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In Class & Online Technology B-300
Introduction to MOOC
Program Guide ©

(Online & In-Campus Programs)

TESOL Canada ®
Toronto, Ontario
2019
TESOL Canada / B-300

Spring 2019

B300 In Class & Online Technology

For an introduction to eLearning design and courses delivery system we have compiled a brief yet practical
review of what’s available in Online learning today and what will be available in a near future. Through
Business 300 (B-300) course we look at evolution of online teaching and online learning, we study the
available platforms and practice one or two of these systems to get a hands on experience on online course
design. We also portray from some of the world’s most famous schools and professors the future image of
online education. To better understand online learning evolution we will follow the following chapters.

• I. Intro to MOOC
• II. Intro to eLearning Design
• III. Intro to Moodle
• IV. Intro to Sakai
• V. Course Building a Sakai Mooc LMS (B-301-a)
• VI. Videos & Audios in Sakai (B-301-b)
Part I: Introduction to MOOC
A massive open online course (MOOC) is an online course aimed at unlimited participation and open access
via the web. In addition to traditional course materials such as filmed lectures, readings, and problem sets,
many MOOCs provide interactive user forums to support community interactions between students, professors,
and teaching assistants (TAs). MOOCs are a recent development in distance education that was first introduced
in 2008 and emerged as a popular mode of learning in 2012.

Early MOOCs often emphasized open-access features, such as open licensing of content, structure and learning
goals, to promote the reuse and remixing of resources. Some later MOOCs use closed licenses for their course
materials while maintaining free access for students.

History & Precursors

Before the Digital Age, distance learning appeared in the form of correspondence courses, broadcast
courses and early forms of e-learning. By the 1890s correspondence courses on specialized topics such as civil
service tests and shorthand were promoted by door-to-door salesmen. Over 4 million Americans – far more than
attended traditional colleges – were enrolled in correspondence courses by the 1920s, covering hundreds of
practical job-oriented topics. Their completion rate was under 3%.

Broadcast radio was new in the 1920s and with programs that were free to audiences of any size. By 1922, New
York University operated its own radio station, with plans to broadcast practically all its courses. Other schools
followed, including Columbia, Harvard, Kansas State, Ohio State, Purdue, Wisconsin, Utah and many others.
Students read textbooks and listened to broadcast lectures, while mailing in answers to tests. Journalist Bruce
Bliven asked: "Is radio to become a chief arm of education? Will the classroom be abolished and the child of
the future be stuffed with facts as he sits at home or even as he walks about the streets with his portable
receiving-set in his pocket?" Completion rates were very low, cheating was hard to detect, and there was no way
to collect tuition fees. By the 1940s radio courses had virtually disappeared in the United States. The Australian
School of the Air used two-way shortwave radio starting in 1951 to teach students in classrooms in remote
locations, with students able to ask questions of the live instructor.

During World War II, movies were used to train millions of draftees, as lecturers could demonstrate physical
equipment in action. Universities offered televised classes, starting in the late 1940s at the University of
Louisville.

In the United Kingdom, in 1971, the Open University began teaching using distance learning, including course-
based television broadcasts by the BBC, which started on 3 January 1971 and ran until 15 December 2006.

At many universities in the 1980s classrooms were linked to a remote campus to provide closed-circuit video
access for some students. The CBS TV series Sunrise Semester, broadcast from the 1950s to the 1980s with
cooperation between CBS and NYU, offered course credit.

In 1994, James J. O'Donnell of the University of Pennsylvania taught a seminar over the Internet, using gopher
and email, on the life and works of St. Augustine of Hippo, attracting over 500 participants from around the
world. The short lecture format used by many MOOCs developed from "Khan Academy’s free archive of
snappy instructional videos." In 2003 Hello China launched what the UK Guardian newspaper described on 24
September that year as a new media venture to teach 4 million Chinese learners who were preparing for
business degrees by radio, web and mobile phone. The course was open to all participants who could have
access to radio and the Internet.
Early approaches

The first MOOCs emerged from the open educational resources (OER) movement. The term MOOC was
coined in 2008 by Dave Cormier of the University of Prince Edward Island in response to a course called
Connectivism and Connective Knowledge (also known as CCK08). CCK08, which was led by George Siemens
of Athabasca University and Stephen Downes of the National Research Council, consisted of 25 tuition-paying
students in Extended Education at the University of Manitoba, as well as over 2200 online students from the
general public who paid nothing. All course content was available through RSS feeds and online students could
participate through collaborative tools, including blog posts, threaded discussions in Moodle and Second Life
meetings. Stephen Downes considers these so-called cMOOCs to be more "creative and dynamic" than the
current xMOOCs, which he believes "resemble television shows or digital textbooks.”

Galway based online education provider ALISON is often cited in industry literature as the first MOOC,
pioneering the systematic aggregation of online interactive learning resources made available worldwide with a
freemium model. Its stated objective is to enable people to gain basic education and workplace skills. Contrary
to other MOOC providers with close links to American third level institutions such as MIT and Stanford
University, the majority of ALISON's learners are located in the developing world with the fastest growing
number of users in India. It records 1.2 million unique visitors per month with 250,000 graduates of its 500+
courses as of January 2013. In February 2014, ALISON registered its 3 millionth user.

Other MOOCs then emerged. Jim Groom from The University of Mary Washington and Michael Branson
Smith of York College, City University of New York hosted MOOCs through several universities. Early
MOOCs did not rely on posted resources, learning management systems and structures that mix the learning
management system with more open web resources. MOOCs from private, non-profit institutions emphasized
prominent faculty members and expanded existing distance learning offerings (e.g., podcasts) into free and
open online courses. MOOC courses can be taken for free and also for credits. Once is for a credit that leads to
a degree then MOOC classes are paid courses and classes. Another words some might take MOOC courses just
for their information and skills developments, and others might take these courses for skills developments but
with university credits to gain a degree, which under such conditions these courses are paid courses and the
degree is also a paid degree.

Structures and instructional design approaches

Many MOOCs use video lectures, employing the old form of teaching using a new technology. Thrun testified
before the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST) that MOOC "courses are
'designed to be challenges,' not lectures, and the amount of data generated from these assessments can be
evaluated 'massively using machine learning' at work behind the scenes. This approach, he said, dispels 'the
medieval set of myths' guiding teacher efficacy and student outcomes, and replaces it with evidence-based,
'modern, data-driven' educational methodologies that may be the instruments responsible for a 'fundamental
transformation of education' itself".

Because of massive enrolments, MOOCs require instructional design that facilitates large-scale feedback and
interaction. The two basic approaches are:

• Peer-review and group collaboration

• Automated feedback through objective, online assessments, e.g. quizzes and exams

So-called connectivist MOOCs rely on the former approach; broadcast MOOCs rely more on the latter. This
marks a key distinction between cMOOCs where the 'C' stands for 'connectivist', and xMOOCs where the x
stands for extended (as in TEDx, EdX) and represents that the MOOC is designed to be in addition to
something else (university courses for example).

An emerging trend in MOOCs is the use of nontraditional textbooks such as graphic novels to improve
knowledge retention. Others view the videos and other material produced by the MOOC as the next form of the
textbook. "MOOC is the new textbook," according to David Finegold of Rutgers University.
As MOOCs have evolved, there appear to be two distinct types: those that emphasize the connectivist
philosophy, and those that resemble more traditional courses. To distinguish the two, Stephen Downes
proposed the terms "cMOOC" and "xMOOC". A third type, the "vMOOC", has been suggested to describe
vocational MOOCs that would require simulations and related technologies to teach and assess practical skills
and abilities.

