Part of the workshop prepared for Attainment for All: Inclusivity, Diversity and Success in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, Higher Education Academy (HEA) Scotland
5. Xerte background
• Released to the academic community in
2008
• Nottingham Uni e-learning toolkits could be:
–Tutorial guides
–Enterprise applications
–Bespoke learning tools
–web2
• Led to the development and creation of
Xerte OnlineToolkits
5
6. Xerte OnlineToolkits
• e-Learning can be time consuming
• To minimise the reinvention of the wheel
• Support reuse and repurposing of content
• Flexible and powerful
• Accessibility (JiscTechDis)
• Enhance productivity:
–Developers
–Teachers
Ref. A. Beggan, Nottingham University http://www.slideshare.net/AndyBeggan/introduction-to-xerte
6
Intro to xerte
Genesis, collaborative development, open source
Inclusivity benefits - Mags (10)
Xerte page templates, accessibility, differentiation and interactivity
Unpacking the structure of Xerte – John Integration options and support.
Activity
Xerte in a nutshell is software that allows the creation, management and sharing of learning objects and resources within and amongst academic institutions.
Xerte is a software development kit that was Developed by Nottingham Uni and released to the academic community in 2008 as open source software,
To facilitate the adoption of elearning in academic environments and to reduce barriers to technology and remove the need for required technical skills for creating elearning content
Xerte as open source software led to development of XOT
Xerte Online Toolkits offers a quick way for people with limited technical skills to create interactive multimedia, accessible resources. With the new developments in Xerte Toolkits v 1.9 (released Dec 2012) you can now create one set of content and instantly create two versions - one in HTML5 which will run on a wide range of devices (including mobile devices); and one in the traditional Flash format.
The Xerte project has a host of different tools available under a GNU public license (free, copyleft license for software and other kinds of works.)
Xerte developer’s edition, for those who are technically literate and If you know a little code you can create more complex structures and sophisticated interactivity.
If you can write a lot of code it allows you to write and develop powerful components, extending the Xerte authoring interface with your own tools, and even contribute to the Xerte project itself.
Xerte Online Toolkits is a suite of browser-based tools that allow anyone with a web browser to create interactive learning materials quickly and easily. Content can be delivered to all devices using standards compliant HTML5 and a responsive template can deliver material to both small screens and large desktop computers. It’s also possible to run xerte online toolkits from a memory stick or standalone computer
The Xerte Flex Compiler is a completely new tool from the Xerte Project, built on top of the open-source Flex SDK. The Xerte Flex Compiler offers developers a much more powerful and flexible solution for interactive development and includes tools and components designed specifically for developing mobile applications for Android and iOS.
Over 70 templates
Xerte has templates feature, allowing a user to enter data into a form instead of expecting them to have some coding knowledge.
Text – bullet lists, learning outcomes and structured content for orientation
Media graphics and sound can be embedded, video and audio slideshows
Interactivities such as drag and drop labelling, annotated diagrams, multiple choice and quizzes and matching pairs
Connectors and navigators that allow you to control the format and flow of your learning object, choosing from tabbed navigation, accordion or button navigation
Miscellenaoues that allows you to embed content from numerous social media landscapes such as Youtube, flickr and google maps to name but a few and you can also embed QR codes to further information
You can also embed games and charts and tables of data
TechDis saw the potential of this highly sophisticated tool but
They liked the fact that this resource incorporated interactivity, personalisation and keyboard accessibility, TTS, colour and text changing features.
Synergy between eLearning agenda and accessibility agenda
TechDis have now steered Nottingham to use templates that mere mortals can use.
Over 35 templates