Upon installation of the system, 40 hours of hot line  support is provided).

Lotus Learning Space

Lotus is a leader in promoting, developing, and implementing standards for online and distributed learning. IBM, Lotus's parent company, is one of the most active members of the IMS organization currently working to complete standards for content storage and asynchronous delivery. IBM and Lotus are working together to proactively address these emerging standards in LearningSpace.

The IMS (Instructional Management System) project is an open consortium of industry and education members who are developing a more sophisticated framework for distributed, computer-based learning. IMS members are developing a set of specifications and prototype software for facilitating the growth and viability of distributed learning on the Internet. The IMS is focusing on the development of standards for learning objects.

 

-Learner Tools
Bookmarks, Multimedia (is supported many ways in LearningSpace. Any sort of multimedia can be attached in LearningSpace documents. Multimedia items existing on the web can easily be access through URL links provided within LearningSpace), Security(using either a client or a browser, is built in at many levels in LearningSpace. Just a few examples of the secure environment provided by LearningSpace include; user authentication for access to the course; private/public options for team discussions and work projects; an entire module devoted to assessments and course management which is just for faculty/facilitator use, but is fully integrated into the course; additional help documents just for faculty to assist in  course creation and management of a LearningSpace course; the ability to assign individual Schedule and MediaCenter assignments to be specific for an individual team (or teams); a variety of privacy options on student/faculty MediaCenter annotations),  E-mail (Notes style e-mail dynamically translated into internet protocol. LearningSpace uses email to: notify students of the collection of student's assessments or work assigments; review corrected assessments returned by the faculty; alert students to changes or additions to the course Schedule; have private, off-line discussions  outside of the LearningSpace CourseRoom) BBS file exchange (LearningSpace files are not exchanged through a BBS. Files are most commonly exchanged in LearningSpace's MediaCenter, which is the course material repository, or in the CourseRoom as shared team work assignments), Newsgroups(The CourseRoom is LearningSpace newsgroup's function. The CourseRoom is the virtual classroom where students/teams collaborate in private or public discussions facilitated by the instructor or work on assignments. CourseRoom discussions are threaded, meaning that they are viewed with topics and related comment threaded together for easy reviewing. The threaded discussions and work assignments are also linked back to the assignment in the course Schedule and any MediaCenter resources that are related to the discussion), Chat(instructors and students get a realtime dimension. It enables them to share any kind of information live. Audio even video conferencing),Whiteboard (Available with the LearningSpace companion product DataBeam Learning Server 2.0), Application sharing (id), Group browsing(id), Teleconferencing(id), Videoconferencing(id)

- Student tools
Self-assessing , Progress tracking (Student can keep a "My work progress" folder where they can track their assignments and overall progression through the course), Searching, Motivation building (Portfolios for students are supported. Also Instructors can monitor individual or team progress, in discussions or on work assignements, in the CourseRoom. If need be, the instructor can offer support and motivation directly in the CourseRoom or incorporate  student motivation by assigning assessments.),  Study skill building (Most effective with a combination of the Media Centre and the Classroom)

 -Support Tools
Course planning (Supported hierarchial outline style model plus templates), Course managing (Some support (subgroup views) and The Schedule acts as the road map for a LearningSpace course. It provides a means of structuring the course's assignments. The instructor would use course  development tools in the Schedule to create course assignments and set the expectations and objectives for individual assignments that make up a course. In addition to linking participants to course resources, the Schedule can also link participants to other assignments, quizzes, surveys, and self-assessments. The framework of LearningSpace Schedule accommodates self-paced learning or a team-based environment.), Course customizing (LearningSpace enables direct importing of instructor's course materials into the MediaCenter (or other areas where appropriate). In the Assessment Manager there is a question databank where assessment questions can be inputted and stored for retreival during the assessment creation process. In addition, there are tools which allow the instructor to alert students, via email, of changes or additions to the course (i.e. a pop-quiz or a due date change). Course Maintenance Tools give instructors easy-to-use options to copy, move, restart, archive or close a completed course. Customization Libraries -- Tailor or replace the existing LearningSpace course graphics with your own logos or artwork to match your organization's identity. Choose from a  wide variety of page layouts to create personalized Course Welcome Pages), Course monitoring, Instructional designing (The MediaCenter is the knowledge-base for a LearningSpace course. Any content or resources needed to fulfill the assignment objectives (described in the Schedule) can be housed in or accessed through the MediaCenter. MediaCenter content can be anything from on-line readings to embeded multimedia, simulation  programs or external websites. Also there are Instructional templates styles),  Presenting information (Base documents are available for you to put "anything" into whether it be text, video clips, web site links etc.),  Testing (The Assessment Manager is designed for instructor use only. It is the evaluation tool which enables the instructor to privately test, review, grade, survey, and give feedback on participant performance. Instructors can use the Assessment Manager's question bank repository  to quickly and easily create quizzes, exams, surveys or self-assessments  and then post them to the Schedule for student access. Assessments completed by the students are returned back to the Assessment Manager for automatic grading, summarization and private review by the instructor. Graded assessments are returned to the patticipant's Portfolio in the Profiles area. The Assessment Manager also acts as a gradebook for tracking participant's progress. Supports multiple choice, essay and survey styles. Individual assessment questions can be weighted. Also includes a assessment creation helper to step you through the assessment creation process and includes a databank of previously inputted questions and the ability to inport item test banks), Marking on-line (Supported on-line essay marking with commenting. Instructors can also create an individual student or team general grade for items like groupwork or class participation),  Managing records (Database style support with Gradebook. Also there are Profiles that are a collection of participant descriptions that includes  contact information, photographs, and background on education, experience, and interests. Similar to "home pages" or on-line resumes, they are designed to facilitate the creation of the on-line community and group dynamics that will support effective team collaboration in the CourseRoom. Every participant's Profile has a accompanying Portfolio. The Portfolio is a secure repository for the participant to review returned assignments and assessment),   Analyzing and tracking (The Grade Book tracks the scores for each of the students on each of the exams and displays the avg. mark and the grade. If an instructor wishes to further analyze the grades, he/she can export the grade book as a flat file into any database or spreadsheet program), Building knowledge (The students are able to import/attach anything they wish into the CourseRoom and if the instructor finds it of value to the class, they can easily add it to the MediaCenter and create a corresponding Schedule entry),Team Building (The CourseRoom enables the setup of teams for the LearningSpace course. The students (or instructors) can choose the privacy level associated with their discussions or work assignments),Building motivation (CourseRoom allows for monitoring of student's interactions and participation level. Instructor can evaluate student's progress and offer the appropriate motivation to the individual)

