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Back in ‘98, when we started implementing AICC interoperability into our LMS at DiscoverWare, the specifications were rather incomplete, and the documentation was rough.

They’ve been working on them pretty intensely, and they’ve expanded to cover a lot of new ground.

It’s gone much farther than just metadata and content packaging. I’ve been reading through the Learning Design specification, and it’s kinda like a glue that holds all of the other specifications together. It seems like it’s quite an intelligent approach, pulling in various specifications wherever appropriate.

Here’s some of the useful specifications coming out of IMS:

• IMSLD – Learning Design: A kind of glue that provides a framework for integrating various other specifications into a meaningful system


• IMSMD – Metadata: For providing descriptive metadata, as used to define learning objects and assets.


• IMSLIP – Learner Information Package: Used to describe all aspects of a learner/user/administrator – personal information, history, progress, contact info…


• IMSCP – Content Packaging: Used to aggregate learning objects into sets, for use in courses or presentations.


• IMSQTI – Question Test Interoperability: Describe components of a test, as well as their tracking and assessment data.


• IMSDR – Digital Repository: Best practices etc… for communication between distinct and separate repositories.

So, we desparately need schools in Tuscany. Multiple schools, not just one. We figure 4 elementary schools could be filled. Easily.

The only problem is that there isn’t any provincial cash to build them. We currently bus about 1000 kids out of the community, which costs a fortune in time and money, but
there’s no capital budget to slap some bricks together.

We’ve been trying to raise awareness of the issue, and have been able to get a lot of community interest and support. The Community Association is pushing hard to get schools
built, and the Resident’s Association is providing whatever support it can.

The press is even starting to get interested. The Herald sent a photographer out to gather some pics for a story on the
issue. Not sure when it’s going to run, but we got a lot of parents and kids out on a cold (COLD) day, waiting for half an hour while the photographer was lost on his way…

Here’s hoping we’re able to shake something loose…

I’m just working on building an interface to allow admins to edit and manage the html fragments that make up a theme in the repository. Ideally, it will be a web-based solution similar to MovableType or PMachine, where you can edit fragments of HTML directly in the repository.

That does expose a risk, though. What if an admin is editing the theme managment page template, and breaks it? Doh…

I’m thinking that a separate Admin WO app (that isn’t themed itself, but knows about theming and can access the database store for the HTML fragments) would be a better idea. If an admin is happy with their theme, they can kill the WO app that manages them…

Maybe even a JavaClient application to manage HTML fragments? hrm…

Tired. So very tired.
Projects and baby are finally catching up with me. Feel like a zombie, going through the paces.

Time for a vacation, but that’s just not going to happen for a while.

And to top it off, Socrates is pushing for some more time. Don’t have any more to give, though. Maybe my 2 weeks off at Christmas? Forget the family, man! Build some courses! Woohoo. whatever.

I’ve been trying out a bunch of weblog software packages, because they seem to handle themed interfaces pretty well. I’m trying to get a better grasp on what I can do with the theming engine for CAREO.

Anyway, I came across PMachineFree. It has a whole article in the dead-trees version of MacAddict. My dad thought I’d be interested, so he kept it for me. The article walks through installation and configuration, and it was rather painless. Can’t see a total newbie doing it, but they probably wouldn’t be doing a blog (by the way, Blosxom CAN be installed/configured out of the box by total newbies).

Theme support looks pretty good. I’ll be poking around to see what it does over the next couple of days. If I like it, I’ll probably migrate my blog from Blosxom (which I really REALLY like) to PMachineFree, which has all of the extra bells/whistles that Blosxom currently lacks.

Actually, I think I’ll keep using Blosxom, but I should rip off (er, borrow…) the template editing screens from PMachine and graft them into CAREO. It’s actually got a decent template/theme management interface.

I’ve been playing around with some of the community’s contributions to Blosxom, and it looks like they’re going to fill in the “missing bits”

I’ve added the active category list on the right side, thanks to Michael McCracken, who posted instructions.

I’ve been trying to get searching and comments, but neither appear to be working correctly. Searching just plain pukes when activated according to instructions, and comments appears to be a one-way street: you can add them, but can’t view them…

There’s a Yahoo group, where they mention work on a calendar display, too. Cool.

Still, quite promising. I’ll keep playing around with Blosxom and see if I can learn some Perl along the way.