Such instructional design approaches attempt to connect learners to each other to answer questions and/or
collaborate on joint projects. This may include emphasizing collaborative development of the MOOC.

Principles

Connectivist MOOCs are based on principles from connectivist pedagogy:

1. Aggregation. Enable content to be produced in different places and aggregated as a newsletter or a web
page accessible to participants.
2. Remixing associates materials created within the course with each other and with other materials.
3. Re-purposing of aggregated and remixed materials to suit the goals of each participant.
4. Feeding forward, sharing of re-purposed ideas and content with other participants and the rest of the
world.

An earlier list (2005) of Connectivist principles from Siemens:

1. Learning and knowledge rest in diversity of opinions.

2. Learning is a process of connecting specialized nodes or information sources.
3. Learning may reside in non-human appliances.
4. Capacity to learn is more critical than what is currently known.
5. Nurturing and maintaining connections is needed to facilitate learning.
6. Ability to see connections between fields, ideas and concepts is a core skill.
7. Accurate, up-to-date knowledge is the intent of all connectivist learning activities.
8. Decision-making is a learning process. Choosing what to learn and the meaning of incoming
information is seen through the lens of a shifting reality. While there is a right answer now, it may be
wrong tomorrow due to alterations in the information climate affecting the decision.

Ravenscroft claimed that connectivist MOOCs better support collaborative dialogue and knowledge building.

Assessments

Assessment can be the most difficult activity to conduct online, and online assessments can be quite different
from the bricks-and-mortar version. Special attention has been devoted to proctoring and cheating.

The two most common methods of MOOC assessment are machine-graded multiple-choice quizzes or tests and
peer-reviewed written assignments. Machine grading of written assignments is also underway.

Peer review is often based upon sample answers or rubrics, which guide the grader on how many points to
award different answers. These rubrics cannot be as complex for peer grading as for teaching assistants.
Students are expected to learn via grading others and become more engaged with the course. Exams may be
proctored at regional testing centers. Other methods, including "eavesdropping technologies worthy of the
C.I.A." allow testing at home or office, by using webcams, or monitoring mouse clicks and typing styles.

Special techniques such as adaptive testing may be used, where the test tailors itself given the student's previous
answers, giving harder or easier questions accordingly.
Potential benefits

The MOOC Guide lists 12 benefits:

1. Appropriate for any setting that has connectivity (Web or Wi-Fi)

2. Any language or multiple languages
3. Any online tools
4. Escape time zones and physical boundaries
5. Produce and deliver in short timeframe (e.g. for relief aid)
6. Contextualized content can be shared by all
7. Informal setting
8. Peer-to-peer contact can trigger serendipitous learning
9. Easier to cross disciplines and institutional barriers
10. Lower barriers to student entry
11. Enhance personal learning environment and/or network by participating
12. Improve lifelong learning skills

Challenges and criticisms

The MOOC Guide suggests 5 possible challenges for collaborative-style MOOCs:

1. Relying on user-generated content can create a chaotic learning environment

2. Digital literacy is necessary to make use of the online materials
3. The time and effort required from participants may exceed what students are willing to commit to a free
online course
4. Once the course is released, content will be reshaped and reinterpreted by the massive student body,
making the course trajectory difficult for instructors to control
5. Participants must self-regulate and set their own goals

These general challenges in effective MOOC development are accompanied by criticism by journalists and
academics.

Some dispute that the 'territorial' dimensions of MOOCs have received insufficient discussion or data-backed
analysis, namely: 1) the true geographical diversity of enrols in/completes courses; 2) the implications of
courses scaling across country borders, and potential difficulties with relevance and knowledge transfer; and 3)
the need for territory-specific study of locally relevant issues and needs.

Other features associated with early MOOCs, such as open licensing of content, open structure and learning
goals, community-centeredness, etc., may not be present in all MOOC projects.

Effects on the structure of higher education were lamented for example by Moshe Y. Vardi, who finds an
"absence of serious pedagogy in MOOCs", and indeed in all of higher education. He criticized the format of
"short, unsophisticated video chunks, interleaved with online quizzes, and accompanied by social networking.
An underlying reason is simple cost cutting pressures, which could hamstring the higher education industry.

Cary Nelson, former president of the American Association of University Professors claimed that MOOCs are
not a reliable means of supplying credentials, stating "It’s fine to put lectures online, but this plan only degrades
degree programs if it plans to substitute for them." Sandra Schroeder, chair of the Higher Education Program
and Policy Council for the American Federation of Teachers expressed concern that "These students are not
likely to succeed without the structure of a strong and sequenced academic program. With a 60% majority, the
Amherst College faculty rejected the opportunity to work with edX based on a perceived incompatibility with
their seminar-style classes and personalized feedback. Some were concerned about issues such as the
"information dispensing" teaching model of lectures followed by exams, the use of multiple-choice exams and
peer-grading. The Duke University faculty took a similar stance in the spring of 2013. The effect of MOOCs on
second- and third-tier institutions and of creating a professorial "star system" were among other concerns .

At least one alternative to MOOCs has advocates: Distributed open collaborative courses (DOCC) challenge
the roles of the instructor, hierarchy, money and massiveness. DOCC recognizes that the pursuit of knowledge
may be achieved better by not using a centralized singular syllabus that expertise is distributed throughout all
the participants and does not just reside with one or two individuals.

Although the purpose of MOOCs is ultimately to educate more people, recent criticisms include accessibility
and a Westernized curriculum that lead to a failure to reach the very audience they were intended to save.

Most famous MOOC courses providers are:

UCLA, Stanford University, Harvard University, University of Virginia, Khan Academy, Berkley, Australia
National University, Oxford University and more than 40 other universities world wide including recent
programs at Universal American University.

Connectivism

Connectivism is a hypothesis of learning which emphasizes the role of social and cultural context.
Connectivism is often associated with and proposes a perspective similar to Vygotsky's 'zone of proximal
development' (ZPD), an idea later transposed into Engeström's (2001) Activity theory. The relationship
between work experience, learning, and knowledge, as expressed in the concept of ‘connectivity, is central to
connectivism, motivating the theory's name. It is somewhat similar to Bandura's Social Learning Theory that
proposes that people learn through contact.

The phrase "a learning theory for the digital age" indicates the emphasis that connectivism gives to technology's
effect on how people live, communicate and learn.

History

Connectivism was introduced in 2005 by two publications, Siemens’ Connectivism: Learning as Network
Creation and Downes’ An Introduction to Connective Knowledge. Both works received significant attention in
the blogosphere and an extended discourse has followed on the appropriateness of connectivism as a learning
theory for the digital age. In 2007 Kerr entered into the debate with a series of lectures and talks on the matter,
as did Forster, both at the Online Connectivism Conference at the University of Manitoba. In 2008, in the
context of digital and e learning, connectivism was reconsidered and Siemens’ and Ally discussed its
technological implications.

Principles

• Learning and knowledge rests in diversity of opinions.

