Forum LAMS Newsletter: Newsletter 10, 27th Nov, 05


 
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1: Newsletter 10, 27th Nov, 05
11/27/05 08:01 AM
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New LAMS integration ready for testing: .LRN

The recent integration of LAMS with leading LMS platforms Moodle, Blackboard and Sakai has been very well received. Many people have commented to me that it's a sign of the growing maturity of LAMS that it not only has great features of its own, but that it also works well with complementary systems. Thanks to everyone who's helped make this possible!

We're pleased to announce that another LMS integration is ready for testing - ".LRN". For details, including access to trial accounts, see
http://lamscommunity.org/dotlrn/clubs/technicalcommunity/forums/message-view?message%5fid=102608

Integration with .LRN has special significance, as .LRN is the platform that runs the LAMS Community, so it seems natural to make sure that those who use .LRN as their LMS can use it integrated with LAMS. Special thanks to Ernie for making this happen ;-)

The "Define in Monitor" feature + Great new sequence

Many users have noticed that some tools in Authoring (Q&A, Voting) have an option called "Define in Monitor" - but don't know what this means.

This feature arose from the need to change a question or voting task "on the fly" - that is, in the middle of a running sequence. Prior to this feature, there was no way to change a sequence once it was running in Monitor.

If you check the "Define in Monitor" box when Authoring a sequence, it allows you (the teacher) to change the text of the question in Q&A, or the voting categories in Voting, by editing these in Monitor via the "Contribute" button (when you double click on an activity in the Sequence tab), or via the Contribute tab (then click on the relevant activity). The editing page allows you edit existing text/categories, or create content from scratch. NB: For voting, it doesn't let you change the number of votes allowed - so you need to plan for this in advance!

Why would you use this feature? Well, a great new sequence from Andrew Lovell-Simons illustrates the potential of Define in Monitor. In Andrew's sequence - see http://www.lamscommunity.org/lamscentral/sequence?seq%5fid=99665
students share a painting via Share Resouces. Next, the teacher uses the Define in Monitor feature for a voting task where the paintings that have been shared are then listed as voting categories, and students then vote on these. A similar approach is used for a later task on locations.

The point is, students are voting on their own live examples, not a pre-set list created by the teacher. This is made possible via the Define in Monitor feature.

Another example of Define in Monitor is using the Q&A tool to pose a general question (no Define in Monitor), then immediately follow it with another Q&A using Define in Monitor. In the second Q&A, the teacher chooses one or more of the answers from the first Q&A, pastes the answer text into the second Q&A, and asks students to reflect/comment on these answers chosen from their live responses to the first Q&A.

No doubt there are lots of other ways to use this feature - as always with LAMS, it's just up to your imagination during the design process in Authoring.

Currently "Define in Monitor" only applies to a few tools. In LAMS V1.1 and beyond, you'll be able to change the settings for any task "on the fly". Some time after this (V1.2 perhaps) you'll even be able to edit the structure of a sequence "on the fly". I know lots of people (me included!) are looking forward to greater "on the fly" flexibility in LAMS - whether it be for the class that doesn't go as planned, or the student group that takes a topic in a great new direction you hadn't anticipated in your design, or live sequence "improvisation" (where each subsequent step is designed on the spot!).

Posted by James Dalziel

2: Re: Newsletter 10, 27th Nov, 05
In response to 1 11/27/05 08:05 AM
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The link to Andrew's sequence wasn't working in the original version of the newsletter - if you have any trouble getting to it, try http://www.lamscommunity.org/lamscentral/sequence?seq%5fid=99665

Posted by James Dalziel

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