-Administration
Installation (Comprehensive server package with extensive capabilities Authorization Notes/Domino provides a comprehensive authorization system which ensures that only students identified as being course  participants will have access to a LearningSpace course. Also,  LearningSpace makes sure that the students do not have access to course creation and management tools which are reserved for only instructors), Registering,  Server security (Industrial strength ), Resource monitoring (Several resource monitoring tasks are capable from the server),  Remote access,  Crash recovery (Tape backup plus server tasks).

-Help desk
 Student support (The LearningSpace tool provides built-in support for students. The help document also allows instructors to add to the  student help documents to provide content topic assistance.),  Instructor support (LearningSpace provides various levels of support. There is a vast amount of product help built into the tool. The help is also allows the instructor to add to the help documents to provide content topic assistance. Outside of LearningSpace there is phone support and education class available).

-TechInfo
WindowsNT 4.0 Server, Unix Server

-Price 1999
Start-up Cost $250 US
On-going Cost $5/seat


Data Beam Learning Server cf Lotus Learning Space



Norton Connect

-Learner Tools:
Multimedia with Word, BBS file exchange, Chat(Supports a instructor to student broadcast that requires students click to proced that is useful for direction of in-class sessions. Also discussions are not pushed off of the screen)
 

-Students Tools:
Study skill building (On-line handbook)

-Support Tools:
Course managing (Set up collaborative work groups of any size, distribute assignments, send comments to students, work groups or entire class. Instructors can manage classroom communication to suit individual teaching practices), Instructional designing (All design of assignments is by instructor and there are many options allowing all sorts of assignments. Information presentation is however the instructor wishes), Marking on-line, Analyzing and tracking

-Administration:
Installation (Small footprint and server software for lan operation does not require add-in to Microsoft Word), Authorization supported,Remote access

-TechInfo:
Windows NT 4.0 Server, Unix Server

-Price 1999:
free

-Help desk
Student support (student user manual and online help), Instructor support(instructor manual and online help)


PlaceWare


-Learner Tools:
Chat, Group browsing (Supported as well as group powerpoint presentations), Teleconferencing(Conference calling using regular telephone or internet audio),Videoconferencing(Instructor Videocasting with feedback from phones, votes, buttons, and chat from students)
 

-Students Tools:
Motivation building (Supports live question and answer)

-Support Tools:
Course managing (Supports instant replay for those students who missed the presentation. Supports private instructor notes during the presentation), Course customizing (Supports using existing Powerpoint presentations and web pages), Course monitoring (Supports straw polls with assigned meaning to student selected seat color), Instructional designing (Supports assigned student subgroups (rows) with a shared group chat facility), Presenting information (Supports Powerpoint presentations and live video/audio), Testing (Supports straw polls during the presentation), Analyzing and tracking (Supports realtime question-answer and straw  polling during the presentation) .
 

-TechInfo:
Windows NT 4.0 Server, Unix Server (Sun Solaris only)

-Price 1999:
free
 
 

TOP CLASS - WBT System

-Learner Tools:
Bookmarks (supported via standard web browser),  Multimedia(multimedia links embedded in courseware ), Security (password and username, privileges),  E-mail(Supported with optional additional picture file), BBS file exchange (Supported for assignments ), Newsgroups

-Students Tools:
Self-assessing (Self testing (auto testing) supported),  Progress tracking (Student & Instructor can view status of coursework, through test scores, messages in discussion/class announcement areas status: New, Read, Old but Unread)), Motivation building (Supports customized coursework for individual students), Study skill building(Students can send messages and collaborate with instructor and other students in class, view their grades online and link to external web pages for additional reference material)

