October 2007 Volume 10 Number 4 - Educational Technology ...

minimise housekeeping tasks and free the user for learning. In tandem with the learning components architecture it
provides a direct manipulation interface which seamlessly integrates all necessary functionality into a single,
simplified, adaptable framework. In contrast to a cross-platform browser environment learning components can call
the Windows API directly, taking full advantage of its rich interactive functionality.
Network architecture
The IMMEDIATE network architecture is shown in Figure 2. The university end of IMMEDIATE uses an FTP
server as its gateway, controlling access to the Course Repository. Because most functionality resides at the student
end the only materials that need to be transferred across the network are messages and updated learning or system
management files. Most updates are short text files (messages and help updates) which can be readily transferred
even over slow Internet connections. Where land-based Internet service is too slow or unreliable, larger files can be
updated by alternative media such as CD or DVD disks or satellite. FTP offers a simple basis for meeting these
requirements and enables updates to proceed behind the scenes without the user having to wait for downloads to
complete.
To support a communications model based on a replicated database, each user's view of the database is copied to that
user's machine from a central master copy. A set of protocols has been devised and implemented for updating and
synchronising these views and the master copy over FTP. All updates are SQL result sets which are transferred as
plain text files.
The course authoring, tutoring and administration application was built to prototype a method for assembling and
managing courses that does not require the tutor to understand IMMEDIATE's inner workings, and to help evaluate
the communication and learning support capabilities of the learning computer. It uses the same mapping algorithms
and data structures as the Learning Shell to enable a course to be outlined, study modes to be defined and learning
content to be inserted correctly via a direct-manipulation, graphical interface. This mechanism enables course
content to be dynamically improved, updated, and re-used after it has been deployed.
Course Management &
Authoring System
(Tutor User)
On-campus
Off-c ampus
LAN
Reposit ory
(Database,
update files)
Repository
Manager
FTP Server
(Security)
Internet
Learning Shell
(St udent us er)
Figure 2. IMMEDIATE network architecture
CD-ROM
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