CopperCore, an Open Source IMS Learning Design Engine

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CopperCore, an Open Source IMS Learning Design
Engine

• Hubert Vogten
• Open University of the Netherlands
• OTEC

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What is Open Source?

• Open Source is about
• the right to make copies of the software and
  distribute these copies
• the right to access the source code of the
  software
• the right to make improvements to the software
• these rights are guaranteed through a license
• For an exact definition and the approved licenses
  have a look at http//opensource.org

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Open University of the Netherlands (OTEC)

• has been involved in the development of an
  learning design specification for many years
  which finally resulted in IMS Learning Design
• is committed to providing services/dissemination
  but, has limited resources
• the LD community is looking at us with regards to
  first implementations of the specifications of
  this complex specification
• we decided to develop CopperCore, an IMS Learning
  Design Engine and make it available as Open
  Source

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CopperCore Development Strategy (1/2)

• Why Open Source development?
• out of principle, publicly funded, public access
• enhance quality, code is peer reviewed by
  community
• enhance resources by contributions of others
• enables the use of other Open Source components
• (governments are enforcing it by law, however not
  yet in the Netherlands)
• Advantage for users of CopperCore
• use of the code is free (access, copying,
  modifying)
• no restrictions in usage of the code except for
  the GPL in case of the CopperCore
• No issues about IPR when collaborating with
  others

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CopperCore Development Strategy (2/2)

• CopperCore Objectives
• to provide an open source software component that
  can process the IMS Learning Design
  specification encapsulating its complexity for
  developers wanting to integrate LD in their
  environment
• NOT to provide yet another VLE
• allows integration in different environments
• not indented to be used stand alone, but rather
  in a service or component based architecture

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CopperCore APIs

• Provides 3 Application Programming Interfaces
• dealing with administrative tasks
• dealing with run-time delivery of the IMS LD
  specification
• dealing with time dependent events
• Two levels of APIs are supported
• native Java, based on the J2EE framework
• web services through SOAP

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CopperCore layered architecture
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The CopperCore add-ons

• Clicc
• very basic command line access to the
  administrative API
• Publisher
• a basic web interface allowing the validation and
  publication of IMS LD manifests
• WebPlayer
• very simple LD player demonstrating the use of
  the run-time delivery API

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CopperCore and other components
authentication
QTI component
authorization
CopperCore
searching
conferencing
policy management
LIP component
user management
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CopperCore integration Alfanet
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CopperCore integration JISC ELF Framework
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How did Open Source strategy help us ?

• by giving IMS LD community easy access to
  CopperCore, stimulating use of LD
• similar we can and did use developments of
  others. Community building around (educational)
  components
• we have got feedback and code proposals from
  others which enhanced and improved our
  developments
• has led to cooperation with others like Alfanet,
  the Service Based Learning Design in JISC ELF and
  with Reload in Unfold

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Additional information

• CopperCore http//copercore.org
• Unfold http//www.unfold-project.net
• Reload http//reload.ac.uk
• The SLeD player http//ldplayer.sourceforge.net
• JISC E-Learning Framework http//www.jisc.ac.uk/
• Alfanet http//alfanet.ia.uned.es
• And the stand of the Open University

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Why choose for Open Source Development?

• Principle reasons
• publicly funded projects should be publicly
  accessible
• Practical reasons
• more and more governments enforcing it by law
• means of bundling and extending resources
• more people working on the code
• re-use of components that are available
• means of improving quality by having peers
  reviewing the code