The General Tab contains the top level information for the IMS LD. As with all tabs, there is a mix of fields to fill in and choices to make. The main sections for completion here are top level objectives and requirements, a description and an overview.
The next three tabs represent the key elements of the Learning Design. We can think of the LD as describing how one or more players (learners, teachers etc.), takes a role, and performs a series of activities (assessment, discussion, simulation) in an environment consisting of learning objects or services. The next three tabs address these elements.
The Roles Tab appears first. There are two role types: learner and staff, and they will have different characteristics. For each role defined, various information can be added, including restrictions on group size and make up.
The Environment Tab describes the environments in which the learning occurs. An environment is the collection of resources, services etc. necessary for an activity. All the resources will be referenced as Content Packages.
The Activities Tab shows the activities performed in the course of a Learning Design. Activities can have objectives, prerequisites and metadata. They have an activity description (typically a web page containing instructions for how to perform the activity). If the activity is offline, then no further content is needed. If online, there would also normally be reference to an environment (e.g. a conference facility, simulation server or other online tool). An activity structure is a grouping of activities (with attributes to determine whether individual activities are presented as selections or in sequence).
The Method tab is where everything comes together. LDs consist of one or more Plays (usually just one) each with one or more acts (usually more than one) following sequentially, with the start of an act triggered by the end of the preceding act. Transitions between acts form synchronisation points for roles. Any coordination of events has to be carried out at this level - it can't be done at the activity level. Role parts are also included at this stage. They run in parallel - so different roles do different things at the same time. Role-parts are typically used for learners and teachers, but can be sophisticated - e.g. to support group-setting and role-play. Feedback for each act can be provided at this point.
The Resources tab is not unlike the current CP Editor window. This tab will allow you to manage the resources needed by the Learning Design in much the same way as you would manage them within the CP Editor.
As you can see, creating a Learning Design may involve a considerable amount of effort. Furthermore, the Reload LD Editor, because it is an implementation of the IMS LD specification, has to support all the elements defined in this very complex specification, it can't afford to cut corners. For this reason, the environment may seem a little complex at first. You should remember two things however:
The first instance of the LD tools will implement Level A of Learning Design. Level B adds properties (storing information about a person or group), and conditions (placing constraints upon flow). Level C adds notifications (triggered events - for instance if a student asks a question, the teacher needs to be notified that a response is needed). These will be incorporated into the LD Editor at a later date.
Paul has been stitching together these components (CopperCore intially worked with just MicrosoftSQL or PostgreSQL but we wanted something much more integrated so used the open source java db hsqldb. Using this will make set up far easier for the end user.) Currently, Paul is working on the instantiation of the Learning Design and will then move on to a creating a webplayer which allows Learning Designs to be played within all web browsers. After that, we'll have to do some tidying up of all the things which have to be installed, before packaging the whole lot up as an Eclipse RCP.
Further information on the Learning Design Player will be posted as it becomes available. In the meantime, find out about CopperCore, which underpins the LDP.