Suggestions for Scriptable CAI Apps?

Corvus9 asks: "I am involved with a University project for creating a Computer-Assisted Instruction application. Currently, we have teachers writing the content and CS students working on the application, which is currently being developed in Flash. However, we would like to make something that would allow teachers and non-CS students to create their own applications. Can Slashdot readers suggest some kind of authoring system that would satisfy this? Commercial and open-source applications are acceptable." "For this to be usable by teachers, we need to provide higher-level constructs like 'multiple-choice test' or 'kinematic model' as base objects, and a scripting model usable by non-computer people whose native language is not English.

I have been searching for an embeddable scripting language to use, and have found nothing satisfactory. Some of the requirements for the scripting language are:

1. Understandable to non-programmers. Our target audience is intelligent professionals who have neither the time nor interest in learning a computer language. Concepts like function calls are very advanced for our users, and things like inheritance or threading are totally beyond them. We need something where a humanities student can look at a script and at least have some idea what it is trying to do.

2. Usable by non-English speakers. Some of our target audience are native French and Spanish speakers. This means that we need to avoid English-language keywords and avoid culture-specific punctuation. For example, in French the decimal separator is a comma, not a period so we must allow users to type in real numbers with either decimal separator, without ambiguity. Also, some ASCII characters like '#', '\', and '{}' are not available on all our user's keyboards. We could allow a 'skinnable UI' that switches between languages, but a French script must be executable on an English document.

3. Extendable. The initial concept is to provide a number of complex scripts like 'multiple-choice test' and allow the end user to customize it. This means that the application must provide some kind of IDE, or integrate with one available for Windows.

4. Create stand-alone courseware. All authoring will be done on Windows PCs, but the created courseware should be executable on Windows and Linux. Mac OS X support would be helpful as well. Flash-compatible output would be preferred."

Comments

Moodle

[Red Alastor]

Moodle has everything you are looking for. http://moodle.org/

Re:Moodle

[cbray_jadl]

Moodle and other open-source Learning Management Systems (LMSs) are your best bet. They are based on a set of open standards known as the Sharable Content Object Object Reference Model, or SCORM. SCORM is the product of years of research and development by the Advanced Distributed Learning Initiative and is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense. There are lots of resources available on the ADL site to help you get started and to test your content for conformance. The nice thing about going with SCORM as the basis for your work is that you can move up to a supported, enterprise-level LMS if you need it. A lot of schools already have a SCORM-conformant LMS (like BlackBoard) in place.

SCORM is composed of several component specifications like IMS Content Packaging and IMS Simple Sequencing. You can also include (optional) metadata about the parts of your course, known as Sharable Content Objects (SCOs) and assets. Other standards like the Question and Test Interoperability Specification (QTI) are not officially a part of SCORM but can be incorporated using a number of established techniques.

As far as tools go, there are open-source tools available that expose the SCORM specs in a form that is usable by computer-savvy users, like Reload. There are other tools available that are intended for use by users who are less technical, like InSite Studio by Mississippi State University. Other tools are also available from commercial vendors. Some LMSs even have web-based tools built-in, and are known as Learning Content Management Systems (LCMSs).

SCORM is a mature set of specs that are designed to meet the needs of organizations that are in your exact position, and are widely accepted -- some Asian countries have adopted it as a national standard. The SCORM community is growing quickly and new complimentary specs are being leveraged within SCORM-conformant courses all the time. Tool support should also expand quickly now that the SCORM 2004 spec has been in circulation for a while and vendors are getting thier products certified by the ADL.

Moodle

[TeachingMachines]

Use an existing environment, such as Moodle. You'll need to stick with the web browser and what the browser can present if you'd like to have people developing their own materials. True programming is probably out of the question for your users; they're interested in content development. I'd suggest Moodle version 1.5 (also integrates with Hot Potatoes, etc.)

Squeak?

[mrchaotica]

Squeak is a cross-platform Smalltalk environment that has a lot of features for non-programmers: For example, it is it's own IDE. For another, it's got lots of different drag-and-droppable widget things that can be programmed (graphically, even). In fact, it's mostly designed for education (computer science and otherwise).

courseware

[jefu]

Are you aware of Sakai?

HTML and Web based courses provide much more flexibility than Flash. Flash would mostly be useful, as it is usually used on the web, to force students to sit through piles of crap, but is otherwise probably overkill.

Why not markup multiple choice questions and tests in XML format? Last I looked there were several such to choose from (and using a database to save the questions and statistics provies for all kinds of nice features).

More options: Dokeos and Reload

[edremy]

Dokeos is an Open Source courseware system. (e.g. Blackboard, Sakai, Moodle) It has a simple, web-based SCORM lesson builder which allows you to build scripted lessons from content on the system such as documents, links, tests, etc. It will import Hot Potatoes tests as well, and many SCORM lessons from other systems.

Reload is a SCORM editor. This might be a bit beyond what your people want, but it will build quite complex lessons from various bits of content

Re:Arrogant, Naive, Just a hint of Dumb. Delicious

[mrchaotica]

You want an idiotproof, multicultural, multilocale, extensible, IDE enabled, cross platform, multimedia script authoring tool, that can be integrated into a content creation system developed by a university "team:of CS students using Flash!?

Oddly enough, this actually describes Squeak (except maybe for the "integration with Flash" part).