• Learning is a process of connecting specialized nodes or information sources.
• Learning may reside in non-human appliances.
• Learning is more critical than knowing.
• Maintaining and nurturing connections is needed to facilitate continual learning.
• Perceiving connections between fields, ideas and concepts is a core skill.
• Currency (accurate, up-to-date knowledge) is the intent of learning activities.
• Decision-making is itself a learning process. Choosing what to learn and the meaning of incoming
information is seen through the lens of a shifting reality. While there is a right answer now, it may
be wrong tomorrow due to alterations in the information climate affecting the decision.

Connectivisim Pedagogy is the principal theory that MOOC has emerged from. To better understand MOOCs
please watch the following video. http://vimeo.com/70811271
MOOC Resources
Following are additional resources about MOOC.

• What are MOOCs good for? Justin Pope, MIT Technology Review, December 2014. Online courses
may not be changing colleges as their boosters claimed they would, but they can prove valuable in
surprising ways.
• Better Understanding through Data: Completion, Motivation, and Learning in Minnesota MOOCs
June 2014.The project described in this paper sought to use appropriate evaluation methods to
address each of these titled challenges.
• MOOCs Won't Replace Business Schools - They'll Diversify Them. HBR Blog Network, Gayle
Christensen, Brandon Alcorn and Ezekiel Emanuel, June 2014. MOOCs run by the elite business
schools do not appear to threaten existing programs, but rather, they may be attracting students
for whom traditional business school offerings are out of reach.
• Take a Crash Course in MOOCs, an ECAR infographic
• Libraries in the Time of MOOCs, EDUCAUSE Review, November 2013. MOOCs give librarians new
opportunities to help shape the conversation about changes in higher education and to guide
administrators, faculty, and students through these changes.
• Copyright Challenges in a MOOC Environment, EDUCAUSE Brief, July 2013. This brief explores the
intersection of copyright and the scale and delivery of MOOCs highlights the enduring tensions
between academic freedom, institutional autonomy, and copyright law in higher education. To
gain insight into the copyright concerns of MOOC stakeholders, EDUCAUSE talked with CIOs,
university general counsel, provosts, copyright experts, and other higher education associations.
• Retention and Intention in Massive Open Online Courses: In Depth, EDUCAUSE Review, June 2013.
This article argues that retention in MOOCs should be considered carefully in the context of
learner intent, especially given the varied backgrounds and motivations of students who
choose to enroll.

• Learning and the MOOC, this is a list of MOOC related resources gathered by the EDUCAUSE
Learning Initiative.
• Learning and the Massive Open Online Course: A Report on the ELI Focus Session, ELI White
Paper, May 2013. This report is a synthesis of the key ideas, themes, and concepts that emerged.
This report also includes links to supporting focus session materials, recordings, and resources. It
represents a harvesting of the key elements that we, as a teaching and learning community, need
to keep in mind as we explore this new model of learning.
• The MOOC Research Initiative (MRI) is funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation as part of a
set of investments intended to explore the potential of MOOCs to extend access to postsecondary
credentials through more personalized, more affordable pathways.
• The Pedagogical Foundations of Massive Open Online Courses, First Monday, May 2013. The
authors examine scholarly literature on the learning characteristics used by MOOCs to see if they
do improve learning outcomes.
• The Pedagodgy of MOOCs, May 11, 2013. This Paul Stacy blog posting provides a brief history of
MOOCs, the early success in Canada and the author's own pedagogical recommendations for
MOOCs.
• What Campus Leaders Need to Know About MOOCs,” EDUCAUSE, December 2012. This brief
discusses how MOOCs work, their value proposition, issues to consider, and who the key players
are in this arena.
• Laptop U: Has the Future of College Moved Online? The New Yorker, May 20th, 2013. Nathan
Heller explores various MOOCs and their possible future in higher education.
• The MOOC Model: Challenging Traditional Education, EDUCAUSE Review Online
(January/February 2013), A turning point will occur in the higher education model when a MOOC-
based program of study leads to a degree from an accredited institution — a trend that has
already begun to develop.
 • General copyright issues for Coursera/MOOC courses, Penn Libraries created a copyright resource
page for schools using the MOOC Coursera platform. This page provides an overview of special
copyright considerations when using Coursera.
• Online Courses Look for a Business Model, Wall Street Journal, January 2013. MOOC providers,
Udacity, Coursera and edX, seek to generate revenue while they continue to experiment with open
platforms.
• MOOCs: The Coming Revolution?, EDUCAUSE 2012 Annual Conference. This November 2012
session informs viewers about Coursera and the impact it is having on online education and
altering pedagogy, provides insights into how and why one university joined that partnership.
• The Year of the MOOC, New York Times, November 2, 2012. MOOCs have been around in one form
or another for a few years as collaborative tech oriented learning events, but this is the year
everyone wants in.
• Massive Open Online Courses: Legal and Policy Issues for Research Libraries, ARL, October 22,
2012. This issue brief addresses policy questions regarding MOOCs, open access, fair use, and
research libraries.
• What You Need to Know About MOOC's,” Chronicle of Higher Education. CHE’s collection of MOOC-
related articles.
• A True History of the MOOC,” September 26, 2012. In this webinar panel presentation delivered to
Future of Education through Blackboard Collaborate, host Steve Hargadon discusses the "true
history" of the MOOC. It’s also available in mp3.
• The MOOC Guide. This resource offers an online history of the development of the MOOC as well as
a description of its major elements.
• MOOC.CA. This MOOC-centric newsletter, authored by Stephen Downes and George Siemens,
offers news and information on MOOC providers.
• Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) Constituent Group. This EDUCAUSE constituent group
takes a broad look at MOOCs as a paradigm of learning communities and open education.
• Reviews for Open Online Courses is a Yelp like review system from CourseTalk for students to
share their experiences with MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses).

Previous Events

EDUCAUSE Sprint 2013, July 30–August 1. During this free, online program we explored the theme of
Beyond MOOCs: Is IT Creating a New, Connected Age? Each day the community shared thoughts and ideas
through webinars, articles, videos, and online discussions on the daily topics. The Sprint Summary is now
available.

• Day 1: IT as a Force of Change

• Day 2: How Technology Can Transform Pedagogy
• Day 3: Creating the IT Architecture for the Connected Age
Part II: An intro to eLearning design

For an introduction to eLearning design and courses delivery system we have compiled a brief yet practical
review of what’s available in Online learning today and what will be available in a near future. Through
Business 300 (B-300) course we look at evolution of online teaching and online learning, we study the
available platforms and practice one or two of these systems to get a hands on experience on online course
design. We also portray from some of the world’s most famous schools and professors the future image of
online education. Now that you had an introduction to MOOCs, this lecture is provide by MOOC delivery
system. Following is the introduction and guide in how to access your course.

Intro to eLearning explores the process that designers undertake when making decisions that ensure that
essential elements of the program are included. This chapter looks at the popular models used for the design
process from the planning stage through to the evaluation stage; and examines online strategies that can engage
students in a learning experience that is based on pedagogically sound theory. This course is a development of
Box Hill Institute and is available as a MOOC course.

As a Student you need to login at http://mooc.bhtafe.edu.au/. Once at the site, Signup for free, once logged
in, please go to Courses section (top left). On the courses, third course from top down is “An Introduction to
eLearning Design”, double click on the course name and now you can
star the course. When you press Start the course, a second window will
appear which on the top right corner has a search window written
(Jump) inside. Press the right flash next to it and start the course. To
move to any further section simply press the same key or use the drop down menu under the word (Jump).