-Support Tools:
Course planning (Hierarchical outlining tool for easy course planning and creation. 100% remote authoring supported), Course managing (Students grouped into classes. Students participate in various public and private discussion forums, access restricted to registered class members. Additional coursework/modules can be assigned on basis of test scores), Course customizing (Supports moving modules from course to course easily (revisions or additions are automatically updated for everyone accessing the course).Capability to easily distribute and transfer courses to other servers.), Course monitoring(Instructors (and students) can view the progress through/status of courseware. ), Instructional designing (Course outlining tool ), Presenting information (Navigation buttons allow easy movement between pages in hierarchy. Courseware can include video clips, audio streaming, Shockwave, Java and Javascript etc.), Testing(Supports Multi choice questions, File attachment questions, Essay Type (incl. comment box), Fill-in-the-Blanks etc. Supports test-bank for random generation. Optional self testing (auto-correction by server) and custom XML extension for custom types of test questions), Marking on-line (Multiple choice tests can be scored on the server. Comment box provided for essay type questions), Managing records (Setting of user privileges, changing passwords etc. Student Registration (incl. Batch user registration option)), Analyzing and tracking (Log analyser for the complete transaction log), Building knowledge (Files can be uploaded to Discussion Forums or added to default coursework, link to external web pages embedded in coursework for reference),  Team Building(Discussion Forums, encourages class collaboration),Building motivation (Discussion Forums, encourages class collaboration).

-Administration:
Installation (Support for Mac OS, Win NT, Win 95, Unix (Solaris and  Linux flavors) Installation and access is all done via a Browser interface),  Authorization (All access and admin is via web browser. All access privileges controlled by Administrator (can assign various privileges to Instructors (e.g. Edit Coursework) and Students (e.g. Change Password??)),  Server security (Students user names and passwords specified by Admin. Supports SSL server security),  Resource monitoring (Supports remote monitoring via web browser),  Remote access (Full remote access via standard web browser).

-TechInfo:
Windows NT 4.0 Server, Unix Server, Apple Server

-Price 1999:
free on start-up and $750 for On-going cost

-Help Desk:
Student support (Online help available), Instructor support(Full e-mail technical support. Admin and Instructor User Manuals. "TopClass Talk" user mailing list).
 

TopClass can deliver entirely web-based course delivery, or be used to assist live classes. Any web-based content can be included in courses and be delivered over the Internet or corporate LAN.


Functionalities of  TopClass:

 -DISCUSSION LIST:
The Discussion List is an area in which discussion can take place between all members of your class by posting messages to the list. Students can learn from each other and from their instructor. You need to return to the home page to join the discussion list.

 -MESSAGING:
TopClass has its own built-in e-mail system and your instructor will be able to send messages to you using this system (this system is totally separate from your personal email and no message sent to you by your instructor will go to your personal account). You can also send mail to the other people in your class, if you know the particular user's TopClass username.

 -CLASS ANNOUNCEMENTS:
This is quite similar to the Discussion List, but here, only the system administrators and instructors can make postings. The Class Announcements page is usually used for posting Reading Lists and other information of general SRCSuse to people taking courses.

 -UTILITIES:
The Utilities page provides you with options which allow you to change your password or view your online picture (which you can supply to the TopClass system administrator if you wish).
 

Options available to the Student and Instructor:

 -Student:

A TopClass course is presented in a hierarchial manner, much like the filing system of an ordinary computer, with a 'top' or 'root' folder with many folders inside it.
Once you get into the course at the bottom of each course page are the following TopClass icons:


The View Exercises option on your home page allows you to view exercises  that you have submitted, and allows you to keep track of your marks.

 -Instructor:

The instructor helps the students through the course, answering personal messages and discussion list
postings concerning the material:

La homepage de l'étudiant:



There is a functional demo which supports 4 students and 3 months of evaluation.


Virtual-U (UniVirtuelle)

Le projet de recherche d'UniVirtuelle a été conçu par les professeurs Linda Harasim et Tom Calvert et élaboré à la Simon Fraser University; Simon Fraser. Il fait partie du projet canadien Réseau de Centres d'excellence en télé-apprentissage (RCE-TA). L'UniVirtuelle est financée par VLEI - Environnements virtuels d'apprentissage et par le RCE-TA. Des experts en sciences de l'information, en éducation, en communications, en psychologie et en génie travaillent ensemble pour partager différentes approches et des connaissances scientifiques. Le projet de recherche d'UniVirtuelle a pour objectif d'élaborer un logiciel de pointe en collaboration, pour offrir des cours en ligne et faire du Canada un chef de file en éducation mondiale.  Le projet de recherche d' UniVirtuelle a également pour objectif de mieux comprendre les processus cognitifs et affectifs qui peuvent être identifiés  dans l'enseignement et l'apprentissage en ligne. Le logiciel a déjà été utilisé par plusieurs organismes, dont la plupart offrent des cours postsecondaires en ligne et pour la formatin du personnel d'entreprises privés.Le logiciel a été élaboré pour soutenir et servir de plate-forme à l'acquisition de connaissances et à la collaboration virtuelle. L'UniVirtuelle est à l'essai dans plusieurs  établissements et organismes canadiens et internationaux; plus de 150 professeurs ont déjà utilisé le logiciel pour donner plus de 230 cours  d'environ 30 disciplines différentes de presque tous les champs de la connaissance.
 
