Adobe Solutions for Learning Management Systems (LMS)

Transcription

1 Solution Brief for Education Adobe Solutions for Learning Management Systems (LMS) Discover exciting, new ways to create and deliver high-impact elearning content and provide interactive online learning experiences To learn more about Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro in education, visit: Learning Management System (LMS) is the term used to describe a server-based system that is designed to manage learning content and learner interactions. The LMS enables the learning content to be available online, allowing students to view and interact with learning materials through a web browser on essentially any computer with any operating system or even on a mobile device with browsing capability. There are many commercial LMS products available today as well as several open-source options from which educators and institutions may choose. The specific features and functions of these systems vary considerably, but certain core functions can be found across all of them. These functions include administration features such as student registration, course assignment, and tracking of test or quiz scores and completion status. From the student or learner perspective, the LMS provides personalized access to assigned course materials, messaging and notifications, and access to scores and transcripts. Today s preference: Learning Content Management Systems (LCMS) Most of the systems that are used widely today in education may be more accurately described as Learning Content Management Systems (LCMS) because they also provide tools to deliver and manage instructor-led synchronous and asynchronous online training based on learning object methodology. Other terminology distinctions are based on the learning object tracking standard that is used in the system such as AICC or SCORM. According to Wikipedia, there is a new acronym, Computer Learning Content Information Management System (CLCIMS), which is an attempt to combine these terminologies in order to describe the type of system that is most commonly used today, a SCORMcompliant LCMS. A few examples of SCORM-compliant LCMS that are commonly used in education today are: Blackboard Academic Suite Blackboard Vista and Campus Edition Moodle Angel Learning Management Suite Adobe has several products that work in conjunction with today s Learning Content Management Systems. We have divided these tools into two categories to better explain how they map to LMS or LCMS learning methodologies: Asynchronous learning Electronic content or files that may include rich media, documents, web pages, and audio and video files. Synchronous learning Virtual classrooms, enhanced online communication tools.

2 Adobe elearning Solutions Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro: Engage online audiences with highly interactive web meetings, multimedia virtual classroom experiences, and hands-on training sessions. Easily incorporate Microsoft PowerPoint and Adobe Flash content. Adobe Presenter: Rapidly create Flash based presentations and elearning material from Microsoft PowerPoint. Adobe Captivate: Create engaging online content without programming or multimedia skills. Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro Training: Create and deploy high-impact training material and interactive simulations, and track the effectiveness of coursework and training. Adobe Acrobat Pro Extended: Create, combine, distribute, and review mediarich PDF documents that support electronic workflows. Combine a wide range of content in a single PDF Portfolio. Adobe Contribute CS: Easily update existing websites and blogs. Adobe elearning Suite: Engage your audience with powerful visuals, audio, video, and interactivity using Adobe Captivate, Adobe Flash Professional with Learning Interactions, Adobe Dreamweaver with CourseBuilder Extension, Adobe Presenter, Adobe Photoshop Extended, and Adobe Soundbooth software. Asynchronous learning: Create and deliver effective elearning content LCMS-supported course materials may include any number of file types to assist with communicating the course material. Most LCMS systems have basic tools for importing electronic documents, images, audio files, and videos. Some systems may also offer internal document-creation tools for creating content directly in the system. In addition to providing the leading tools for video, audio, and graphic production, Adobe has several specialized rapid elearning production tools for creating asynchronous learning content that can interact directly with an LMS or LCMS. Adobe s Asynchronous Rapid elearning tools include: Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro Adobe Presenter Adobe Captivate Adobe Acrobat Pro Extended Adobe Contribute CS Learning content created with Adobe Captivate or Adobe Presenter software can easily be configured to track in any LMS or LCMS that supports at least one of the two most widely used learning object tracking standards, AICC or SCORM. elearning content authors can easily add trackable tests, quizzes, or surveys to their project without having to know how to write the accompanying AICC or SCORM code or wrapper. The content developed can be published to the LMS or LCMS as a course or as a component of a course. elearning authors using Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro as a delivery platform need only publish their content to the Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro server in order to track and report the results of their tests, surveys, or quizzes. In a SCORM tracking system, the resulting course component would be referred to as an SCO (sharable content object). In an AICC system, the resulting learning object would be referred to as an AU (assignable unit). Both Adobe Captivate and Adobe Presenter have user-configurable elearning output options. In either application, elearning authors can easily prepare content to be tracked by an external LCMS that utilizes SCORM and/or AICC standards. Content can also be tracked with the Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro Training module. The following shows the elearning output available in Adobe Presenter: The LMS reporting tab in Adobe Presenter