Even if you click on the course’s advertising, you can get to login or signup as a new student.
At the completion of this course you will be able to:

• Plan your learning program

• Analyse program outcomes and assessment requirements
• Design your resources
• Develop the resources
• Implement and evaluate the program

Following are the list of Introduction contents and on this course:

A. I want to offer an online course

B. Design methodologies
C. The importance of design
D. Instructional design principles
E. Learner Centered Design
F. Organizing the Material
G. Online strategies that work
H. Active Learning
Follow the rest of the material at “Course design basics” & “Other considerations”.

Aside from the build in assignments in the course, this section has no assignment or work to complete.
(However questions from Mod I and this section of Mod II will be included during the Mid Term exam in Mid-
February.)

Part III: Introduction to Moodle

Moodle is a highly flexible open source free software-learning platform. With comprehensive, customizable
and secure learning management features, it can be used to create a private website for dynamic online courses.
Moodle (acronym for modular object-oriented dynamic learning environment), (stylized in lower-case as
moodle) is an also known as a learning management system, or virtual learning environment. The platform can
be used for e-learning projects in University, Corporate training, School and Other sectors.

Moodle was originally developed by Martin Dougiamas to help educators create online courses with a focus on
interaction and collaborative construction of content, and is in continual evolution. The first version of Moodle
was released on 20 August 2002. Nowadays Moodle is built by the Moodle project that is led and coordinated
by Moodle HQ, an Australian company of 30 developers that is financially supported by a network of 60
Moodle Partner service companies worldwide.

As a learning platform Moodle can enhance existing learning environments. As an E-learning tool, Moodle has
a wide range of standard and innovative features such as Calendar and Gradebook. Moodle & Sakai are leading
Virtual learning environments can be used in many types of environments such as education, training and
and

development and in business settings.

Activities

These are groups of features within Moodle (similar in Sakai), usually completed by a student to interact with
other students, or with the teacher.

• Assignment submission
• Forum for discussion
• Chat for instant messages
• Database as a bank of record entries
• Glossary, list of definitions
• Survey, for gathering data from students
• Online quiz
• Wiki module
• Gamification

Plugins

Plugins are a flexible tool set, allowing Moodle users to extend the features of the site. There are hundreds of
plugins for Moodle, extending the features of Moodle's core functionality. Each plugin is maintained in the
Moodle plugins directory. Moodle's infrastructure supports many types of plug-ins. Many freely available third-
party Moodle plugins make use of this infrastructure. Moodle users can use PHP to write and contribute new
modules. Moodle's development has been assisted by the work of open-source programmers. This has
contributed towards its rapid development and towards rapid bug-fixes. By default Moodle includes the TCPDF
library that allows the generation of PDF documents from pages.

Themes

Graphical themes for Moodle can be installed to change the look and functionality of a Moodle site or of an
individual course. Many Moodle themes are available directly from Moodle downloads site, ranging from Big
Blue Button to Attendance.

Translations

Moodle has been translated in over 100 languages, available for any site administrator to install. People in
various countries maintain and contribute to the various language packs.

Mobile

Many Moodle themes, based on Responsive web design, allow Moodle to be used easily on mobile devices. A
Moodle mobile app is available in Google Play, App Store (iOS), and the Windows Phone Store.

ELearning standards compliance

Moodle has adopted a number of eLearning standards.

Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM) is a collection of eLearning standards and specifications
that define communications between client side content and a server side learning management system, as well
as how externally authored content should be packaged in order to integrate with the LMS effectively.

The AICC HACP standard for CMI was developed by the Aviation Industry Computer-Based Training
Committee (AICC) and is used to call externally authored content and assessment packages. AICC content
packages are supported in Moodle 2.1 and later versions. IMS Content Packages can also be imported into
Moodle. In addition, Moodle Book activities can be exported as IMS Content Packages.
Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI) is a standard way of integrating rich learning applications (often remotely
hosted and provided through third-party services) with educational platforms. Moodle uses the External Tool
activity to act as an 'LTI consumer' as standard, and will act as an 'LTI provider' using a plugin.

Background

Origins

Martin Dougiamas, who has graduate degrees in computer science and education, wrote the first version of
Moodle. Dougiamas started a Ph.D. to examine "the use of open source software to support a social
constructionist epistemology of teaching and learning within Internet-based communities of reflective inquiry."
Although how exactly social constructionism makes Moodle different from other eLearning platforms is
difficult to show, it has been cited as an important factor by Moodle adopters. Other Moodle adopters, such as
the Open University in the UK, have pointed out that Learning Management Systems can equally be seen as
"relatively pedagogy-neutral".

Pedagogical approach

The stated philosophy of Moodle includes a constructivist and social constructionist approach to education,
emphasizing that learners (and not just teachers) can contribute to the educational experience. Using these
pedagogical principles, Moodle provides a flexible environment for learning communities.

Development

Moodle has continued to evolve since 1999 (since 2001 with the current architecture). Major improvements in
accessibility and display flexibility were developed in 1.5. The current version can be seen at the top of the
table of releases, below. It has been translated into 82 different languages and is accessible in many countries
worldwide.

Not having to pay license fees or to limit growth, an institution can add as many Moodle servers as needed. The
Open University of the UK currently uses a Moodle installation for their 200,000 users while the UK
government uses a Moodle installation for their Civil Service Learning platform serving half a million
employees.

It is often known for individual departments of institutions to use the unlimited feature, such as the maths
department of the University of York.

The development of Moodle continues as a free software project supported by a team of programmers and an
international user community, drawing upon contributions posted to the online Moodle Community website
that encourages debate and invites criticism.

Users can freely distribute and modify the software under the terms of the GNU General Public License version
3 or any later version.

Because Moodle is open source software, it can be customized to fit the needs of e-learning projects for
University, Corporate training, School and Other sectors.

Moodle Philosophy

The design and development of Moodle is guided by "social constructionist pedagogy". This section attempts to
unpack this concept in terms of four main, related concepts: constructivism, constructionism, social
constructivism, and connected and separate.
Constructivism

From a constructivist point of view, people actively construct new knowledge as they interact with their
environments.

Everything you read, see, hear, feel, and touch is tested against your prior knowledge and if it is viable within
your mental world, may form new knowledge you carry with you. Knowledge is strengthened if you can use it
successfully in your wider environment. You are not just a memory bank passively absorbing information, nor
can knowledge be "transmitted" to you just by reading something or listening to someone.

This is not to say you can't learn anything from reading a web page or watching a lecture, obviously you can,
it's just pointing out that there is more interpretation going on than a transfer of information from one brain to
another.

Constructionism

Constructionism asserts that learning is particularly effective when constructing something for others to
experience. This can be anything from a spoken sentence or an Internet posting, to more complex artefacts like
a painting, a house or a software package.

For example, you might read this page several times and still forget it by tomorrow - but if you were to try and
explain these ideas to someone else in your own words, or produce a slideshow that explained these concepts,
then it's very likely you'd have a better understanding that is more integrated into your own ideas. This is why
people take notes during lectures (even if they never read the notes again).

Social constructivism

Social constructivism extends constructivism into social settings, wherein groups construct knowledge for one
another, collaboratively creating a small culture of shared artefacts with shared meanings. When one is
immersed within a culture like this, one is learning all the time about how to be a part of that culture, on many
levels.

A very simple example is an object like a cup. The object can be used for many things, but its shape does
suggest some "knowledge" about carrying liquids. A more complex example is an online course - not only do
the "shapes" of the software tools indicate certain things about the way online courses should work, but the
activities and texts produced within the group as a whole will help shape how each person behaves within that
group.

