LMS product news

September 21, 2004

ATutor 1.4.2 has been released. ATutor is an Open Source Web-based Learning Content Management System (LCMS) designed with accessibility and adaptability in mind.

**New in this Release:**

*Test/Survey Manager*: Now create surveys, add Likert-type questions, view detailed statistics on a per-question basis, with current tests and surveys linked from the course home page for quick access.

*Secure Content*: Secure the content directory by placing it outside of the web server path during installation, or upgrade, to prevent unauthorized access of private course files.

*Search Course Catalogue*: Search through courses as a guest, or as an ATutor user, to find catalogue listings, or system wide topic information.

*Course Category Themes*: Associate categories with a specific theme, so all course in a category look the same.

*File Manager Enhancements*: Now rename files and directories as well as delete entire directories even if they’re not empty.

*Course Polls*: Instructors can create polls for their courses, to quickly gather student opinions.

*Course Language Property*: Designate a course’s primary language.

*Browse Source Code Repository*: Public and developer access to evolving ATutor source code.

*Languages*: At the time of release ATutor 1.4.2 was available in 9 languages: Danish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Slovenian, Spanish, and English….with many others nearing completion.

**Currently being Developed for an Upcoming ATutor Release**:

*Overhaul of Language Support*: For the next release the ATutor translation tools are being moved into ATutor, so rather than having to translate through the atutor.ca site, language can be translated from within ATutor itself. Administrators can generate their own language packs, so changes made to the language can be reused from version to version. Support for a full range of language character sets will be available.

*File Manager Upgrade*: A full featured file manager will be available in the next release adding move, rename, and edit utilities, and the ability to create new files online.

*Optimizations*: Much of the functionality is being rewritten to provide better modularity for those who wish to extend ATutor with custom utilities. The caching function has been rewritten and will be extended to include most repetitive content, greatly increasing the speed at which pages load, particularly for very large courses, or high traffic servers.

*Course Copy and Backup Manager*: Instructors will be able to copy their courses to create new course sessions. Administrators can archive courses to create master copies, generate new courses, and import local or remotely stored ATutor courses.

*Test Manager Upgrades*: Test and question creation is being overhauled in preparation for future support of standardized question formats. This will allow instructors to reuse questions across tests, in different courses, on other ATutor systems, or in other e-learning systems. Tests can be packaged with other content to create complete learning units.

**and much more**

For more information about other features visit the ATutor home site:
http://www.atutor.ca/

ATutor Features
http://www.atutor.ca/atutor/index.php

ATutor Demos
http://www.atutor.ca/atutor/demo.php

ATutor Documentation
http://www.atutor.ca/atutor/docs/index.php

ATutor Development
http://www.atutor.ca/development/index.php

Download ATutor
http://www.atutor.ca/atutor/download.php

Moodle is PHP courseware aiming to make quality online courses (eg distance education) easy to develop and conduct. Both learning & development are guided by strong pedagogical theory. Implemented on 1000’s of sites, 74 countries and 36 languages. This maintenance release fixes a few bugs discovered since Moodle 1.2. Upgrading is recommended.

ATutor 1.3.2 has been released. ATutor is an Open Source Web-based Learning Content Management System (LCMS) designed with accessibility and adaptability in mind.

New in this Release:

*SCORM Conformant Content Packaging: ATutor will create content packages that can be exported to other SCORM conformant systems, and ATutor can import content from those same systems.

*Upgraded Content Editor: A tabbed layout allows instructors to switch between the content editor, document properties, keywords/metadata editor, glossary editor, and preview screens.

*New Look & Feel for Intro Pages: The login screen, browse courses, registration, and other ATutor introductory screens have been redesigned with a more attractive appearance. Administrators can customize the logo and background image on these screens to match their organization’s appearance

*ATutor Free Course Server: We have setup ATutor to allow ATutor.ca members who do not have access to an ATutor installation to develop content and teach their courses from the ATutor Course Server.

*PostNuke Module (pnATutor): Thanks to the efforts at NUY.info, ATutor can now be run within a PostNuke environment, adding an LCMS to the already rich collection of content management tools found in PostNuke.

*Additions and Enhancements: And, as usual, lots of minor fixes, additions, and enhancements.

Currently being Developed for an Upcoming ATutor Release:

*Content Accessibility Checker: The next release will have its own utility to review content and ensure it will be accessible to all potential ATutor users. Support will be available for WCAG 1.0 (and WCAG 2.0 when it is finalized), as well as Section 508 and European standards.

*TILE Learning Objects Repository: We have already successfully imported content from the TILE repository into ATutor, and we are currently working on the other half of the tool set to allow ATutor content developers to submit content into the repository.

*SCORM Run Time: With IMS and SCORM content packaging in place, we are now focusing effort on developing a SCORM compliant run time environment for ATutor.

*Teaching Assistants: Instructors will be able to assign various instructor functionality to teaching assistants.

*Redesigned Tracker: Content tracking, preference, and tool usage statistics collection, processing, and display are being upgraded in preparation for the introduction of the “Intelligent Tutor” that will analyze usage patterns and assist students in configuring ATutor to their way of learning.

*Assignment Manager: Students will be able to submit and manage their assignments, and instructors and teaching assistants can review submissions, assign marks, and provide feedback.

*ACollab Addon: The ATutor addon module is being developed to allow external application to run with ATutor. Similar to pnATutor, which allows ATutor to run within the PostNuke content management system, the ATutor addon utility will allow ACollab (and other similar applications) to run within ATutor, adding a set of tools for conducting group learning activities within ATutor.

For more information about other features visit the ATutor home site:
http://www.atutor.ca/

ATutor Demos
http://www.atutor.ca/atutor/demo.php

ATutor Documentation
http://www.atutor.ca/atutor/docs/index.php

Download ATutor
http://www.atutor.ca/atutor/download.php