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July 21, 2005

Innovative Additions to WebCT's Digital Content Offerings - Beyond ePaks

This session listed how WebCT's strategies have changed from older "ePaks" to post content, to newer richer content that is better integrated with WebCT. It was basically a marketing parade of current and future integration partners, such as Merlot, SafariU, etc. It didn't get into the technical details of how these are built, but that was listed in other sessions.

Content Mission:

Establish a collaborative, customer-driven process to produce content that will drive e-learning growth.

History of Digital Content at WebCT

  • Phase 1: quantity not quality

  • Phase 2: Start shift to quality. Not just texts online, Take advantage of online environment

  • Phase 3: Leveraging investment in other technologies

Now under one umbrella, the Powerlinks Network. Tools to:

  • integrate campus systems

  • extend teaching and learning environment

  • locate, author, and customize content

  • efficiently and effectively deploy WebCT

Integration of Systems

  • Library integration critical to content development

  • Endeavor, Ex Libris, Talis, etc. have powerlinks.

Extending teaching and learning environment

  • Respondus, turn it in, elluminate, horizon wimba, iLrn, MyMathLab, etc.

Locate, author, and customize content

  • Lots of content partners like Element K, Merlot, Wiley, etc.

  • Authoring tools like Macromedia

Principles that guide the PowerLinks program

  • high quality partners

  • customer designed and validated integrations

  • developed in conjunction with WebCT

  • Tested and Supported

Goals: Powerlinks that:

  • meet customer needs

  • leverage the customer investment in WebCT

New epacs for Fall 05

  • pruning of old stuff

  • Use new key features - revised and revamped with in put from our Digital Content Advisors

  • "smart versioning" on the content showcase.

Three partnerships and new options in progress:

  • Merlot: access to their Learning Object Repository. Includes access to RSS feeds, plus new functionality for searching through Merlot

  • SmarThinking: Live tutoring application. Includes tools related to the live tutoring directly in a WebCT course, using SSO, etc. Click the link, get a live tutor (or other service like critiquing papers, etc.)

  • SafariU: Modular Content for WebCT. Done by O'Reily. Instructors can compile content and create their own course pak from bits and pieces of the O'Reily textbooks.


Posted by kvl014 at July 21, 2005 05:51 PM