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526057 PP04.qxd 2/14/03 3:19 PM Page 437 Part IV Tracking Results CHAPTER 18 Using the Learning Site Microsoft Access Database CHAPTER 19 Sending Results to a Learning Management System 526057 PP04.qxd 2/14/03 3:19 PM Page 438 526057 ch18.qxd 2/14/03 2:57 PM Page 439 Chapter 18 Using the Learning Site Microsoft Access Database IN THIS CHAPTER ◆ Installing a testing Web server on your computer ◆ Defining tracking information within Learning Site ◆ Creating a database to store information about students and activities ◆ Enabling CourseBuilder interactions to track student performance ◆ Using the Record Administrator to manage students and activities in Learning Site ◆ Testing and uploading your site ◆ Exploring the Microsoft Access database that Learning Site creates LEARNING SITE ships with Learning Management System (LMS) functionality contained within Learning Site, driven by a number of scripts and a pre-built Microsoft Access database all contained within Learning Site This chapter walks you through the basic steps of setting up your Learning Site to include database and tracking (the sections are in the sequence you must follow): Create and define a Web server for testing Create your Learning Site LMS Copy the Learning Site administration files into your site Define tracking for each CourseBuilder interaction in your course Upload your site to the Web server for testing Use the Record Administrator to set up and test your course Publish your course to make it “live.” To test your Learning Site LMS, you need to use a Web server, which runs the ASP scripts that drive processing for the Learning Site LMS 439 526057 ch18.qxd 440 2/14/03 2:57 PM Page 440 Part IV: Tracking Results You can choose to use a remote Web server or, if you are running a Microsoft Windows system, you can set your system to work like a remote server using Internet Information Server (IIS) for Microsoft Windows NT, 2000, or XP Professional systems Learning Site does not support Windows 98 or Windows ME as of the printing of this book If you are using a Macintosh system, you need to set up a remote server Throughout the remainder of this chapter, the phrase Web server refers to the location you chose for your remote server, whether it is truly remote or on your Windows system working like a remote server Creating and Defining Your Web Server If you are working on a Microsoft Windows system, the easiest approach to testing your Learning Site LMS is to set up a Web server on your own system This server operates like a Web server on the Internet, processing scripts, working with databases, and so forth To use a Web server on your Windows system, you need to Create and install a Web server on your Microsoft Windows system using Internet Information Server (IIS) Create a folder on the Web server to store your site, including the tracking database and processing scripts that Learning Site LMS creates Define the Remote Info and Testing Server categories in your Dreamweaver MX site to point to the Web server Creating and installing a Web server To install IIS on your Windows NT, 2000, or XP Professional systems: Insert your Windows NT, 2000, or XP Professional CD in the CD-ROM drive Choose Start → Control Panel Windows displays the Control Panel window 526057 ch18.qxd 2/14/03 2:57 PM Page 441 Chapter 18: Using the Learning Site Microsoft Access Database Click the Add or Remove Programs icon Windows displays the Add or Remove programs window Click the Add/Remove Windows components button Windows displays the Windows Components Wizard Select the Internet Information Services (IIS) component checkbox as shown in Figure 18-1, and click the Next button Figure 18-1: The Windows Components Wizard shows the IIS component on a Microsoft Windows XP system Follow the dialog procedure for installing IIS IIS creates a directory on your C:\ drive that serves as the Web server root directory, similar in function to the root directory on any Web server on the Internet The path to that directory is C:\inetpub\wwwroot\ Once you install your Web server, it starts automatically each time you start your system You can, however, explore and manage your Web server, should the need arise: IIS is accessible through Start → Control Panel, and then select the Administrative Tools icon Creating a Web site folder on your Web server With your Web server installed, you need to create a folder (subdirectory) with proper permissions on the server to which you can upload your Dreamweaver MX site for testing To show this process, let’s create a folder named Learning-Remote: Create a new folder within the C:\inetpub\wwwroot\ folder by using File → New → Folder from Windows Explorer or My Computer Name it Learning Remote This is the folder that will store your site on the Web server 441 526057 ch18.qxd 442 2/14/03 2:57 PM Page 442 Part IV: Tracking Results Right-click the new Learning-Remote folder and select Properties at the bottom of the popup list Windows displays the Properties dialog box for the folder Click on the Web Sharing tab of the Properties dialog box Select the Share this folder option By default, the folder is shared using an alias (used by the Web server) that is the same name as the folder (in this case, Learning-Remote) Click on Edit Properties button to edit the properties of that folder Be sure that Read access permissions and Scripts application permissions are checked (they should be by default) Figure 18-2 shows these settings on a Windows XP system Figure 18-2: Changing the properties of the Learning-Remote folder on your Web server Click OK to save the permissions, and OK again to save the properties Your computer is now set up as a Web server, which you can access through the browser by specifying localhost in the URL For example, if the Learning-Remote folder had a file named index.html in it, you could type http://localhost/ 526057 ch18.qxd 2/14/03 2:57 PM Page 443 Chapter 18: Using the Learning Site Microsoft Access Database Learning-Remote/index.html in your browser, and the browser would retrieve that file (located at C:\inetpub\wwwroot\Learning-Remote\index.html) like it would any other URL If you want to create additional folders for other Web sites, follow this same process for each site, giving them unique folders within the C:\inetpub\wwwroot\ directory Specifying Web server settings within your Dreamweaver MX site Although you have created a Web server with a folder named Learning-Remote, that folder is empty The next step is to create a site within Dreamweaver MX that uses C:\inetpub\wwwroot\Learning-Remote as the remote Web server for that site To so, follow these steps (if you have an existing site, select Site → Edit Sites and begin with Step 3): Choose Site → New Site from the Dreamweaver MX menu to display the Edit Sites dialog box Select the Advanced tab Enter the Site Name and Local Root Folder For this example, the Site Name is Learning Site LMS, and the Local Root Folder is Learning-Local Click the Remote Info category to set up your connection to the Web server Select Local/Network from the Access drop-down menu Browse to the Learning-Remote folder in C:\inetpub\wwwroot\Learning-Remote to select the Remote Folder (see Figure 18-3) Click Select Now that the Remote Folder is identified, you need to specify the Testing Server settings Click the Testing Server category Select the Server Model ASP VBScript, which is the scripting language used to develop the Learning Site LMS scripts Select Local/Network from the Access drop-down menu By default, Dreamweaver MX defines the Testing Server folder to be the same folder as the Remote Folder, which is what we want Click OK to exit the Site Definition dialog box and save your settings Figure 18-4 shows the settings for Testing Server being entered on the Site Definition dialog box within Dreamweaver MX Note that you will now have two copies of the site One will be the local copy, wherever you happen to store it, the other will be the “remote” copy (in the wwwroot folder) that you can upload files to through Dreamweaver MX 443 526057 ch18.qxd 444 2/14/03 2:57 PM Page 444 Part IV: Tracking Results Figure 18-3: Setting up the C:\inetpub\wwwroot\Learning-Remote folder as the Remote Folder within Dreamweaver MX Figure 18-4: Setting up the Testing Server 526057 ch18.qxd 2/14/03 2:57 PM Page 445 Chapter 18: Using the Learning Site Microsoft Access Database Creating Your Learning Site LMS You’ve created a local Web server and are ready to turn your Learning Site into a Learning Management System To so, you need to create a Learning Site (or modify an existing Learning Site) to include tracking information Specifically, you need to Define tracking information Create a Microsoft Access database to store student, administrator, and activity (course) data Define the Data Source Name (DSN) to allow the Web server to communicate with the database Define the student login and results pages Although these tasks are documented in separate sections, you would normally define them all at once in Learning Site The steps in each section assume you remain in Learning Site until you finish defining the student login and results pages, so the step numbers “carry through” each section After you create your Learning Site LMS, the main page of your course is