Connected and separate

This idea looks deeper into the motivations of individuals within a discussion:

• Separate behavior is when someone tries to remain 'objective' and 'factual', and tends to defend
their own ideas using logic to find holes in their opponent's ideas.
• Connected behavior is a more empathic approach that accepts subjectivity, trying to listen and
ask questions in an effort to understand the other point of view.
• Constructed behavior is when a person is sensitive to both of these approaches and is able to
choose either of them as appropriate to the current situation.

In general, a healthy amount of connected behaviour within a learning community is a very powerful stimulant
for learning, not only bringing people closer together but promoting deeper reflection and re-examination of
their existing beliefs.
Conclusion

Consideration of these issues can help to focus on the experiences that would be best for learning from the
learner's point of view, rather than just publishing and assessing the information you think they need to know. It
can also help you realise how each participant in a course can be a teacher as well as a learner. Your job as a
'teacher' can change from being 'the source of knowledge' to being an influencer and role model of class culture,
connecting with students in a personal way that addresses their own learning needs, and moderating discussions
and activities in a way that collectively leads students towards the learning goals of the class.

Moodle doesn't FORCE this style of behaviour, but this is what the designers believe that it is best at
supporting. In future, as the technical infrastructure of Moodle stabilises, further improvements in pedagogical
support will be a major direction for Moodle development.

Who uses Moodle?

Moodle is used by a variety of institutions and individuals, including:

• Universities - High schools

• Primary schools- Vocational Schools
• Government departments - Healthcare organizations
• Military organizations- Airlines
• Oil companies - Homeschoolers
• Independent educators- Special educators

How many Moodle sites are there

There are tens of thousands of registered Moodle sites in the sites list that we maintain; however it is impossible
to know exactly how many Moodle sites exist because Moodle is open source, free to download and distribute,
and doesn't force registration on its users. Very often we find people, will not inform us about their sites.

For up-to-date summary statistics about registered sites browse the Moodle Statistics page. Statistics shown on
this page are updated daily to provide an accurate summary of collected information. You can also browse the
Moodle Sites page, which provides a useful list of registered sites grouped by country for all sites that have
chosen to make their information public.

How statistics are collected and maintained

Registration

All information collected by moodle.org is from site administrators that have registered their sites with us. For
security and privacy reasons registration has been made a manual process that only a site administrator can
undertake. Registration can be undertaken by clicking on the Registration button shown in the site
administration block under Notification, and filling out the simple form that then gets sent back to us.

Sites can update the registration information we hold about them at any time them by repeating the manual
process. It is important to note that because of the manual process information that is collected by moodle.org
may be out of date.

Moodle since version 1.0 has allowed users to register their sites with us, registration being something that we
encourage all publicly available sites to do. You can read more about registration, the registration process and
what is collected on the Moodle Registration page.
Moderation

To ensure that the statistics that we collect are as accurate as possible there are certain conditions that a
registered site has to meet in order to be included into both the statistics and sites pages.

When a site first registers we check the information about the site to ensure that the URL they have provided is
valid and that the email address for the site administrator is a valid email address. We also at this point sanity
check the information being collected to remove obvious test sites.

Maintenance

Like most of the web many sites come and go. Since we strive to maintain accurate statistics we need to check
registered sites on a regular basis and clean out old data. A sophisticated, automated site check process is used
to undertake the task of checking every registered site on a weekly basis.

In checking registered sites every sites is visited by our site check program that then evaluates and scores each
site individually based on a collection of a number of defined rules that we have set to identify each and every
Moodle release. The score that a site receives determines whether the site is included in the sites list or not. Any
site that fails the evaluation is then removed from the sites list and not included in any statistics.

Ensuring your site passes the weekly evaluation

To ensure that your site passes the weekly evaluations, check that your site meets the following three criteria.

• Check the URL you registered is the URL of your Moodle registration. We check only the page
returned from the URL you registered, we don't dig down into your site, or search any
alternatives.
• Check the site is publicly available on the Internet. We can't check your site if it is only available
locally, or has been wrapped in any means of authentication.
• Ensure you have content when you register your site. If you don't have any content when you
register it is likely we will dismiss your site as a test site. Ensure that you have created at least one
course, and three users within your installation before registering.

Basic Structure- How does Moodle work?

The Front page

• The Front page of a Moodle site - the page you reach from your browser - usually includes
information about the establishment itself and can be highly customised. (Note that it is also
possible to lock the front page down so that all a user sees when they click on the Moodle URL is a
log in screen.)
• How users join a Moodle site depends on the establishment: they might be given logins; they
might be allowed to make accounts themselves, or they might be signed in automatically from
another system.

Inside Moodle

• Moodle's basic structure is organized around courses. These are basically pages or areas within
Moodle where teachers can present their learning resources and activities to students. They can
have different layouts but they usually include a number of central sections where materials are
displayed and side blocks offering extra features or information.
• Courses can contain content for a year's studies, a single session or any other variants depending
on the teacher or establishment. They can be used by one teacher or shared by a group of
teachers.
 • How students enroll on courses depends on the establishment; for example they can self-enroll,
be enrolled manually by their teacher or automatically by the admin.
• Courses are organized into categories. Physics, Chemistry and Biology courses might come under
the Science category for instance.

Teachers, students and other Moodle users

• You don't enter Moodle with the "teacher" or "student" role.

• Everyone who logs into Moodle has no special privileges until they are allocated roles by the
administrator according to their needs in individual courses or contexts.

Finding your way around

• A logged in user can access areas of Moodle such as their courses or profile from the Navigation
block and Administration block. What a user sees in these blocks depends on their role and any
privileges granted them by the administrator.
• Each user has their own customizable page, accessed from the My home link.

Part IV: Introduction to Sakai

• Sakai is Not needed for the TCCT, and TESOL Students.
• Sakai is a required study for the Postgraduate Diploma PGD in Education.

Sakai is a community of academic institutions, commercial organizations and individuals who work together to
develop a common Collaboration and Learning Environment. Sakai is also a free, community source,
educational software platform distributed under the Educational Community License (a type of open source
license). Sakai is used for teaching, research and collaboration. Systems of this type are also known as Course
Management Systems (CMS), Learning Management Systems (LMS), or Virtual Learning Environments
(VLE).

The Sakai Project's software is a Java-based, service-oriented application suite that is designed to be scalable,
reliable, interoperable and extensible. Version 1.0 was released in March 2005.

As of September 2017, Sakai is estimated to be in production at over 900 institutions and being piloted by
considerably more.

Background

The development of Sakai was originally funded by a grant from the Mellon Foundation as the Sakai Project.
The early versions of the software were based on existing tools created by the founding institutions, with the
largest piece coming from the University of Michigan's "CHEF" course management system. "Sakai" is a play
on the word “chef,” and refers to Iron Chef Hiroyuki Sakai.

The original institutions started meeting in February 2004. Each institution had built a custom course
management system:

• Indiana University: Oncourse

• Massachusetts Institute of Technology: Stellar
• Stanford University: CourseWork
• University of Michigan: CTools, formerly CourseTools, based on the CHEF framework
• uPortal and the Open Knowledge Initiative were also represented.
In 2005 Indiana University moved all of its legacy systems to the Sakai implementation OnCourse. On October
5, 2007, the University of Virginia announced that it would be implementing Sakai throughout the university
instead of the ToolKit.