3 Synchronous learning: Use interactive virtual classrooms with real-time interaction Synchronous learning tools can be as simple as a chat or IM application that operates from within the LMS, providing two-way, real-time communication between the student and teacher. Today, students and teachers have far more online communication tools to choose from than just basic chat, however. Voice-over IP technology now makes it practical to conduct two-way audio communication inside an online or virtual classroom. Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro is an ideal solution for providing a virtual classroom environment. Using Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro to create and serve a virtual classroom or meeting space is extremely quick and easy, and because the Adobe Acrobat Connect virtual classroom needs only the free and ubiquitous Adobe Flash Player to run, virtually anyone can access the virtual classroom instantly, and without having to download a special application or player prior to entering the virtual classroom. Educators and students can use any computer that supports the Adobe Flash Player on essentially any operating system, including Windows XP or Vista, Macintosh OS X, and Linux. The calendar view in Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro allows virtual classroom hosts or attendees to see all scheduled classrooms at a glance. Easily manage Acrobat Connect Pro meetings from within the Blackboard environment Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro virtual classrooms can be managed directly from the user s web-based account through any browser on any platform. Alternatively, Blackboard (release 7.3 or higher) users can now access and manage Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro meetings directly from the Blackboard environment. The Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro Building Block for Blackboard is available for free to Blackboard administrators from the Adobe Acrobat Connect Exchange. The Building Block can be installed and configured in a matter of minutes, enabling the use of Adobe Acrobat Connect directly within Blackboard for both students and educators. For more information: To learn more about Adobe solutions for LMS and LCMS in higher education, visit: To learn more about Adobe solutions for LMS and LCMS in K-12 education, visit:

4 Adobe LMS Integration for Blackboard Academic Suite Create and deliver engaging learning, training, and collaborative experiences within the Blackboard environment Blackboard is one of the most widely used Learning Management Systems in educational institutions today. Now Blackboard users can extend the reach and scope of their online learning experience by using the advanced communication features of Acrobat Connect Pro directly from within the Blackboard learning environment. Easy setup Faculty can quickly and easily assign students to an Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro virtual classroom. It is easy for Blackboard administrators to install and configure the Adobe LMS Integration for Blackboard. All you need is administrator rights in your Blackboard system and some general knowledge of Blackboard Building Blocks for this to be a simple process. The combination of ease of access for learners through Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro and the close integration with Blackboard frees educators to focus on their content instead of the technology.

5 Engage in virtual classrooms and collaborate in online meetings Students and faculty can instantly engage in virtual classrooms or meetings by simply clicking on a link in their Blackboard account or course. Faculty can easily create online meetings for collaboration with colleagues and community or facilitate parent/ teacher communication. In addition: Administrators can download, deploy, and configure The Building Block in just a few short minutes. Educators can quickly and easily create, manage, and access Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro meetings or classrooms from within a Blackboard course or community. Educators can view attendance reports on Acrobat Connect Pro meetings or classrooms from any Acrobat Connect Pro access point within Blackboard. Educators can easily assign course enrollees or community members to a meeting or classroom. Students can view and access any scheduled or assigned meetings or classes right from the initial sign-in or home page. Only a single sign-on is necessary no need to enter credentials a second time when attending or managing a meeting. Only the free Adobe Flash Player is needed to attend an Acrobat Connect Pro meeting Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro offers an ideal platform for virtual classrooms and meetings. In most cases, there is no need to add additional software to student or faculty computers: With Acrobat Connect Pro, only the free Adobe Flash Player is needed to enable or attend a virtual meeting room. Advanced communication features such as web camera sharing, VoIP audio communications, and even screen and application sharing across computing platforms can be accessed with the addition of a small add-in for the Flash Player that installs directly from within the meeting room. Integrate Blackboard with Acrobat Connect Pro for free This complete solution for integrating Blackboard (release 7.3 and higher) with Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro is now available for free to Blackboard or Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro administrators. Please visit for detailed information on deployment and installation.