automatically changed by Learning Site to redirect access attempts to an authorization form, so that only authorized students can access the course Defining Tracking Information Once you have your Web server and Dreamweaver MX set up properly, you are ready to create a Learning Site that includes tracking information: Be sure that the Dreamweaver MX site that will contain your Learning Site LMS is open Choose Site → Learning Site → Create Learning Site The Learning Site dialog box displays Check the Data Tracking checkbox Learning Site displays three additional tracking tabs (Tracking, Login, and Results), as shown in Figure 18-5 445 526057 ch18.qxd 446 2/14/03 2:57 PM Page 446 Part IV: Tracking Results Figure 18-5: Learning Site with data tracking enabled At this point you can insert sample pages and select a different style, or enter them later If you want to test tracking, however, you will need to include at least one CourseBuilder interaction in your Learning Site Click the Tracking tab At the Learning Site level, an activity is a single course, typically defined by a single Dreamweaver MX site The top of the Tracking tab contains two default definitions for the activity: Activity ID, which is by default set to 100 The Activity ID can be up to 50 alphanumeric characters, and is used in reports that refer to the activity Normally, the Activity ID would reflect the course content, such as HTML Basics for the HTML Basics course Activity Name, which is by default set to the name of your Dreamweaver MX site Our example maintains the default values Creating a Microsoft Access database You have to create a Microsoft Access database that will store all of the student, activity, and tracking information: Click the Create Microsoft Access (.mdb) file button in the Learning Site dialog box Learning Site displays the Save Tracking Database As dialog box 526057 ch18.qxd 2/14/03 2:57 PM Page 480 526057 ch19.qxd 2/14/03 3:14 PM Page 481 Chapter 19 Sending Results to a Learning Management System IN THIS CHAPTER ◆ Sending information to a Learning Management System ◆ Accessing tracking information ◆ Using the Action Manager actions for tracking ◆ Reviewing e-Learning standards and guidelines LEARNING MANAGEMENT Systems (LMS) are software programs that facilitate the delivery and administration of online training by authorizing students, tracking student performance, providing management reports, and so forth Brandon Hall, one of the best-known consultants in the e-Learning industry, publishes an annual review of LMS that, for the 2002 report, covered more than 70 different LMS systems There are some emerging standards (discussed later in), but those standards are still in their infancy CourseBuilder is able to communicate with any LMS system that is AICCcompliant (defined later in this chapter); however, CourseBuilder is limited to sending information to an LMS, and cannot receive information from an LMS This chapter describes the tasks you need to perform on the CourseBuilder side to enable communications with a Learning Management System Given that there are 70+ possibilities on the “other side of the house”, you will need to consult your LMS documentation for that side of the conversation 481 526057 ch19.qxd 482 2/14/03 3:14 PM Page 482 Part IV: Tracking Results Communicating with an LMS Enabling communications between a CourseBuilder course and an LMS requires work at both the CourseBuilder and LMS levels Here are the steps to enable a CourseBuilder course to communicate to the LMS: Create a tracking frameset Select Knowledge Track on the General tab for each interaction Accept the default communications or select specific tracking actions in the Action Manager Refer to your LMS documentation to understand how it will communicate with CourseBuilder Create a tracking frameset A CourseBuilder course uses a hidden tracking frameset to communicate with the LMS You can create this hidden frameset regardless of whether your course currently uses a frameset (if your site does use a frameset, CourseBuilder adds that frameset into the tracking frameset) For example, if we want to include a tracking frameset for The Presidential Files course (which does not currently use frames), here’s what we’d do: Open the initial page for the course, presidents1.htm Choose Modify → CourseBuilder → Create Tracking Frameset from the Dreamweaver MX menu CourseBuilder displays the Create Tracking Frameset dialog box, as shown in Figure 19-1 By default, CourseBuilder names the tracking frameset by adding a suffix of –frameset to the original filename, creating a new frameset file named presidents1-frameset.htm CourseBuilder also creates