-Learner Tools:
Bookmarks (allows linking to anywhere on the web from within the Course Spaces--the course syllabus or assignments--and from within a VGroups conference message), Multimedia (Upload tool supports uploading of files: text, graphics, video, audio into a Course Space, for the instructor or, for the student, into the Submission Box which is managed and created by the instructor.  VGroups Conferencing supports multimedia inclusion within conference  messages),Security(authenticates users by log-in and password and invites user to  change passwords online. Access can be restricted and/or modified by the system administrator. Different views and privileges are provided to  students, instructors and moderators. Courses may have opening web pages that are available for public view), E-mail (supports:
1) pre-addressed "mailto" emails to instructors and classmates through the browser,
2) use of the email system inherent in the browser,
3) form-based emails such as the Problem Report),
BBS file exchange (BBS functionality is implemented through the Conferencing System (VGroups) and the file upload/download capabilities of the Upload tool),  Newsgroups(VGroup it's "Newsgroups" capability. It gives instructors the ability to easily set up collaborative groups and define structures, tasks and objectives. Any user can easily learn to create and moderate conferences, authorize participants for each conference, and create sub-conferences to allow for more focused discussion of topics. Conferencing is supported graphically in context of assignments. VGroups lets students take on roles as moderator, participant or observer. All users can insert multimedia elements such as video and animation into messages. BBS functionality is implemented through the Conferencing System (VGroups) and the file upload/download capabilities of the course structure tool).
 

-Students Tools:
Progress tracking (Gradebook allows instructors to grade students quantitatively or qualitatively, using either numeric grades and/or text comments. Students can view their marks in a bar graph format to see where their mark falls in relation to the rest of the class), Motivation building (Virtual-U's VGroups can provide motivation by providing an inclusive discussion session where students become active learners, participating in conference discussions with classmates and instructors. In addition, Virtual-U includes tips for instructors and Help for students on how to develop study skills in an online, asynchronous environment. As mentioned, the Gradebook allows the student to monitor their instructor's critical evaluation online), Study skill building (Vgroups and also includes tips for instructors and Help for students that describe how to develop study skills in an online, asynchronous environment).
 

-Support Tools:
Course planning (Course Structuring Tool supports the instructor defining the Units, Topics, Assignments, and Resources of the course. It facilitates uploads of text to the file system and provision of links to resources and descriptions) Course managing (VGroups conferences allows instructor to group classes into separate study sessions Instructor can include or exclude subconferencing by students Upload Tool supports inclusion of multimedia or text into Course Space. Gradebook supports marking numerically and/or with free-style text comments. Instructor can se  grade ranges Instructor can grade of any total, later calculated as a give  percentage of course total Instructor can include or exclude the student's  view of class grade range),  Course customizing (supports rapid revisions through the online web-based Forms, and file upload capabilities), Course monitoring (Future version of Virtual-U includes tips for instructors and more capability for course monitoring),  Instructional designing (instructional design pages with current information on creating a collaborative learning, knowledge-building learning environment),  Presenting information (supports upload of instructor files, presentation of Unit, Topic, Assignment and Resource descriptions and online URL links to hypertext, images, video, and audio resources), Managing records (Gradebook and the upload capability provide support  the instructor in managing records concerning assigments submitted), Analyzing and tracking(currently provides only the data tracking and  analysis inherent in the UNIX-based application. Later versions of Virtual-U will provide tool support for instructors), Building knowledge(The Instructional Support Pages uses a scaffolding approach to provide the instructors with a good base of knowledge for developing their courses online. Future versions of Virtual-U will include more supports for knowledge building) Team Building(Tips for instructors provide basic insights to this important area. Later versions of Virtual-U will provide more support for team building within Virtual-U.), Building motivation(tips for instructors and Help for students on how to develop study skills in an online, asynchronous environment. As mentioned, the Gradebook allows the student to monitor their instructor's critical evaluation online).

-Administration:
Installation (provides the Sys Adm with a script library for operations such as Installation, Archiving, and Moving the server site),  Authorization(provides tables for the SysAdm to update that allocate authorizations (permissions for security levels of SysAdm, Instructor, Moderator, Student )), Server security (uses the standard Web-based user/password authorization, plus an encryption algorithm for Gradebook),  Resource monitoring (currently provides only the data tracking and analysis inherent in the UNIX-based application. Later versions of Virtual-U will provide tool support for the technical administrator),Remote access (remote access tools inherent in the Web sufficient for the webmaster (FTP, TAR, etc.)).
 

-TechInfo:
Unix Server

-Price 1999:
$4,750 +$4,750/an

-Help desk
Student support and Instructor support

WebBoard
 
WebBoard is a product from O'Reilly Software, including Microsoft's database technology.

-Learner Tools:
Multimedia, E-mail, Security (password security or cookie authentification front door and private conferences are only visible to members), BBS file exchange (File attachments to messages can be downloaded. Supports document, image, multimedia, and application file types), Newsgroups, Chat

-No Students Tools

-Support Tools:
Course managing (provides a password protected structure of conferences of messages that can include file attachments that can be downloaded), Course customizing,  Course monitoring (provides log files of usage and content of chat usage. No specific tracking tools provided),Managing records,  Analyzing and tracking

-Administration:
 Simple installation from CD using self contained special purpose server which can be on its own port., Authorization,  Crash recovery, Installation (Server installation includes both software setup tools and installations related services provided by the vendor), Registering, Server security, Remote access(Supports browser for remote access management of all but logs).

-TechInfo:
Windows NT 4.0 Server,

-Price 1999:
30-day Demo; product pricing: $1199

-Help desk:
Student support


Web Course in a Box

 
Web Course in a Box, originally released in 1996, was the first web course management system and is now joined by two add-on companion products,
Web Campus in a Box, and Web CourseBuilder ToolBox.  Taken together, the products help educators create and manage a comprehensive teaching and learning environment on the World Wide Web.  In addition, there is a chat facility with an integrated
whiteboard that can import sound and graphic files.  Other additions include a gradebook and assignment management system. Improvements have also been made to the calendar, testing system and navigation for  both the authoring tools and courses.

