Transcript CoLab - An Open Source Solution to Collaboration across Distances

An Open Source Solution to
Collaboration Across Distances
Jordan Carswell, Web Designer
[email protected]
Doris Rousey, Instructional Design Coordinator
[email protected]
I will leave here today with…
 A sample methodology for developing instructional
materials across distances
 An introduction to Plone - a free and valuable
software tool for interactive collaboration
 A comprehensive list of resources for follow-up
at my institution or organization
Session Agenda
I.
Background
II.
Transition to CoLab
III.
CoLab Walkthrough
IV.
Final Thoughts
V.
Q&A
Texas Collaborative for
Teaching Excellence
 Funded by the Texas Higher
Ed Coordinating Board
(THECB)
 Eight college partners
 Five centers for teaching
and learning, technical and
professional development
 CORD–A non-profit
educational clearinghouse
Center for Discipline-Specific
Professional Development
Houston Community College-Northwest
 Focuses on building knowledge and skills for faculty within
a technical specialty or integrated academic discipline.
 Coordinates instructional module development among the
partner colleges of the collaborative. Each college creates
discipline-specific teaching modules based on a standard
pedagogical template proposed by the center.
Teaching Modules
Full-featured discipline-specific teaching modules
 Intended as teaching guides for faculty
 Faculty use in part or whole
 Promote effective instruction
 Various delivery methods
Module Distribution
Modules are published on the Texas Collaborative web site
Various Ways to Utilize Modules
Hands-On Labs
Industrial Technology
Workshops
Classroom Technology
Online Courses
Module Development
Before CoLab
Developer
Developer
Developer
Clearinghouse
Reviewer
Template
Developer
Developer
Developer
Module Development
With CoLab
Private Web
Working Space
So What is CoLab?
• CoLab is an online workspace for module
developers and producers running on the open
source Plone content management system.
 Private Site
 Common Platform
 Standard Format
 Peer Review
 Workflow
 Communication
 Shared Resources
Plone Content Management System
• Plone is an out-of-the-box ready content
management system (CMS) that is built on the
powerful and free Zope application server.
 Open Source
 Easy to Install and Use
 International
 Standards-based
 Well Supported
 Extensible
 Technology Neutral
CoLab Technical Specifications
Hardware Environment
 Dual 1GHz G4 Processors
 1.5GB RAM
 65GB Hard Drive
Software Environment
 Mac OS 10.2
 Zope 2.6.1
 Python 2.1
 Plone 1.0.5
Features of the CoLab Interface
Site Tabs
Breadcrumbs
Calendar
Site Search
Personal Bar
Who’s Online
Messages
Developer Workspace
Developer
Portrait
Dynamic
Navigation
Messages
Developer
Bio
Developer Workspace: Content Manager
Content
Tabs
File/Folder
Management
Add New
Content
Developer Workspace: Document View
Module
Navigation
Module
Content
Editor/Peer
Comments
Developer Workspace: Document Editor
File Name
Full-featured
HTML Editor
Page Title
Description
(Metadata)
Developer Workspace: Metadata
Metadata:
-Keywords,
-Format,
-Language,
-Rights,
-Contributors
Add New
Keywords
Developer Workspace: Workflow
Current
Status
Workflow
Transitions
Publishing
History
Export module using WebDAV…
Module
Content
…to separate content from CoLab…
…and publish to the public web site
Different
Template
Same
Content
…then submit to MERLOT
Looking Back & Moving Ahead
So Far…
 CoLab was initiated in Fall 2003
 23 faculty have participated
 30 modules have been developed
On the Horizon…
 Plone Upgrade to 2.0.3
 Metadata Taxonomy
 RSS (Really Simple Syndication)
Thanks for your time today!
CoLab URL:
http://colab.nwc.hccs.edu
Guest Account:
user - guest
password - merlot