Singlesource multipleoutput authoring and transformation

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Single-source multiple-output authoring and
transformation

• IDEA 2006 - Open e-Learning Forum
• Micheal Hall
• Chief Technology Officer
• Nine Lanterns
• mhall_at_ninelanterns.com.au

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Agenda

• who is doing single-source? (our experience)
• review of single-source authoring scenarios
• architectures
• implications
• recommendations

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Who are Nine Lanterns?

• Formed early 2001
• An elearning company providing
• strategy consulting
• third generation elearning content creation
• transformation of existing content into effective
  learning
• systems and tools to support above
• contributed to IMS QTI through sister company
  development of QTI player
• http//www.ninelanterns.com.au

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Why single-source focus?

• emerging patterns
• current area of (some) neglect in tools,
  standards
• where some of our customers are rubber on the
  road

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What part of the environment?
Mobile
SCOsPDF
single source,single organisationmultiple
outputs
CDROMS
From Dan Rehak
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Single-source authoring organisations

• In our experience have been
• corporate (not education)
• business models around value in content products
• high value attached to 'hour of learning'
• corresponding high investment in content
  production
• interactivity
• visual design
• editing
• video / audio production
• deep learning models
• regulatory or other changes to be tracked
• Less interested in sharing content outside
• organisation at sub publishing level

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Single-source authoring organisations

• Interested in multiple output platform authoring
  to
• leverage value through multiple delivery channels
• increase efficiency of expensive SME reviews
• reduce points of connection to legislative changes

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Single-source authoring organisations

• Product constraints
• high aesthetics
• visual
• content
• Implications for content, standards
• dislike of LMS generated course menus down the
  left
• content product perception must more than 'bundle
  of resources

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Single-source authoring organisations

• Interested in standards?
• developing or involvement in tomorrows
  standards?
• not interested watch, get on with the work at
  hand, but
• ensure content can be delivered
• standards for content packaging/communication
• protect investment

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Recurring scenarios

• How do keep all the content in my different
  output channels in sync? (cheaply)
• One large policy problem, a number of small
  different technical problems

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Recurring scenarios analysis

• Decompose into simpler key use cases, some nouns
  
• Asset
• (Learning) Object
• Realisation
• Fragment
• and verbs
• Reference
• Transform
• Re-skin
• Re-wrap
• Re-aggregate

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Single source scenario single assets

• Single item
• inclusion of a single digital asset (typically
  media file) in multiple presentation outputs
• stable uris / urls (simpler problem in single
  organisation)
• standard CMS function today

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Single source scenario realised assets

• Multiple Realisations of single item
• semantically identical
• applied modifications for presentation
  environment
• media files
• language
• bandwidth
• compression codecs
• resolution / dimensions

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Referencing assets

• Directly linking to assets from multiple outputs
• Requirement
• ability of target output to support asset
  references
• html, flash urls
• office documents paste link (webdav, filesystem)
• print documents place link
• repository support for realisation parameters
• http//repository/getasset?id123bandwithlow
• http//repository/getasset?id123bandwithhigh
• in absence of both / either
• dump assets realisations from repository and
  include in output

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Single source scenario (Learning) Objects

• Re-skinning
• Identical content, different visual presentation
• for branding
• application of end-user logos, palettes to
  content body
• XHTML PDF DOC RTF
• store/author in XML
• transform to output document XSLFO
• storage formats
• Docbook, DITA, ODF
• roll your own (QTI)

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Single source scenario (Learning) Objects

• Re-wrapping
• Identical content, different technical wrapping
  for launch
• XHTML flash based object
• package as SCO or AICC with runtime for LMS
  import / launch
• package as CDROM with autoplay
• SCO packaging easy SCO runtime harder

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Single source scenario (Learning) Objects

• Display device enhancement
• XHTML better format when printed
• using CSS
• _at_media screen ..
• _at_media print ..

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Single source scenario (Learning) Objects

• Re-aggregation
• at the learning object level
• increasing support from vendor, open source tools
• challenges are now in instructional design models
• removing context from object
• cf. 'what is a learning object' debate

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Single source scenario text fragments

• Text fragments below the page level
• deeply embedded in different outputs
• complex interdependencies, cannot be resolved by
  decomposition
• hard problem
• Specific examples in Aviation, Automotive
• single monolithic document (SGML, XML)
• inline 'streaming' of versions through tagging
• overload content schema with versioning and
  streaming tags (Robohelp, S1000D)
• heavy approach requires expert authors

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Architectures

• Key business rules
• ownership responsibility for application of
  downstream changes
• ie who will deal with the impact of modifying
  asset x which is used in many places?
• Choices
• Owner of source asset/object
• Where used reports (trackbacks)
• Push changes (PENS, APIs)
• Owner of target outputs
• Notify and pull (RSS, APIs)

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Architectures

• All our implementations to date have been push
• Nebula platform http//www.ninelanterns.com.au/pro
  ducts/nebula
• single authoring vendor
• business rule driven
• Pre PENS, rolled our own LMS push

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Nebula Production Process
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Architectures

• In multi-vendor environment SOA (service oriented
  architecture) suggests notify and pull
• Standards needed for
• Messaging (Web services / RSS / RDF / Trackback,
  ..)
• Relationships
• Changeset descriptions (Microformat?)
• Identity (Handles, CORDRA, ..)
• Mash it up now

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Implications of single-source

• Separation of content from presentation means
  goodbye WSIWYG, hello structured forms and
  previews
• Tools and workflows need attention
• Poor user acceptance so far need word for the
  web
• Increased maturity in content unit testing
• Automated test suites for content quality
• Eg. Visual differencing

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Recommendations

• No silver bullets for single-source authoring
• Decompose problem into key use cases, solve
  piecewise
• Set business rules for propagation from
  single-source
• Store content in defensible format and transform
  when required
• Ensure open access to content in vendor systems