 A new add-on package, Web Campus in a Box, makes it easy to build an online presence for a department, program or community.  The software includes templates for building lists of students, instructors, active courses, announcements and archived courses.  It provides tools for building home pages for instructors and students and for developing general access or restricted discussion forums.  The system includes login tracking and integrates seamlessly with Web Course in a Box.

       Another new add-on, Web CourseBuilder ToolBox, enables an organization to build its own tool kit of features.  Built in features include a faculty home page lister, a forum builder and a course page lister that integrates other courses with those created with Web Course in a Box.

Fonctionnalités:

 -calendar,
 -gradebook,
 -assignment Manager,
 -integrated Chat and Whiteboard,
 -enhanced self-correcting quizzes,
 -lesson pages,
 -course home page customization.
 

-Learner Tools:
Multimedia (multimedia links embedded in courseware),   Security(Standard password access supported. Version 4 supports an anonymous login option),E-mail (Class member e-mail is supported), BBS file exchange(File attachments are supported in the discussion forums and linked dowloads from the student portfolios are supported), Newsgroups (Class forums are supported including the ability for instructors to set up subgroups), Chat (Version 4 supports chat integrated with the whiteboard), Whiteboard (A Java-based whiteboard is now available with WCB (using Link-Systems International software). The White Board provides a toolfor synchronous and asynchronous communication and a graphical tablet. The whiteboard system is archivable which provides a way to allow asynchronous access)
 

-Students Tools:
Self-assessing (Self-scoring quizes that post scores and time taken to the server are available. Version 4 provides the capability to produce the  self-assessing data set for item analysis), Progress tracking(Version 4 gradebook allows students to view their own submissions),Motivation building (Support for for Students can to create Web portfolios which link to Web projects. These can be for one class or multiple  courses. Individualized feedback can be provided for quizzes. There is also extensive support for small group project interaction).

-Support Tools:
Course planning (Supported with multiple templates that can be customized),  Course managing (Support for Multiple Instructors editing/managing a class. Learning objects can be orgainzed via the course calendar or the course scheduler. The gradebook facility and the study group facility provide flexibility. Discussion forums can be sorted, and edited at both the  thread and individual level.), Course customizing(Support for copying of Classes between Instructor accounts. The customizable template approach builds on 6 basic looks), Course monitoring (Ability to track student gradebook access and course logins),  Instructional designing (Lesson builder templates and a Syllabus tool. Version 4 also has a Calendar tool as an additional way to organize instruction),  Presenting information (Supports generic approach via template driven presentations),  Testing(supported with a quiz builder tool for short answer, multiple choice and True-False formats. Version 4 additionaly provides for essays), Marking on-line (Using the gradebook tool instructors, guest faculty or TA's can access and mark assignments and submissions. The gradebook facility provides for individualized comments and feedback), Managing records(supported by the gradebook tool),  Analyzing and tracking (Quiz item level analysis by student and additional tracking information on login and logoff times. ), Curriculum Managing (supports the moving of learning objects between courses and the copying of whole courses. The Web-Campus-in-a-Box companion product addon provides program level management with listing facilty for courses and faculty studies),Building knowledge (supported via a partnership link to University of the Future module covering issues in online learning),  Team Building(explicitily supports team teaching of courses. Optional addon Web-Campus-in-a-Box provides a collaborative environment with discussion forums and small groupwhiteboard interaction support.), Building motivation (supported with a Faculty Home Page tool)

-Administration:
Installation (supports setup via a Help Desk. Also site hosting service is available), Authorization(Support for batch adding/deleting of students and instructor accounts. There is support for a "Super User" Admin feature. Also instructors can provide a guest account if they wish),  Registering (In future there will be ODBC compliance which will enable linkages with registration systems),  Server security (supports both student drops and the complete removal dropped student's involvement in the course.),  Remote access (supported via telnet for administrative functions and standard account fucntions can be accessed via the browser), Crash recovery(special provisons to automatically backup the password  file)

-TechInfo:
Windows NT 4.0 Server, Unix Server

-Price 1999:
free unsupported version 2 (?), version 3 is $3000US;  cela coûte $2OOUS par instructeur. Il existe une démo, mais les cours créés sont détruits périodiquement.

-Help desk:
Student support (For an additional fee student support at the course level through Virtual Help Des), Instructor support (The WCB administrator can now easily log in as any  user without restarting, allowing better trouble-shooting and working with instructors in training. WBC help desk supported is provided for WCB hosted sites and for two technicians via e-mail for locally hosted sites).
 

 Interface example for the teacher:



Features :creation of instructional Web pages without having to learn HTML, combined in a completely integrated system (on ne dit pas avec quel est l'outil)possible to pick and choose among available features (modularity)Ease of use to create a course Web site ( en quoi est-ce facile?)Learner-centered: the self-correcting quizzes, for example, provide immediate, in-context feedback to students with remediation suggestions based on student performanceEmpowers faculty : the whole design of WCB is based on putting the control of the Web environment into the hands of the faculty member creating the Web site, including not only content, but page design and access control as well.
no proprietary softwareWCB was specially designed for US higher education but is adaptable to other environments (à voir!)Scalable: WCB can be used for small learning environments or in large institutions with thousands of users.Customizable. Schools can change basic look of and settings for WCB through editing of one configuration file. For further customization  source code can be edited and adapted to local needs. Since it's written in the most widely used programming environment on the Web today  (Perl), the code is likely to be accessible to many Web administrators.
On-going development since 1995 by original developers, as well as by institutional partners.Development is based on feedback from users, not driven by commercial marketing strategies.Support: technical support is offered by madDuck through the support subscription contract, which includes a 75-page, step by step user's guide.
 