a file named results.htm, which remains resident in the hidden frame, named cmiresults Accept the defaults by clicking the OK button CourseBuilder adds the frameset file and the results file (results.htm) to your site The hidden frame has minimal impact on what the student sees (see Figure 19-2) 526057 ch19.qxd 2/14/03 3:14 PM Page 483 Chapter 19: Sending Results to a Learning Management System Figure 19-1: Create Tracking Frameset dialog box Figure 19-2: The hidden frame cmiresults is virtually invisible to students 483 526057 ch19.qxd 484 2/14/03 3:14 PM Page 484 Part IV: Tracking Results Enabling interactions for tracking Communications between your course and an LMS is at the interaction level You specify those communications by selecting the Knowledge Track option (see Figure 19-3) on every interaction that you want to communicate with the LMS Select Knowledge Track to track interaction results Figure 19-3: Enable tracking for each interaction that will communicate with the LMS Communicating with the LMS When a CourseBuilder interaction is judged, that interaction automatically passes certain information to an LMS if tracking is enabled You can, however, initiate specific communications through the Action Manager of any interaction INFORMATION AUTOMATICALLY COMMUNICATED CourseBuilder automatically communicates the following information if Knowledge Tracking is enabled: ◆ Current date (DD/MM/YYYY) ◆ Current time (HH:MM:SS) ◆ Interaction ID entered on the Tracking tab when the interaction was created ◆ Objective ID entered on the Tracking tab when the interaction was created ◆ Type of interaction 526057 ch19.qxd 2/14/03 3:14 PM Page 485 Chapter 19: Sending Results to a Learning Management System ◆ Correct answer ◆ Student’s answer ◆ Response judged correct or incorrect? ◆ Weight ◆ Time it took for student to answer (latency) The Activities Detail table in Chapter 18 provides descriptions of these fields INFORMATION YOU CAN SEND FROM THE ACTION MANAGER CourseBuilder provides eight actions that you can select to initiate specific communications with an LMS (although CourseBuilder cannot receive communications from an LMS) Those actions can be initiated like any other action within the Action Manager By using actions in the Action Manager, you can pass different interaction values to an LMS To pass those values, you must understand how they are stored as JavaScript variables JavaScript variables for tracking use the format G01.variable, where G01 is the CourseBuilder variable identifying the specific interaction, and variable is the tracking variable for score For example, the score for the second interaction on a page (G02) is stored in the JavaScript variable G02.score These variables are automatically tracked for every interaction, so you simply need to reference the variable Table 19-1 lists the tracking variables available for each interaction TABLE 19-1 COURSEBUILDER JAVASCRIPT VARIABLES FOR TRACKING Variable Description score Numeric score for the interaction totalCorrect Number of correct responses the student selected totalIncorrect Total number of incorrect responses the student selected possCorrect Total number of correct choices of elements defined for the interaction possIncorrect Total number of incorrect choices or elements defined for the interaction correct True if student answer is judged as correct, false if student answer is judged as incorrect tries Number of attempts the student made in answering Continued 485 526057 ch19.qxd 486 2/14/03 3:14 PM Page 486 Part IV: Tracking Results TABLE 19-1 COURSEBUILDER JAVASCRIPT VARIABLES FOR TRACKING (Continued) Variable Description triesLimit Number of attempts the student is allowed to make time Amount of time (HH:MM:SS format) elapsed for an interaction timeLimit Amount of time (HH:MM:SS format) the student is allowed to enter an answer trackIntId The Interaction ID as entered on the Tracking tab for the interaction trackObjectiveID The Objective ID as entered on the Tracking tab for the interaction trackQType String identifying the type of interaction trackWeight Weight as entered on the Tracking tab for the interaction Table 19-2 lists the different tracking actions that are available from within the Action Manager drop-down menu TABLE 19-2 ACTION MANAGER TRACKING ACTIONS Send Action Description Core Data Status Select from: Passed, Completed, Failed, Incomplete, Browsed, Not Attempted Location URL (address) of the LMS Score As a JavaScript expression for the score, using CourseBuilder variables, such as {G01.score+G02.score} Time As a JavaScript expression, such as {G01.time} ExitAU ExitAU Sends a notice to the LMS to exit the Assignable