Lotus LearningSpace R5.01 Deployment Guide

Chapter 1. About LearningSpace 9

into LearningSpace. Currently, Lotus Domino R5 is the only external directory

supported.

Domino installations typically use Domino’s built-in mail feature as their

corporate-wide e-mail product, with the Domino directory serving as the

corporate user directory. Rather than re-create and maintain a separate set of

users in LearningSpace Core, you can automatically import user information

from the External Domino user directory into the LearningSpace database

and have it updated periodically.

In addition to importing users from the Domino user directory, users can also

be created in the LearningSpace core manually.

6. Reports

The reporting component of LearningSpace offers summaries of student

progress, course enrollment, and comparison of test scores, and highlights

potential weak spots in the training.

LearningSpace provides the underlying Java and SQL technology to connect

the following different components together:

– Web clients

– Database

– Course materials residing on a Content Server

The LearningSpace user interface can be easily customized to fit your

corporate look and feel. For example, links and objects can be added or

removed, and logos, colors, fonts, buttons, and terminology can be modified

easily. Navigation can be redirected, as in, for example, logoff pages and

welcome screens.

LearningSpace is compliant with both Aviation Industry CBT Committee

(AICC) and Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM) standards.

Because LearningSpace provides the ability to support load balancing, it is

suitable for both small and large installations.

1.3 LearningSpace 5 vs. 4

LearningSpace 5 has tighter integration than its previous versions. In addition, it

provides many new features and tools for both the Instructor and Student. (R5.01

added improved support of SSL and other maintenance items.)

򐂰 Improved Audio/Video (A/V)

LearningSpace 5 now supports client streaming, broadcast, and multicasting.

The new Java based A/V client provides better firewall and proxy support for

sessions using Audio/Video. It includes an A/V tuning wizard, which enables

10 Lotus LearningSpace R5.01 Deployment Guide

end users to test their systems before using IP audio/video. Microsoft

NetMeeting is no longer required.

򐂰 LearningSpace 5 now contains the ability to include the following three

different question types:

– Ad hoc

Ad hoc questions are questions created by an instructor during a live

session. The instructor creates questions and denotes the answer (except

for the open-ended question type). After the instructor creates a question,

it appears in an ad hoc questions drop-down list on the instructor’s screen.

The instructor can either send out the question immediately or select a

question from a drop-down list to send out to the students. The question

appears in a window in front of the virtual classroom on the student’s

machine. The student selects or enters the answer (depending upon the

ad hoc question type) and clicks the submit button to return the answer to

the instructor. The response to this question appears next to the student’s

name in the instructor’s participant list. The instructor can also look at the

response section, which displays all students’ responses to the selected

question in the form of raw numbers, percentages, or bar graphs. Ad hoc

questions are not stored within the LearningSpace system; instead, they

are automatically deleted when the session ends.

The instructor can create ad hoc questions of the following types:

• Multiple Choice

• Multiple Choice, Choose Many (allows selecting more than one choice)

• True/False

•Yes/No

• Open Ended (essay type questions)

– Question Set

A question set is a group of predefined questions. These questions come

from the question pool in LearningSpace. They are essentially

“assessments” created in the LearningSpace core where the instructor

can choose individual questions to deliver to the students one at a time in

any order. All questions do not have to be sent. Instead, the instructor

determines which questions are sent. Like ad hoc questions, the question

appears in a window in front of the virtual classroom on the student’s

machine. The student selects or enters the answer (depending upon the

question type) and clicks the submit button to return the answer to the

instructor. The response to this question appears next to the student’s

name in the View Individual Responses dialog box. The instructor can also

look at the Q&A tab, which displays the students’ responses to the

selected question in the form of a raw number, a percentage, or a bar

graph. Students can view group responses to ad hoc questions and