 
 
 

WebCT


                    WebCT was developed in the Department of Computer Science at the University of British Columbia. The faculty member in charge of the project, Murray W. Goldberg, has had experience building, delivering and studying the success of web-based courses, and of web-based material used to supplement existing courses.

PEABODY MA--May 17, 1999
Universal Learning Technology TM (ULT), a leading provider of Internet-based interactive teaching and learning software and tools, today announced that it has acquired WebCT Educational Technologies Corporation, a leading developer  of tools that facilitate the creation of sophisticated Web-based educational environments. The combination of the two companies creates a clear leader in  the web-based learning marketplace, with the industry's largest installed base of more than two million seats at over 700 colleges and universities in 36 countries as well as deep financial, management and marketing resources.
 

-Learner Tools:
Bookmarks (webct keeps track, on a per-student basis, the most recently visited page of content. When the student returns to a course WebCT can place that student back at that same position and in the same context in order to allow a quick return to learning), Multimedia ("audio" and "video" tools allow the addition of multimedia clips to any page of content. The clips can be categorized and are presented in a table by WebCT for viewing by the student), Security (Access control to all WebCT courses is guarded by username and password. WebCT recognizes the category of user by thei  username and presents the appropriate view. Course desginers also have the ability to allow students to create their own accounts), E-mail (supports searching. E-Mail is also integrated into student tracking and grade maintenance tools enabling lists of students with particular grade or participation charactistics to be sent group e-mail),  BBS file exchange(The conferencing tool is multi-fora, threaded, and searchable),  Newsgroups,  Chat  (Chat Supported - Enables chat within same course, or outside course to any course on same server. Chat conversations can also be saved and read by instructor),  Whiteboard

-Students Tools:
Self-assessing  (Supported for quizes - automatically marked questions associated with course content.),  Progress tracking (Supported and can optionally be released to students. Examples include student -centered (first access date, most recent accessdate, histogram showing detailed access ratios to all parts for course for this student, conferencing tool readings and  contributions, etc) and content-centered (number of accesses to each page of content, average time spent on each page of content, etc)), Searching(supports searching course notes as well as discussions), Motivation building (Students can have their own home page for the course and a student homepage generation tool is for students to buil  their own homepages in a webct course w/o any html knowledge),  Study  skill  building (Support for:on-line note takingstudy-guide generation of topics selected by student:students can view their grades on-line (and performance of rest of class)students can change their passwords on-linestudents can return to their most recent learning context with "resume session" tool
private content    annotation )

-Support Tools:
Course planning (Supported also the "link" tool can be used to add a URL reference to any page within or outside the WebCT course), Progress tracking (is done on the number of times that link is followed), Course managing (Supported - examples include student account management, grades maintenance, statistical summary of grades for instructor and (optionally) students. Also supports manual or automatic division of students into groups, and the assigning of a presentation area and private conference forum to each group. Also a "calendar" tool for  group/class scheduling), Course customizing (Course Revising - revisions done easily, on-line (via the web), within WebCT),Course monitoring(student -centered progress tracking (first access date, most  recent accessdate, histogram showing detailed access ratios to all  parts for course for this student, conferencing tool readings and contributions, etc)content-centered progress tracking (number of accesses to each  page of content, average time spent on each page of content, etc)on-line quizes - shows who has done quiz, who is doing quiz, who has yet to begin quiz, whcih quizzes have yet to be marked, and automatically enters grades into management system.tools for the site administrator to show resource usage such as course numbers, course sizes, creation and modification dates, and student enrollments),
Instructional designing (templates for the construction of various kinds of  standard pages such as course outlines, assignments, reading list, etc. ), Presenting information (Some limited support with common icons and shared fuctions and several forms of presenting information:via conferencing toolvia single-pages of contentvia "paths" of content (WebCT automatically provides multi-page content with navigation mechanisms, tool-bars, etc)via URLon-line and linkable glossary supporton-line course index supporthomepage "message" support
Testing (Supports both practice quizes and lab quizes),  Marking on-line, Managing records (WebCT authenticates all users by username and password, and presents the appropriate view of the course depending on the user class. There is also an option that allows students to create their own accounts, if desired by the course designer. WebCT also allows the creation of an external "Welcome" page with can be accessed by anyone  without an account on that course), Records management  allows (for example)addition of studentschange of passwordsmaintenance and distribution of grades and statisticsqueries to show, compare and analyse subsets of students  according to any search charactisticaddition of arbitrary content categories to student records (for example but not limited to, section number, attendance, comment,  etc) much like a spreadsheet),
 Analyzing and tracking (Supported with basic statistical analysis),  Building knowledge (The group presentation areas allow students in a group to author and present web-based material to the class. These presentations can become (at the discretion of the designer) a permanent or long-lived component of the course. Also students can make public annotations associated with any page of course content using the conferencing system. The designer has the option of placing a conferece button on any page of content. When the student accesses the conference there, the assumption is that the post being made is related to that content page. The post, while also appearing in a special forum of the main conference, remains associated with the page of content. Also, all follow-ups of that post also remain associated with that page. The intent is that new students will be able to quickly access all questions/comments/annotations that have previously been made about that page by clicking on the conference button at the top of the page. Also, if such a post is viewed from the main homepage, the subject is a link which displays the page itself, allowing everyone to see the context that the student was in when they made the post),  Team Building (supports manual or automatic division of students into groups, and the assigning of a presentation area and private conference forum to each group).