Unit CourseBuilder cannot process any returned data 526057 ch19.qxd 2/14/03 3:14 PM Page 487 Chapter 19: Sending Results to a Learning Management System Send Action Description GetParam GetParam Not operational Interaction Info Interaction ID As defined on the Tracking tab for the interaction, such as {G01 trackIntId} Objective ID As defined on the Tracking tab for the interaction, such as {G01 trackObjectiveID} Interaction Type Select from: True/False, Multiple Choice, Fill-in-the-blank, Matching, Simple Performance, Sequencing, Linkert, Unanticipated List Correct Response(s) However the correct responses are defined on the appropriate interaction’s tab (Choices, Responses, Pairs, Hot Areas, Ranges) List Student Response(s) However the student responses are defined for the answers they selected, which are also defined on the appropriate interaction’s tab (Choices, Responses, Pairs, Hot Areas, Ranges) List Result(s) How the interaction was judged (c=correct, w=incorrect, n=not answered) Weight The weight as defined on the Tracking tab for the interaction, such as {G01 TrackWeight} Latency Entered in the format 00:00:00 (hours:minutes:seconds) Lesson Status Lesson Status Select from: Passed, Completed, Failed, Incomplete, Browsed, Not Attempted Lesson Time Lesson Time Either choose a specific interaction from a drop-down menu, or choose from the drop-down menu and define the time for an interaction explicitly or using the JavaScript variables, such as {G01.time} Continued 487 526057 ch19.qxd 488 2/14/03 3:14 PM Page 488 Part IV: Tracking Results TABLE 19-2 ACTION MANAGER TRACKING ACTIONS (Continued) Send Action Description bjective Info Interaction Either choose from a specific interaction from a drop-down menu, or choose from the drop-down menu If you choose , two additional fields are displayed: Objective ID and Score Status Select from: Passed, Completed, Failed, Incomplete, Browsed, Not Attempted Objective ID As defined on the Tracking tab for the interaction, such as {G01 trackObjectiveID} Score As a JavaScript expression for the score, using CourseBuilder variables, such as {G01.score+G02.score} Score Score As a JavaScript expression for the score, using CourseBuilder variables, such as {G01.score+G02.score} Reviewing Standards e-Learning technology is still in its infancy Because of this, the state of standards is also in its infancy There are two standards, however, that have received considerable attention in the e-Learning world: ◆ A guideline published by the AICC (Aviation Industry CBT Committee), which specifies guidelines for communications between courseware and Learning Management Systems This is often referred to as the Computer Managed Instruction (CMI) standard AICC-compliancy requires two-way communications between the LMS and courseware CourseBuilder can communicate with an LMS that is AICC-compliant, it cannot receive communications and is thus itself not AICC-compliant ◆ The Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM), standards devel- oped by the Advanced Distributed Learning initiative, which enables interoperability, accessibility and reusability of Web-based learning content 526057 ch19.qxd 2/14/03 3:14 PM Page 489 Chapter 19: Sending Results to a Learning Management System Again, CourseBuilder is not SCORM-compliant However, Tom King has created two extensions to help (both available at www.macromedia.com/exchange/): Manifest Maker for ADL SCORM Extension, which creates a default content packaging manifest for compliance with the ADL SCORM Version 1.2 specification SCORM Runtime Wrapper, which inserts the required JavaScript code and HTML attributes for compliance with the ADL SCORM Version 1.2 specification There are a number of organizations working toward standards for learning technology Table 19-3 provides an overview of the most notable organizations and the focus of their efforts TABLE 19-3 DEVELOPING STANDARDS FOR LEARNING TECHNOLOGY Organization Description ADL (Advanced Distributed Learning) Focus: The Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM), standards that enable interoperability, accessibility and reusability of Webbased learning content Web site: www.adlnet.org ALIC (Advanced Learning Infrastructure Consortium) Focus: (Asian focus) Creates learning environments that enable anyone to learn anytime and anywhere, according to the goals, pace, interests, understanding of individuals and groups Web site: www.alic.gr.jp/ ARIADNE Foundation Focus: (European focus) Creates tools and methodologies for producing, managing and reusing computerbased training elements Web site: www.ariadne-eu.org/ Continued 489 526057 ch19.qxd 490 2/14/03 3:14 PM