Configuring SharePoint for collaborative e-Learning
While the “Learning Gateway” solution from Microsoft uses Windows SharePoint Services (WSS) for its base portal layer, it can be greatly enhanced with an additional set of educationally relevant Web parts (explained in the next paragraph) from an Enterprise LMS to provide a capable educational solution for online learning. As shown in Table 1, SharePoint, when properly configured, serves up most of the infrastructure needed for the learner-centric functions of e-Learning 2.0.
| Learning Supports | SharePoint 2.0 |
| Connected Workspaces | Four levels of connected workspaces – individual, team, division, and enterprise – hub and aggregator for all four levels |
| Collaboration Applications | Facilities for meeting workspaces; blogs, with comments; wikis; calendars; surveys; discussions; email integration; and offline collaboration using Outlook and Groove |
| Content Management | Integrated facilities for documents, records, and content management; sup-port for spell check, tables, and stylesheets; recycle bin for deleted items; library/list content types will control metadata, views, workflows, and events; information rights management; version control for major and minor revisions with enforced checkout; extensible file format support; content templates; content can be associated with workflows and/or events; imaging service to create and maintain a picture library |
| Content Syndication | Content can be syndicated via RSS on a per-site or per-list basis |
| File Format Conversion | Easy file format conversion; rendering of spreadsheets as HTML; Access will treat SharePoint site data as data sources; easy, no-coding creation of dash-boards from Excel spreadsheets; PowerPoint "Slide Library;" Outlook integra-tion |
| Workflow Development | FrontPage wizard for workflow development; workflow templates; digital sig-nature integration |
| Web site Development | Facilities to make it easier to build and/or manage sophisticated internet and/or intranet sites |
| Integration | Much easier to integrate enterprise applications, custom databases, and Web services |
| Forms Creation | Ability to create forms with ASP.NET controls |
| Lists and Data Management | List creation tool; multiple list views; version history for all lists and librarys showing what changes were made; project task list; Gantt chart view of any list; email to a list for posting; cross-list Web views |
| Formatting | Ability to send SharePoint lists to mobile devices |
| Feature Selection | Selected deployment of major features |
| Search | Search features include "Best Bets" and alternate suggestions |
| Personalization | Enhanced MySites with aggregation, personalization, and social networking |
| Authoring Tools Used | Extensive use of Front Page for site design; publish InfoPath forms as Share-Point sites; Front Page-based Template Designer for content management |
| User Interface Management | Easy global change of UI via master pages |
| Languages | Out-of-the-box support for multi-lingual deployments |
| Security | Item-level permissions in all libraries and lists |
| Connectivity | Uses Web services and SOAP protocols; Web parts |
| Messaging | Email alerts, with filters; submit postings to WSS discussion boards via email; email archiving |
| Application Launching | Connectable Web parts; Web services; connections to APIs of external applications |
| Communications | Site level: Instant messaging, discussion forums, messaging and alerts. Connects to Live Communications Server for chat |
| Polls and surveys | Surveys built-in |
| Administrative Controls | Tools to create and manage lists |
Integration of SharePoint with the LMS
One of the strengths of Microsoft SharePoint products and technologies is the ability to provide configurable and extensible user interfaces for external vendors to add functionality, accomplished by writing a set of small programs or plug-n-play components called “Web parts” that can be embedded into a SharePoint Web site. Each Web part “consumes,” with proper authorization, the Web services provided by an external program. (Web parts can have other functions, and can be written for other Web applications that use Version 2 of Microsoft’s .NET framework. Web parts can also be written to consume Web services using non-Microsoft languages, as long as they use SOAP.)
In the educational arena, our experience in a number of projects is that adding Web services from a configurable learning management system (such as LearnFlex™) greatly enhances the educational power of SharePoint. Learning management functions that an e-Learning developer might want the LMS to supply as Web services include the following:
- Individual learning plans; personal profiles that can be used to change languages, course offerings, look and feel, and business rules
- Email alerts with filters; internal messaging for courses
- Completely configurable registration workflow; different registration workflow possible for each organizational unit; registration for all types of classes, including face-to-face, blended, and online courses
- Tracking and reporting of classroom assessment results
- Providing class lists, course catalogues, subjects, and departments
- Learner status information
- Resources management module
- Launching of courses and educational events from each individual learning plan
- E-Commerce — built-in and completely integrated with the LMS
- Conference and workshop management module, including e-Commerce for conference fees
- Tracking requirements for diplomas or certificates, including optional and mandatory requirements; issues customized diploma on completion
- Full tracking and reporting of competencies, based on job position or individual profile
- Assessment engine with over 20 question types; insertion of performance data and external assessment results; reporting and descriptive statistics
- Virtual classroom functions including communications, note-taking tools, and course libraries
- Instant messaging, discussion forums, chat, messaging, and alerts at the course level
- Built-in surveys and quick polls within the virtual classroom
- Achievement records for each learner
- Built in custom report generator plus a selection of standard reports
SharePoint is both a very useful collaboration environment and a configurable connectivity platform using Web parts and Web services. Paired with a capable LMS, SharePoint can be up and running in learning environments in a relatively short period. This combination has huge potential in education and training markets.
Conclusions
Given the explosion of the variety of online educational supports, no single product on the market can cover all the possibilities as we move into a world of distributed multi-channel learning. While there is a wide variety of open-source initiatives to support e-Learning 2.0, they are generally not yet integrated with each other, and, for the most part, are still in the development stage. However, one can realize much of the functionality of the projected applications and benefits from e-Learning 2.0 through Microsoft tools such as SharePoint and Live Communication Server, with rapid configuration for specific educational settings using LMS Web services all connected with a common portal interface using SharePoint Web parts. Once this is accomplished, enterprises have a very powerful learning platform that can support the complexities and dynamics of personal collaborative learning.
References
Bearison, D. and Dorval, B. (2002). Collaborative cognition: children negotiating ways of knowing. Westport, Conn.: Ablex Publishing.
Davis, B., Sumara, D., and Luce-Kapler, R. (2000) Engaging Minds: learning and teaching in a complex world. Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Downes, Stephen (2005) What E-Learning 2.0 Means to You. Presentation to the OCRI Advanced Learning Group, September 14, 2005.
Erl, Thomas (2004) Service-Oriented Architecture: a field guide to integrating XML and Web Services. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Hohpe, Gregor (2005) Developing Software in a Service-Oriented World. ThoughtWorks Whitepaper, January 2005. Found at: http://www.enterpriseintegrationpatterns.com/docs/SOA_World.pdf
Miller, Dustin (2006) What’s coming in WSS “3.0”? The Dean’s Office Blog, Feb. 20, 2006. Found at: http://www.sharepointblogs.com/dustin/articles/5235.aspx
Norman, Donald (1999) Things That Make Us Smart. Upper Saddle River: Addison Wesley (Pearson Education).
Wilson, Scott (2005) Workflow and Web services. CETIS white paper, July 12, 2005. Found at: http://www.e-framework.org/resources/SOAandWorkflow2.pdf (Editor's Note: As of December 15, 2009, this article appears to have been removed from the Web.)
Woodill, Gary (2004) Where is the Learning in e-Learning? A critical look at the e-Learning industry. Operitel Corporation white paper. Found at: http://www.learnflex.com/whitepapers. (Editor's Note: As of December 15, 2009, this article appears to have been removed from the Web.)
Woodill, Gary (2005) An Overview of the Canadian e-Learning Industry. Presentation given at Online Educa Berlin conference, Dec. 1, 2005.
