Pachyderm What Is It

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PachydermWhat Is It How Does It Work?

• Chris Scruton
• Senior Educational Technology ConsultantDistribut
  ed Education and Instructional TechnologyOffice
  of the Senior Vice President and
  ProvostUniversity of Minnesota, Twin Cities
• scru0002_at_umn.edu

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What isPachyderm?
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Pachyderm is . . .

• ...an online tool for developing instructional
  and informational content.
• For authors
• Create content by selecting a preferred template
  type and populating it via a Web-based form.
• Completed content may be published to a Web
  site or delivered locally via CD-ROM.
• For student-users
• Content accessed through a Web browser.
• Only the Flash plug-in is required to access
  content.

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How doesPachyderm work?
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Pachyderm works by . . .

• combining media from a content repository with
• layout and formatting information from a
  user-selected template to
• create a Macromedia Flash content object that can
  be displayed and manipulated in student-users
  Web browsers.

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To make this work, authors

• . . . build media libraries,
• . . . select a template and add content, and
• . . . output (or publish) a completed file, ready
  to be delivered from a server or via some
  portable medium (e.g., CD-ROM).

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Some limitations of the current Pachyderm install

• Multiple authorship and workgroup media sharing
  are both challenging
• Workaround Create a project- or group-specific
  account and share the login/password among team
  members
• Distribution of the finished files can likewise
  present a challenge
• They can be distributed from the Pachyderm
  server, but the process is cumbersome (not
  indexed or searchable)
• Better solution Package as .ZIP archive and
  unpack/store/distribute via Vista/Moodle,
  content-management system or standard Web server,
  or even CD-ROM.

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Build a Media Library (I)Log-In to Pachyderm
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Build a Media Library (II)Import Files
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Build a Media Library (III) Add Metadata 1
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Build a Media Library (IV) Add Metadata 2
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Select a Template and Add Content (I)
Template-Based Authoring

• Pachyderm uses a parent-child authoring
  paradigm
• Authors selection of a home screen template
  affects his or her choice of linked screen
  looks
• For templates, see the Template Overview at
  http//www.pachyderm.org/docs/PachyTemplateOvervi
  ew.pdf

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Select a Template and Add Content (II)
Template-Based Authoring

• Pachyderm uses a parent-child authoring
  paradigm (contd)
• See also the Grid-Based Template Workbook at
  http//www.pachyderm.org/docs/gridtemplate.pdf
• Matchas closely as possibleyour choice of
  template with your pedagogic objectives
• For example, 'slider' versus 'aspects'

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Select a Template and Add Content (III) Select a
Home Screen
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Select a Template and Add Content (IV) I picked
Zoom'
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Select a Template and Add Content (V) Add Content
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Output a Completed File (I) When Completed,
Publish
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Output a Completed File (II)Bundled Output
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Pachyderm ChallengesSummarized

• File upload can be awkward
• Template features, limits poorly documented
• Text formatting problematic
• Document length
• A problem of mindset rather than a technical
  problem (scrolling features work well, just
  awkward for longer texts)
• Multiple authorship not well supported
• Templates can be difficult to construct

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Pachyderm 2.1.0Changes (Coming Soon)

• Fully Section 508-compliant
• Will require asset/project conversion
• New templates, including
• Limits on media-type/module length removed from
  existing templates
• Timeline template full-screen .SWF shell
• Low-level interactives (games, quizzes, etc.)
• 'Mid-ground' image improved frame editor
• Integration with the enterprise
• Enhanced interoperability with existing/emerging
  systems
• especially media/learning object repositories via
  OSIDs

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Exemplary Project (I)

• The Walter Art Museum's Integrating the Arts
  presentationhttp//www.thewalters.org/education_a
  rt/education_teachers_resources_education.aspx

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Exemplary Project (II)

• California State University system's ELIXR
  presentationshttp//elixr.merlot.org/

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Exemplary Project (III)

• The Minnesota Digital Library's Immigrants in
  Minnesota History demonstration
  projecthttp//www.mndigital.org/web_assets/docs/d
  emo/MDLImmigrants_Pachyderm_v02/

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Pachyderm Resources
To download the Pachyderm server
application http//www.pachyforge.org To
purchase hosted Pachyderm authoring
accounts http//pachyderm.nmc.org