Once the first version of Sakai became publicly available, the original five institutions invited other institutions
to join through the "Sakai Partners Program". The partner institutions contributed to the program financially
and by submitting code to the project. Blackboard is beginning to experience Sakai as a serious competitor.

As the project phase neared completion in 2005, the Sakai Project set up a foundation to oversee the continued
work on Sakai. In 2006 the Sakai Foundation named Dr. Charles Severance, who previously had served as
Chief Architect, as its first Executive Director. On July 24, 2007 Dr. Severance stepped down as Executive
Director, and Michael Korcuska was selected by the Sakai Foundation to fill the role. Following Michael's
departure in February 2010, Lois Brooks became interim Executive Director, with Ian Dolphin, a former Sakai
Project Board member becoming Executive Director in August 2010. Development work is currently supported
by community members (academic institutions, commercial affiliates, and individual volunteers,) and the Sakai
Foundation.

Sakai collaboration and learning environment - software features

The Sakai software includes many of the features common to course management systems, including document
distribution, a gradebook, discussion, live chat, assignment uploads, and online testing.

In addition to the course management features, Sakai is intended as a collaborative tool for research and group
projects. To support this function, Sakai includes the ability to change the settings of all the tools based on
roles, changing what the system permits different users to do with each tool. It also includes a wiki, mailing list
distribution and archiving, and an RSS reader. The core tools can be augmented with tools designed for a
particular application of Sakai. Examples might include sites for collaborative projects, teaching and portfolios.

My Workspace tools

• Preferences - allows setting of preferences

• Message Of The Day

Generic collaboration tools

• Announcements - used to inform site participants about current items of interest

• Drop Box - allows instructors and students to share documents within a private folder for each
participant
• Email Archive - all messages sent to a site's email address are stored in the Email Archive
• Resources - share many kinds of material securely with members of your site, or make them
available to the public
• Chat Room - for real-time, unstructured conversations among site participants who are signed on
to the site at the same time
• Forums - communication tool that instructors or site leaders can use to create an unlimited
number of discussion forums
• Message Center - a communication tool that allows site participants to communicate using internal
course mail
• News / RSS - uses RSS to bring dynamic news to your worksite
• Poll tool - allows users to set up an online vote for site participants
• Presentation - allows you to present a set of slides to many viewers
• Profile / Roster - view the names, photos, and profiles of site participants
 • Repository Search - search content created by tools within a worksite or course
• Schedule - allows instructors or site organizers to post items in a calendar format

Teaching tools

• Assignments
• Grade book
• Module Editor
• QTI Authoring
• QTI Assessment
• Section Management
• Syllabus

Portfolio tools

• Forms
• Evaluations
• Glossary
• Matrices
• Layouts
• Templates
• Reports
• Wizards
• Search
• Web Content
• WebDAV
• Wiki
• Site Setup
• MySakai Widgets

Sakai community and foundation

The Sakai community is an international alliance of universities, colleges and commercial affiliates working
with standards organizations and other open-source software initiatives to develop and freely distribute
enterprise software applications using Sakai's community-source approach. Many institutions in the Sakai
community are members of the Foundation, but joining the Sakai Foundation is not required to use the software
or participate in the community.

The Sakai Foundation is a member-based, non-profit corporation. It encourages community building between
individuals, academic institutions, non-profits and commercial organizations and provides its members with an
institutional framework for their projects. The Foundation also works to promote the wider adoption of
community-source and open standards approaches to software solutions within the education and research
communities.

In October 2010, the Sakai Foundation announced its intention to merge with Jasig, another organization
supporting the development of open source software for education. Sakai and Jasig announced Apereo
Foundation as the name of the new organization in March 2012. Apereo Foundation came into being in
December 2012.

The Sakai Foundation and Community currently organizes an international conferences each year. Regional
conferences take place annually in China, Japan, Australia, Europe and South Africa.

Board of directors
Each year new Board Members were elected from nominated candidates. Voting by Sakai Foundation member
representatives typically takes place during October and November. Newly elected members start their terms
with the first Board meeting of the New Year and their terms last 3 years.

The institutional and corporate representatives as specified in the Sakai Foundation bylaws elect board
members.

What are Sakai capabilities?

Sakai is a fully functional featured system that supports technology-enabled teaching, learning, research &
collaboration for education. Following are some of related features.

a) Learning Management

Instructors and learners share knowledge, collaborate and engage in a wide spectrum of technology-enabled
learning experiences, supported by an intuitive, modern user interface.

Often the most powerful learning experiences involve collaboration between students and instructors. Whether
instruction takes place face-to-face, online or in a blended environment, the Sakai project supports teaching and
learning that is grounded in collaboration, co-creating and open sharing of knowledge.

A Uniquely Flexible Learning Environment

Each Sakai deployment is unique, as every adopter institution creates its own look, feel and configuration
within a standardized, well structured learning environment. For instructors, the Sakai project offers
tremendous flexibility to incorporate a wide variety of learning tools and technology-enabled instructional
approaches. Most faculty members and students experience a minimal learning curve getting started with
standard features: syllabi, course content, lessons, assignments, tests, and so forth. Sakai’s built-in collaboration
suite also encourages team-based learning, flipped classrooms, and other modes of instruction that engage
students actively and deeply in the learning process.

You may learn more about how Sakai supports teaching and learning:

• Sakai Features and Functionality: Sakai's standard set of “Core Tools” provides versatile support for
teaching and learning, communication, collaboration, eportfolios, content and media integration, and
administration.
• Extending the Sakai project: It’s easy to extend Sakai using contributed tools from the Sakai
community or by integrating learning tools of choice using common industry standards.
• Language Support: Sakai can be deployed in more than 20 languages, with language preference
selectable at both the system and course/project site levels.
• Sakai Stories: Organizations around the world are using Sakai to support a variety of different
instructional approaches
• Who’s Using Sakai for Learning Management? Colleges and universities worldwide rely on Sakai to
support world-class teaching and learning.

Within learning management system Sakai enables it’s users to create Assignments, Chat Forum for students,
Drop Box for file sharing, News for updates of the courses, Resources for course material, Syllabus, Wiki for
web content sharing, Calendar, Discussion Forum, Grade book, Personalised Profile, Site Participants control
through Site Roster, Tests and Quizzes & Lessons.
b) Research Collaboration

More than a learning system, the Sakai project is designed to support collaborative projects, including effective
collaboration between academic researchers. Sakai provides a rich toolset for communication, collaboration and
knowledge sharing within a single environment.

More than a learning system, the Sakai project is designed to support collaborative projects, including effective
collaboration between academic researchers. Sakai provides a rich toolset for communication, collaboration and
knowledge sharing within a single environment.

Academically oriented, Extensible and Intuitive

As a software suite developed by and for the higher education community, Sakai is well suited to the unique
needs of academic networks and collaboration across geographies, organizations and disciplines. Researchers
can readily extend this environment to include additional tools and capabilities using standards-based
integration approaches such as the IMS Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI) standard. Because project
collaboration sites are so easy to set up and operate within Sakai, many researchers establish and use project
sites without requiring support from central IT services.

A Common Environment for Learning, Teaching and Research

For many institutions, Sakai simplifies the digital ecosystem by providing a common environment for learning,
teaching, academic research and other types of collaboration. Faculty members and students benefit when
instruction and research take place within a familiar collaboration platform that encourages research-informed
teaching. At the same time, Sakai’s open design reaffirms the freedom of choice for each institution to select
the right tools and capabilities for its needs.