Page 490 Part IV: Tracking Results TABLE 19-3 DEVELOPING STANDARDS FOR LEARNING TECHNOLOGY (Continued) Organization Description AICC (Aviation Industry CBT Consortium) Focus: Originally focused on the aviation industry, its Computer Managed Instruction (CMI) guidelines have become an industry standard for development, delivery, and evaluation of computer-based training technologies Web site: www.aicc.org IEEE Learning Technology Standards Committee (Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers) Focus: Chartered by the parent IEEE organization to develop accredited technical standards, practices and guidelines for learning technology Web site: http://grouper ieee.org/LTSC/ IMS Global Management Systems (Instructional Management Systems) Focus: Develops and promotes open specifications for facilitating online distributed learning activities such as locating and using educational content, tracking learner progress, reporting learner performance, and exchanging student records between administrative systems Web site: www.imsglobal.org Summary This chapter described how to ◆ Set up CourseBuilder to communicate student performance information to an LMS ◆ Use JavaScript variables that CourseBuilder automatically creates and maintains to collect student performance data It also discussed the various organizations and standards that are defining the emerging e-Learning industry 526057 PP05.qxd 2/14/03 3:20 PM Page 491 Part V Appendixes APPENDIX A What’s on the CD-ROM APPENDIX B Installing, Using, and Customizing the Learning Site Templates APPENDIX C Creating Custom CourseBuilder Interactions APPENDIX D Changing CourseBuilder Preferences 526057 PP05.qxd 2/14/03 3:20 PM Page 492 526057 appA.qxd 2/14/03 3:13 PM Page 493 Appendix A What’s on the CD-ROM THIS APPENDIX PROVIDES you with information on the contents of the CD that accompanies this book (For the latest and greatest information, please refer to the ReadMe file located at the root of the CD.) Here is what you will find: ◆ System Requirements ◆ Using the CD with Windows and Macintosh ◆ What’s on the CD ◆ Troubleshooting System Requirements Make sure that your computer meets the minimum system requirements listed in this section If your computer doesn’t match up to most of these requirements, you may have a problem using the contents of the CD For Windows: ◆ Intel Pentium II processor or equivalent 300+ MHz ◆ Windows 98, 2000, NT, ME or XP ◆ 96MB of available RAM (128MB recommended) ◆ Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator 4.0 or greater ◆ 275MB available disk space ◆ 256-color monitor capable of 800x600 resolution (1024x768, millions of colors recommended) ◆ A CD-ROM drive 493 526057 appA.qxd 494 2/14/03 3:13 PM Page 494 Part V: Appendixes For Macintosh: ◆ Power Mac G3 or better ◆ Mac OS 9.1 or higher, or Mac OS X 10.1 or higher ◆ Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator 4.0 or later ◆ 96MB of RAM (128MB recommended) ◆ 275MB available disk space ◆ 256-color monitor capable of 800x600 resolution (1024x768, millions of colors recommended Thousands of colors required for OS X.) Using the CD with Windows To install the items from the CD to your hard drive, follow these steps: Insert the CD into your computer’s CD-ROM drive The CD displays a menu with the following options: Install, Browse, eBook, Links, and Exit Choose one of the following options from the CD menu: Install: Gives you the option to install the supplied software and/or the author-created samples on the CD-ROM Browse: Allows you to view the contents of the CD-ROM in its directory structure eBook: Allows you to view an electronic version of the book Links: Opens a hyperlinked page of Web sites Exit: Closes the CD menu If the CD menu does not display, follow the steps below to access the CD Click Start → Run Type d:\setup.exe in the Run dialog box, where d is the letter of your CD-ROM drive The CD displays the CD menu Choose the Install, Browse, eBook, Links, or Exit option from the CD menu (See Step in the preceding list for a description of these options.) ... within your Dreamweaver MX site Although you have created a Web server with a folder named Learning-Remote, that folder is empty The next step is to create a site within Dreamweaver MX that uses... you have your Web server and Dreamweaver MX set up properly, you are ready to create a Learning Site that includes tracking information: Be sure that the Dreamweaver MX site that will contain your... Click OK on the Learning Site dialog box to return to Dreamweaver MX Learning Site writes the new definitions and files to your Dreamweaver MX site In addition, if you inserted CourseBuilder interactions