-Administration:
Installation (Supported with optional technical support arrangement),   Authorization(All courses are access controlled, as is the  administration interface. The administrator has tools for authorizing courses. The course designers have tools for authorizing tutors and students),  Server securityCourse passwords must be reasonable (in terms of content and
length) or will not be allowed.WebCT server can be installed as a regular user to minimize  security concerns),
Resource monitoring (WebCT admin interface provides resource usage info such as disk usage per course, number of student accounts per course, etc.),  Remote access (WebCT administration (not just course design) is all web-based), Crash recovery(Supports local backup of the desktop by the instructor (also for course transfer to another server))

-Help desk:
Student support  (on-line help for conferencing system and e-mail. Rest of tools have small descriptions), Instructor supportfull, on-line, context sensitive help, also available as separate
manual (130 pages)on-line tutorial document to get first-time users up and going.webct-users mailing list
 

 

-TechInfo:
Windows NT 4.0 Server, Unix Server

-Price 1999:
Start-up free and on-going 50 to 0.5 cents per student per month, (unlimited licence is $3000US/year)


 

WorkMates 4
 
 

The interfaces of  WorkMates 4 look like these of  WebCT, for the teacher. The icons are not always readable; fortunately, when you select the icon,  you can read its function.

There is a demo.
 

TRAVAIL D'EVALUATION ET DE COMPARAISON DES PRODUITS EXISTANTS

 
Evaluation criteria:
Prior to investigating specific software packages, the following criteria were developed as a means
for performing a functional task and technical assessment of potential applications.
Prennent en compte 3 perspectives d'évaluation: point de vue de la faculté, point de vue de l'étudiant et point de vue technique, (manque le point de vue du professeur)

Questions for the evaluation of a product:
Synchronous: Can two or more individuals communicate at the same time, using a chat room
atmosphere?
Asynchronous: Can individuals respond to or create messages to topics at different times?
Threaded Discussions: Can individuals respond to specific messages and/or view other responses
under the same category, as one might contribute to an outline?
Multimedia Capabilities: Can text, graphics and video be uploaded?
Moderator Functions: Does the faculty member have control over the creation, modification and
deletion of a course?
Online: Is documentation available in the form of an online manual that provides text and screen
displays?
Easy Integration: Does the application allow either uploading or linking to existing files or
WebPages?
Printablity: Are students able to print pages or frames?
Specific File Formats: Can common file formats be imported and displayed via a browser?
Database Interface: Does the software use an SQL compliant database?
Batch Registration: Can an electronic roster of students be uploaded
Access Restrictions: Can access be restricted to a portions of a course, such as student information
and grades?
Secure Protocol & Authentication: Can other authentication such as Kerberos be used with this
package?
Platform: Does it run on different operating systems?
Web-based: Is the interface web-based?
Learning Curve: What type of learning curve is expected for faculty? What type of learning curve
is expected for students?
Administration of privilege: Is the faculty member the administrator in deciding what students will
or will not have access to?
Resources: What resources are required?
Transparent technology: Other software is not necessary for the functioning of the package.
Client cost: What costs must the client incur?
University cost: What are the operational costs to the University?
Extensibility: Is the product upgraded routinely?
Scalability: Can space, number of users, etc. be increased.
Client Requirements: What hardware and software would students need for optimal functioning?
Performance and Reliability support: What type of support is available?
Estimated Maintenance: What are operational requirements?
Ratio of Up/Down time: How much time is the software available to the users?

Voir également comparaison du rapport "Recommendations for a course management/collaboration tool" (avril 1998) (dossier PDF)

Comparaison entre les produits suivants ayant les fonctionnalités suivantes:

1.Outils de navigation sur le Web (éditeurs de textes, sons et images, bookmarks, multimedia, securité)
2.Outils de communication asynchrone (e-mail, BBS file exchange, newsgroup...)
3.Outils de communication synchrone  (chat, whiteboard, application partagée, group browsing, téléconférence, vidéoconférence...)
4.Outils de  suivi de la formation  (étudiants)(auto-évaluation, suivi des progrès, entraînement motivation, entraînement méthodes de travail...)
5.Outils d'organisation  et de gestion des cours (professeurs) (planification, gestion, personnalisation, monitoring...)
6.Outils de production et de présentation des cours (production de séquences, présentation de l'information, tests...)
7.Outils d'évaluation (notation, analyse des progrès individuels...)
8.Outils de construction  et organisation des connaissances (étudiants)
9.Outils Administration (installation, autorisation, enregistrement, frais d'enregistrement, sécurité serveur, ressources monitoring, accès à distance, récupération des données, organisation des programmes)
10.Aides en ligne, tutoriels


 
 