• Sakai Features and Functionality: Sakai provides versatile support for research and project-related
communication, collaboration, and administration.
• Extending the Sakai project: It’s easy to extend Sakai using contributed tools from the Sakai
community or by integrating learning tools of choice using common industry standards.
• Language Support: Sakai can be deployed in more than 20 languages, with language preference
selectable at both the system and course/project site levels.
• Sakai Stories: Organizations around the world are using the Sakai CLE to facilitate academic research
and networking.

c) Project Collaboration

Education is inherently a collaborative enterprise. Sakai can support virtually any project or activity that
requires communication, collaboration and knowledge sharing to achieve project goals effectively.

Within Sakai, project work sites allow organizations and project teams to coordinate project administration,
share resources, schedule activities, develop collaborative work products and track progress towards
completion. Student groups, faculty committees, thesis committees, strategic planning teams, re-accreditation
teams and others tasked with important projects beyond the classroom, commonly use these projects
collaboration spaces.

Members of the campus community appreciate how using Sakai as a common environment for learning,
teaching and collaboration can reduce the administrative burden of learning to use yet another campus system.
d) e-Portfolio

Sakai includes a robust electronic portfolio application with the flexibility to support a wide range of academic
uses. Portfolios can enhance the learning process through synthesis and reflection, provide a showcase for
accomplishments, or offer a rich platform for assessing learning outcomes.

e-Portfolios: Tools for Exhibition, Feedback and Assessment

ePortfolios continue to gain traction as students, instructors and institutions seek ways to capture and display
digital evidence of the skills, capabilities and knowledge amassed throughout the educational experience.

e-Portfolio as a Tool for Students

The Sakai ePortfolio allows students to collect and exhibit items that best represent their accomplishments and
learning. They can offer reflections about these work samples and share curated portfolios with designated
audiences.

e-Portfolio as a Tool for Instructors

Instructors and academic advisors use the Sakai ePortfolio tool to engage deeply with student work, offer
formal evaluation or informal feedback. ePortfolios can provide structure for student work and opportunities to
review incremental and aggregate progress as learners develop new skills and improve their capabilities and
understanding over time. Faculty members also use ePortfolios to develop digital dossiers that document and
showcase their own academic work and achievements.

e-Portfolio as a Tool for Institutions

With the growing emphasis on documenting student learning, the Sakai ePortfolio provides powerful tools for
program assessment and accreditation. Institutional personnel can review and analyze aggregated learning
outcomes based on ePortfolio content and participation. They can assess performance against prescribed
learning objectives and capture artifacts to demonstrate progress over time.

e) Languages

Complete or majority-complete translations of Sakai are available in more than 20 languages.

From its inception, the Sakai project has been envisioned and designed for global use. Complete or majority-
complete translations of Sakai are available in more than 20 languages listed below. Within Sakai, language
preferences can be set at the system level and at the course or project site level, allowing foreign language
instructors to set up course sites in the language they are teaching.

Arabic, Basque, Catalan, Chinese (including localized versions for the People’s Republic of China and Taiwan)
German, Dutch, English (including localized versions for Australia, Great Britain, United States, New Zealand)
French (including localized versions for Canada, France), Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mongolian,
Malay, Polish, Portuguese (including localized versions for Brazil, Portugal), Russian, Spanish (including
localized versions for Spain, Mexico), Swedish, Turkish, Vietnamese

The Sakai Internationalization/localization community coordinates translation, internationalization and

localization of the Sakai project. This community maintains a publicly accessible report that tracks what
percentage of Sakai has been translated into various global languages and dialects. If the software is not yet
available in your language, you can translate it with support from the broader Sakai Community to assist you.
f) Accessibility

The greatest number of potential users commits the Sakai community to ensuring all core features of the Sakai
project are accessible and usable, including people with disabilities.

Sakai core is developed to meet or exceed all accessibility design principles found in recognized international
standards. The goal is to meet all of the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 Level A and
AA Success Criteria. Sakai also uses emerging standards and best practice design techniques (such as the WAI-
ARIA Suite) that support existing and emerging adaptive technologies. Accessibility experts within the Sakai
community conduct and document usability and accessibility evaluations on all tools intended for Sakai to
ensure the solution meets the accessibility goals set by the community. Results of Sakai accessibility
evaluations are publicly available on the community wiki.

g) Features, Tools & Functionality

Sakai includes all the learning, teaching and collaboration tools considered “standard” in learning platforms
today, and its flexibility allows you to configure and use this broad tool set however you choose: in courses,
individual and group study, research activities, collaborative projects and processes. Over time, the solution has
evolved through new development, rigorous community-driven testing and refinement to become the feature-
rich, mature and sophisticated software suite that serves thousands of educational communities and millions of
learners around the world.

Sakai’s Core and Expanded Features

Sakai’s capabilities are wide-ranging, as reflected in the feature list below. The majority of Sakai's features are
considered “Core Tools,” an integrated tool set that is thoroughly tested by the community and packaged
together with each new release. Instructors, students, research investigators and project leaders can configure
this common tool set to support the success of their courses, projects and other initiatives.

The Sakai community also develops and publishes an expanded set of features called “Contrib Tools,” which
are Sakai-specific tools and innovations developed and tested by community members and then released for
others to use outside of the packaged Sakai release. Some of these tools offer unique functionality to augment
Sakai's capabilities. Other Contrib Tools provide similar functionality to Core Tools but offer alternatives in the
user interface and other ancillary features. Contrib Tools are generally considered high quality and reliable by
community members. In fact, often the expanded features and innovations of Contrib Tools eventually become
incorporated into the Core Tools.

Integrating Sakai with Third Party Tools Using IMS LTI

Sakai adopters frequently use the IMS Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI) standard to easily and securely
integrate third party learning tools and other systems into the Sakai environment. LTI v2 builds upon the widely
adopted LTI v1 standard by providing a more sophisticated and extensible platform to enable deeper
integrations and greater support for services and events. LTI v2 also provides enhanced outcomes reporting and
a full extensions architecture allowing additional services to be added gradually using REST and JSON-LD to
deliver this new functionality. Sakai helped drive the development of the IMS LTI specification, and is the first
learning and collaboration environment to support the second version of the specification (IMS LTI v 2) fully.
The feature list below describes Sakai Core Tools followed by popular Contrib Tools. More information about
all Sakai tools is available on the community wiki, Learning Management page, Research Collaboration
page, Project Collaboration page and ePortfolio page.

Sakai Core Tools Feature List

Note: Core Tools are designed, developed and tested by the community, and then packaged with each new
Sakai release. List of features are enlisted in the next page.
Feature Description

Assignments Create and grade online or offline assignments

Assignment Tools

Gradebook (Core) Calculate, store and distribute grade information to students

Gradebook Tool

Graded
Discussions Evaluate and grade discussion participation
Discussion Forums
Tool

Grades and
Feedback Post, store and distribute grades as well as non-numeric feedback and commentary for s
Post 'Em Tool

Lesson Builder Organize text, resources, quizzes, tests, assignments, media and other content onto a sin
Lesson Tool

Syllabus Post a summary outline of course requirements

Syllabus Tool

Tests & Quizzes

Create and manage online assessments using robust toolset: closed and open ended que
Tests & Quizzes
Tool, a.k.a. auto-grading, statistics, timed assessments, high security, audio recording, etc.
"SAMigo"

Communication and Collaboration

Announcements
Announcements Post current, time-critical information to a course or work site
Tool

Schedule and maintain deadlines, activities and events related to a course, project or wo
Calendar
Schedule Tool assessments, materials, etc.

