e-Learning Authoring Tools (eLAT)

After my presentation this afternoon, I was asked about maths support in authoring tools. The screenshot below shows how this happens in eXe. LaTeX code can be input directly, or you can select some of the more common mathematical symbols from a symbol editor. Each equation or other portion of mathematical content is output as an image file, over whose appearance you have some degrees of control. The typefaces/alignment/rendering are not of as lofty a standard as that available through LaTeX, but I’m impressed with the functionality and quality myself.

I’ve just given a presentation to the Directors of Studies Forum (Taught) on the authoring tools project. My aims were to raise awareness of these tools, to highlight their potential and to get the directors to disseminate information within their departments – with the aim of getting people to contact me to get involved.

The presentation is a large file because of the short video clips embedded in it. It’s available through Slideshare.net and also from the LMF:

Authoring tools (eXe and Xerte) at the University of Bath [PDF·22MB]

Here’s an example of an eXe tutorial produced with Andrea in Pharmacy & Pharmacology for masters-level students. The unit is currently being delivered, so feedback and evaluation will follow.

Example eXe tutorial: Clarifying enquiries (opens in new window)

The look and feel of the tutorial when displayed directly on the web is slightly different to when the tutorial is uploaded into Moodle – shown below.

When working with eXe, it’s not always immediately obvious which iDevice to use. iDevice is the word that the developers of eXe coined to describe the various types of questions, activities and other chunks of information (e.g. free text) which you string together to create your tutorial – indicated by a red rectangle in the screenshot below.

This may sound a little abstract, but the stringing-together concept is easy when you start working with the software.

To help with choosing the right iDevice, I’ve put together a side-of-A4 guide. Download this from the link below, or from the eXe page of this blog. All feedback welcome.

Using eXe: Choosing the right iDevice [PDF·170KB]

I’m currently working with Andrea in Pharmacy & Pharmacology to develop some tutorials to support the delivery of the Using Evidence in Practice unit of the AP3T programmes. As opposed to authoring everything from scratch, we’re repurposing existing content and taking advantage of opportunities to make it more active, engaging and interactive. Our timescales are tight, and thankfully the user-friendliness of eXe seems so far to be helping the process along.

Below is a quick screenshot of the output of our work in progress (embedded in Moodle).