POINTS FORTS
POINTS FAIBLES
Lotus Learning Space
1) Outils de navigation sur le Web
2) participation asynchrone (e-mail, BBS file exchange, newsgroup)
3) participation synchrone (Chat, Whiteboard, application sharing, group browsing, teleconferencing, videoconferencing)
4) Outils de  suivi de la formation  (étudiants)(auto-évaluation, suivi des progrès, entraînement motivation, entraînement méthodes de travail...)
5) Outils d'organisation et de gestion des cours (professeurs) (planification, gestion, personnalisation, monitoring...)
6) Outils de production et de présentation des cours (production de séquences, présentation de l'information, tests...)
7) Outils d'évaluation (notation, analyse des progrès individuels...)
9) administration (installation, autorisation, enregistrement, frais d'enregistrement, sécurité serveur, ressources monitoring, accès à distance, récupération des données)
10) aides professeur/élève		 No freeware

Produit propriétaire(Lotus Development Corporation (IBM))

Outils de gestion des connaissances

Outils d'organisation des programmes

 
WebCT
1) Outils de navigation sur le Web
2) participation asynchrone(e-mail, BBS file exchange, newsgroup)
4) Outils de  suivi de la formation  (étudiants)(auto-évaluation, suivi des progrès, entraînement motivation, entraînement méthodes de travail...)
5) Outils d'organisation et de gestion des cours(professeurs) (planification, gestion, personnalisation, monitoring...)
6) Outils de production et de présentation des cours (production de séquences, présentation de l'information, tests...)
7) Outils d'évaluation (notation, analyse des progrès individuels...)
9) administration (installation, autorisation, enregistrement, frais d'enregistrement, sécurité serveur, ressources monitoring, accès distant, récupération des données)
10) aides professeur/élève		 Start-up free,  but not on-going
Produit propriétaire (ULT)

Outil de gestion des connaissances

Outil d'organisation des programmes
Generation21
1) Outils de navigation sur le Web (bookmarks, multimedia, securité)
2) participation asynchrone
4) Outils de  suivi de la formation  (étudiants)(auto-évaluation, suivi des progrès, entraînement motivation, entraînement méthodes de travail...)
5) Outils d'organisation et de gestion des cours (professeurs) (planification, gestion, personnalisation, monitoring...)
6) Outils de production et de présentation des cours (production de séquences, présentation de l'information, tests...)
7) Outils d'évaluation (notation, analyse des progrès individuels...)
9) administration (installation, autorisation, enregistrement, frais d'enregistrement, sécurité serveur, ressources monitoring, accès distant, récupération des données)
10) aides professeur/élève		 Produit propriétaire (Advantage  Learning Systems, Inc.)
CourseInfo
1) Outils de navigation sur le Web
2) participation asynchrone(e-mail, BBS file exchange, newsgroup)
5) Outils d'organisation et de gestion des cours (professeurs) (planification, gestion, personnalisation, monitoring...)
6) Outils de production et de présentation des cours (production de séquences, présentation de l'information, tests...)
7) Outils d'évaluation (notation, analyse des progrès individuels...)
9) administration (installation, autorisation, enregistrement, frais d'enregistrement, sécurité serveur, ressources monitoring, accès distant, récupération des données)
10) aides professeur/élève		 Produit propriétaire (Blackboard Inc.)
Top Class
1) Outils de navigation sur le Web
2) participation asynchrone(e-mail, BBS file exchange, newsgroup)
5) Outils d'organisation et de gestion des cours (professeurs) (planification, gestion, personnalisation, monitoring...)
6) Outils de production et de présentation des cours (production de séquences, présentation de l'information, tests...)
7) Outils d'évaluation (notation, analyse des progrès individuels...)
10) aides professeur/élève		 Produit propriétaire (WBT Systems)
Web Course in a Box
2) participation asynchrone(e-mail, BBS file exchange, newsgroup)
6) Outils de production et de présentation des cours (production de séquences, présentation de l'information, tests...)
7) Outils d'évaluation (notation, analyse des progrès individuels...)
8) outils de construction et d'organisation des connaissances (étudiants)
9) administration (installation, autorisation, enregistrement, frais d'enregistrement, sécurité serveur, ressources monitoring, accès distant, récupération des données, organisation des programmes)
10) aides professeur/élève 
Produit propriétaire (MadDuck)
FirstClass
2) participation asynchrone(e-mail, BBS file exchange, newsgroup)
5) Outils d'organisation et de gestion des cours (professeurs) (planification, gestion, personnalisation, monitoring...)
9) administration (installation, autorisation, enregistrement, frais d'enregistrement, sécurité serveur, ressources monitoring, accès distant, récupération des données)
10) aides professeur/élève		  Produit propriétaire (Softarc)
Virtual-U
2) participation asynchrone(e-mail, BBS file exchange, newsgroup)
5) Outils d'organisation et de gestion des cours (professeurs) (planification, gestion, personnalisation, monitoring...)
10) aides professeur/élève		 Fonctionnalités insuffisantes
Produit propriétaire (Virtual Learning Environments Inc. & TeleLearning Network of Centres of Excellence) 
WebBoard
2) participation asynchrone(e-mail, BBS file exchange, newsgroup)
10) aides professeur/élève		 Produit propriétaire (O'Reilly)
Prix: $1199
Fonctionnalités insuffisantes
Pas d'outils étudiants
PlaceWare
10) aides professeur/élève		 Fonctionnalités insuffisantes
Norton Connect
 10) aides professeur/élève Fonctionnalités insuffisantes

 Voir en détail:

 -Lotus Learning Space pour les fonctionnalités de participation synchrone et administration
 -Generation21 pour les outils de navigation sur le Web
 -Web Course in a Box pour les outils de construction et d'organisation des connaissances
 -FirstClass pour les outils concernant l'administration