6 Acrobat Connect Pro Integration with Blackboard Vista LMS and Campus Edition LMS Let educators easily add online meetings to course sections and enable students to instantly attend The Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro integration (PowerLink) lets instructors, teaching assistants, and designers add Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro meetings to their course sections from within Blackboard Vista/Campus Edition. Students can instantly view and access their Acrobat Connect Pro meetings without having to re-enter their credentials. Administrators can set up the PowerLink in a matter of minutes. If you are using the licensed version of Acrobat Connect Pro, the Acrobat Connect Pro PowerLink will use Acrobat Connect Pro s trusted authentication feature to automatically log on Blackboard users to Acrobat Connect Pro. Trusted authentication allows secure logon to Acrobat Connect Pro without passwords. It requires that you configure a shared secret on both the Acrobat Connect Pro server and the Blackboard Vista/Campus Edition server. If you are using the hosted version of Acrobat Connect Pro, trusted authentication is not supported. Instead, the shared secret that you configure in Blackboard Vista/Campus Edition is used to generate a password for each user, and this password is used to authenticate the user when logging on to Acrobat Connect Pro. Detailed integration guide and installer files can be downloaded for free here: A single sign-on solution delivers enhanced accessibility.

7 Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro Integration with Moodle RefinedData provides an elegant solution for integrating Acrobat Connect Pro and Moodle Learn more about RefinedData s Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro-Moodle solution at RefinedData Solutions, an Adobe Solutions Partner, has developed a customized integration suite that allows users to establish and launch Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro Meetings from within the Moodle Learning Management System (LMS). This capability means that Moodle users can attend Acrobat Connect Pro Meetings and launch narrated Adobe Presenter presentations or other content hosted on an Adobe Acrobat Connect Central server, simply by clicking an icon or link from within the course they are enrolled in. Setting up an Acrobat Connect Pro meeting from within Moodle is simple and meetings are automatically linked to the course and student calendar. The system handles authentication between Acrobat Connect Pro and Moodle so users are transferred seamlessly between the two applications. RefinedData is committed to delivering best of breed technology RefinedData is a leading provider of elearning and Distance Education platforms for leading institutions, governmental agencies, and Fortune 1000 corporations around the world. The company delivers best-of-breed software, customization, and support services to meet the unique requirements of each customer. In delivering the combined solution, RefinedData is able to provide organizations with a flexible, high-volume solution that combines the cutting-edge presentation capabilities of Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro with Moodle s widely adopted and proven learning management platform. The Adobe-Moodle integration solution puts the most effective elearning tools in your hands Adobe solutions enable educational institutions to easily create and deploy engaging elearning experiences that are easily accessible across single- or multi-campus institutions, beyond and within your existing Moodle system. Hassle-free access keeps the focus on the content, and not on technology. Key components of the Adobe elearning Suite include the following: Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro, the cornerstone of the Adobe elearning solutions, offers an intuitive interface and interactive tools to help participants learn and retain what educators teach in virtual classes. Moodle courses can now include self-updating direct links to virtual classrooms from anywhere you would enter text. The Single Sign On environment makes the transition transparent to users. Adobe Presenter empowers faculty and students to rapidly create high-quality, ondemand presentations without special training. Moodle is one of the world s largest and most widely used Learning Management Systems. One installation of Moodle at the U.K. s Open University supports 150,000 undergraduate students and more than 30,000 postgraduate students.