Calendar
Summary View a weekly or monthly summary of scheduled events, either for a course or work si
Calendar Summary
Tool

Chat Engage in real-time conversations with course or project participants

Chat Tool

Discussion Create, moderate and manage discussion topics and groups within a course and send pr
Forums
Drop Box Share files privately with course, project or site participants
Drop Box Tool

Email
Participants Send email messages to individual course or work site participants or course sections
Mail Sender Tool

Create a mailing list for your course or worksite, allowing for many-to-many broadcast
Group Email List
Email Archive Tool this address

Messages Send, receive and reply to messages among course or work site participants
Messages Tool

Podcasts Create podcasts from audio or video files, post them to a course or work site and broadc
Podcast Tool

Polls Easily create surveys, distribute and collect data from course or work site participants o
Polls Tool

Presentations Present slides to many viewers; presenter may navigate through slides and viewers may
Presentations Tool

Wikis
Create, share and edit web content collaboratively
Wiki Tools

User Features

Individual
Workspace Individual space to organize and manage schedules, content, assignments, work produc
My Workspace
Tool

Reset Password
Reset Password Receive and fulfill user request for a new password
Tool

Set Preferences Customize how you receive notifications, organize tabs, and select time zone and langu
Preferences Tool

Social Profiles Create a profile and connect with others using a social networking model
Profile 2 Tool

Site Features (Course Sites and Work Sites)

Groups Define groups for the purposes of communication, grading, permissions, collaboration,
Group Tools
Homepage Pre-built landing page for any course or work site containing common functionality suc
Home Tool

Manage
Resources Post, store and organize material related to the course or work site
Resource Tool

Manage Site Manage and update course or work site information such as updating site participants a
Site Info Tool work, and changing basic site options

Mass Upload Easily upload, download and remove multiple files and resources from a course or work
WebDAV Tool

Section
Management Manage multiple sections of the same course from one course site
Section Info Tool

Site Information View and update information about the site including site settings and membership
Site Info Tool

Site Roster View a list of course or work site participants and their pictures
Roster Tool

Site Statistics View site usage statistics regarding user visits, tool activity, and resource activity
Site Stats Tool

ePortfolio

Comments Allow or disable viewer comments on portfolio content and make comments public or p
Comments Tool

Evaluations Evaluate ePortfolio content submitted for review and provide ratings and/or comments
Evaluations Tool

Forms Create forms that collect and store information for use in wizards, matrices, and portfol
Forms Tool

Glossary Provide contextual definitions for terms used on a course or work site
Glossary Tool

Matrices Define areas and criteria for which an individual provides evidence of learning, skills, c
Matrices Tool

Permissions Set public/private permissions for viewing access to portfolios and content within portf
Permissions Tool

Portfolio Create portfolios that present collections of content curated by the portfolio owner, and
Portfolio Tool
Portfolio Layouts
Portfolio Layout Add portfolio layout options that determine how portfolio content is arranged
Tool

Portfolio
Templates Create and modify templates that define layout, content, style and display for various ty
Portfolio experience; etc.)
Templates Tool

Reflections Provide commentary about the evidence, experiences and learning process associated w
Reflections Tool

Reports Generate aggregate reports about portfolio usage, statistics, grades, etc.

Reviewer
Feedback Provide reviewer feedback on matrices and/or evidence in a student’s ePortfolio
Feedback Tool

Administration

Admin Workspace Use a selection of standard administrative tools to configure Sakai , set administrative p
Admin Workspace and so forth.
Tool

Access Sakai from standard web browsers including the latest versions of Firefox, Safa
Browser Support 8. Further detail is available in our Wiki.

Language Deploy Sakai in more than 20 languages; set language preference at the course and wor
Support

Mobile Support Access a number of key Sakai tools via mobile devices through mobile-aware browser

Scalability Scale Sakai to support both large and small numbers of users.

Search Search for and find artifacts based on owner or type

Search Tool

Media, Content and Systems Integration

Authentication Support authentication using standard single sign-on platforms such as CAS, Kerberos,

IMS Common Support for IMS Common Cartridge export

Cartridge

IMS LTI Support for IMS Learning Tool Integration (LTI) for simple, standards-based integratio
REST Web Use REST architecture for open APIs to create interoperability and share data between
Services

RSS Feeds Display custom news content from dynamic, online sources via RSS
News Tool

SOAP Web Use SOAP architecture for open APIs to create interoperability and share data between
Services

Web Content
Display Display external web pages
Web Content Tool
Feature Description

Instruction

Assignments An alternate tool for creating and grading online or offline assignments that inc
(Alternate) with gradebook services, and some additional features such as gradebook helpe
Assignments2 Tool

An alternate tool for calculating, storing and distributing grade information to

Gradebook(Alternate)
capabilities such as use of letter grades, calculating extra credit, dropping selec
Gradebook2 Tool

Modules An alternate lesson-building tool to create and publish learning modules or seq
Melete Tool either instructor-led or self-study; modules can be released according to define

Test Center An alternate tool for creating, publishing and managing assessments including
Mneme Tool alternate design and some different features compared to Sakai ’s default Tests

Communication and Collaboration

Blog
Provide collaborative blogging and/or online journaling capability for your cou
BlogWow and Clog Tools

Course and Project Conduct formative and summative evaluations of courses or collaborative proj
Evaluations course or work site participants over a fixed time period.
EvalSys Tool

Discussion Forum Alternate tools for creating, moderating and managing discussion topics and gr
JForum and YAFT Tools allowing private messaging between site participants while discussing amongs

Event Signup Sign up for events or activities such as office hours, presentation slots, research
Signup Tool

Site Features (Course Sites and Work Sites)

Site Activity Dashboard Summary view of recent activity on a course or work site and across multiple s
Dashboard Tool announcements, resources

Site Roster An alternate tool for creating and viewing a list of course or work site participa
(Alternate) Sakai ’s default Social Profile tool and some additional features
Roster2 Tool

Administration
 Delegated Access Delegate administrative controls to staff members who are not listed on the ros
Delegated Access Tool and privileges can be set at multiple levels: global, school, department, subject

Media, Content and Systems Integration

Adobe Connect Integration Allow Sakai users to hold web conference events using an Adobe Connect serv
Adobe Connect Web but use of Adobe Connect may not be free.
Conference Tool

BigBlueButton Integration Integrate a Sakai instance with a BigBlueButton server, allowing Sakai users to
Sakai BigBlueButton Tool Sakai worksite. This Sakai integration component is freely available, and BigB

Kaltura Integration Allows Sakai users to integrate video and multi-media using the Kaltura platfo
Sakai Kaltura Tool but use of Kaltura may not be free.

OpenMeetings Integration Allow Sakai users to hold web conference events using an OpenMeetings serv
OpenMeetings Web and OpenMeetings is an open source Apache tool.
Conference Tool

RSS Feeds Alternate tool for displaying custom news content from dynamic, online source
News Feeds Tool

SCORM Player Upload and configure SCORM packages, enabling interoperability and accessi
SCORM Player Tool

Next Course is B-301, Building a MOOC LMS.

(Only for the TESOL Advanced & Diploma Students)