8 What the Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro-Moodle Integration Provides Educational Institutions worldwide recognize Adobe elearning Solutions and Moodle as the respective leading platforms for learning content development and delivery. Until now, the two applications have operated completely independently; requiring separate logins and separate databases. There has been no effective way to communicate and synchronize the two systems. RefinedData has developed an elegant solution to combine these two leading technologies to deliver a learning platform that delivers on the core strengths of Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro and Moodle. The key funcctionality provided by the RefinedData software is summarized below: Complete integration Users experience a single application. Link from a Moodle course to a Live Classroom or Recorded Events seamlessly and effortlessly. Automatic synchronization of user accounts As Moodle users are added, updated, or deleted from the application, their accounts are created, synchronized, or removed from the Acrobat Connect Pro database. All synchronization takes place invisibly behind the scenes and includes language and timezone attributes. Users who choose a language in Moodle that is supported in Acrobat Connect Pro will launch meetings with the control functions in their language preference. Automatic synchronization of courses and enrollment As new Moodle Courses are created, edited, or deleted, matching Groups are automatically updated on the Acrobat Connect Pro server. As students enroll or unenroll from Moodle courses, they are added and removed from the appropriate groups at the Acrobat Connect Pro site. Simple management of access permissions The system automatically manages access to your Adobe Live Virtual Classrooms and Acrobat Connect Pro Content from your Moodle Course enrollment. Single sign-on Moodle controls the Acrobat Connect Pro user base, providing a Single Sign-on (SSO) environment. Each user enters meetings with appropriate credentials and the system tracks their attendance at both live events and when viewing hosted content. No special training required Adding links to Acrobat Connect Pro Live Meetings or Presenter content in your Moodle content is easy and does not require any specialized training. Anywhere you can insert text in Moodle, you can now include links to Acrobat Connect Pro content with the simple addition of a tag. Real-time information updates As content is updated on the Acrobat Connect Pro server, the corresponding information displayed in Moodle is automatically syncronized. For live classroom events, changes in dates, times, or telephony information are also updated on Moodle in real time. The solution supports the use of language blocks so that summary text entered on the Acrobat Connect Pro server are displayed in the appropriate language in Moodle. Display personalized My Meeting listings for each user A simple tag placed anywhere you choose on your site will display a personalized list of meetings for each logged in user. Events that are about to start or are in session are automatically highlighted to remind users. Automatic secure log-in to Acrobat Connect Pro All users are logged in to the Acrobat Connect Pro system by the Moodle application using a secure https connection from the Moodle Server directly to the Adobe Server. At no time are user credentials passed to or from the user s browser. Users who enter meetings or access content do so as authenticated Acrobat Connect Pro users (never as guests) and their access is tracked by the Adobe server.

9 Direct editing of Acrobat Connect Pro meetings and content from within Moodle Authorized Moodle users can edit their Acrobat Connect Pro resources from Moodle. Privileges to access specific content are maintained to prevent unauthorized users from editing resources for which they do not have appropriate permissions. Support for adding Acrobat Connect Pro meetings in the Moodle calendaring system The system creates Moodle course events containing the meeting information from the Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro server and resynchronizes these on demand. ical information includes all of the relevant details on the meeting. Upcoming features New features are currently being developed to track Virtual Classroom attendance and Presenter Slide-views as graded compliance activities within Moodle.

10 Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro Integration with Angel Learning Management System Let educators easily add Acrobat Connect Pro meetings to course sections from within ANGEL LMS The Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro integration for Angel LMS allows instructors to add Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro meetings to their course sections from within ANGEL LMS. Students can instantly view and access their Acrobat Connect Pro meetings without having to re-enter their credentials. Instructor Recorded Meetings: Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro meeting occurrences are posted to the ANGEL LMS calendar and are accessible directly from it. The integration code is available for free to all Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro customers. Detailed integration guide and installer files can be downloaded for free here: Instructor Recorded Meetings: Student View Current Meetings: Student View Current Meetings: Accessibility to current and past meetings is easy yet secure. Adobe Systems Incorporated 345 Park Avenue San Jose, CA USA Adobe, the Adobe logo, Acrobat, Acrobat Connect, Captivate, Creative Suite, Dreamweaver, Flash, and Photoshop are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners Adobe Systems Incorporated. All rights reserved. Printed in the USA. XXXXXXXX 9/09