e-Learning Technologies

Our company develops multimedia applications, including presentational, educational, and custom CBT applications. Besides, we have created our own author's multimedia system iNTEGRO and Courseware Management System virtual university system.

Some of our multimedia applications used to be based on the reputable Macromedia's products and partly on the Toolbook platform. However, most applications were based on our own development, the author's multimedia system iNTEGRO.

Now we are using up-to-date network technologies. On the client side, Macromedia Flash MX 6-7, Java/JSP, .NET are used; on the server side - Oracle, MySQL Server, Java/JSP. Most new systems are built in accordance with modern e-learning development technology requirements like ADL SCORM (Sharable Content Object Reference Model), which includes the following standards:

• IEEE Data Model For Content Object Communication
• IEEE ECMA Script Application Programming Interface for Content to Runtime - Services Communication
• IEEE Learning Object Metadata (LOM)
• IEEE Extensible Markup Language (XML) Schema Binding for Learning Object Metadata Data Model
• IMS Content Packaging
• IMS Simple Sequencing

Typical e-learning application is a custom CBT application with client/server architecture. The scalable application framework was developed for the client part of a standard system to simplify any further improvements by making graphical design independent on the program code.

Educational Multimedia Applications

During our company's lifetime, we have created more than 200 custom e-learning development applications for educational purposes of different level of complexity. The customers of such projects are both small companies and big corporations in automobile engineering, trade, banking, audit, insurance business, etc.

As a rule, educational applications represent two models:

Book model: each book application has theoretical and test sections. The theoretical section is built on the synchronized event flow principle: while the lecturer is talking, certain things appear on the screen in specified moments.

Explorative model: emulates a real process of exploration, i.e. while learning, the student visits a lot of rooms, talks to various people and solves many tasks. The efficiency of the student's activity is estimated based on the analysis of sequence of his actions and his solving of the tasks. This approach is more complex to implement and comprehend, unlike the book principle used in most multimedia applications. Nevertheless, it makes training more effective.

iNTEGRO System (developed 3 years ago)

iNTEGRO is an author's multimedia system, like Asymetrix Toolbook or Macromedia Authorware, which is used to create multimedia applications. The system allows to combine the work of different specialists involved in the multimedia application development in a most efficient way. It allows to create a complete program out of the author's script for the shortest period of time.

iNTEGRO system implements the following principles:

• Authors and programmers can work on an application together and not depending on each other. Unlike usual multimedia application technologies, the authors don't have to wait for the programmers to complete their work, and vice versa.
• Having written a script, the author can see the result right away. To play the script, you do not need to have all multimedia elements available (graphic, animation, video, sounds). In this case the system uses dummy objects.
• Any application developed by iNTEGRO can run in the network or Internet. The system has a special module allowing a local application to run in the network.

iNTEGRO helps optimize the multimedia application development process. Due to its features and due to our customer LiM InterActive GmbH's marketing success, the system was accepted by the global concern Allianz AG as an internal multimedia application development standard in 2000.

The following tools and technologies were used in the project:

• Win16/32 API
• Visual C++, COM, WinSock API
• different native API's

Courseware Management System (developed 4 years ago)

Courseware Management System is a virtual university. It is a system used to control the training process in the Internet/Intranet. The CMS system server provides the training resources and controls the access to them. The system stores full information about the users, courses, teachers, administrators and all their interrelations.

To run the client's workplace, you need a standard Internet browser and access to the server. The client's place can be implemented in two ways:

• As an independent application integrated with standard Internet browsers. It requires additional loading and installing a special module on the client side, but has advanced functionality.
• As a standard web application that does not require additional loading, but has simpler functionality.

The main objects of the system are:

Students - people who study in CMS. The students can study courses, view completion reports, and interact with other students or teachers. The students can choose courses from a list of free available courses.

Administrators - people who control the system operation and the whole training process, including teachers, course managers and system administrators.

Courses - the training material stored on the server as courses. The courses have many parameters that allow to control the educational process.

Student groups and course groups - grouping is necessary to control several students or courses at a time. For example, a course or a permission can be assigned or a message can be sent to a student group, a parameter can be set for a course group, etc.

Reports enable the teacher to control the students' progress. The reports allow to view the passing percentage and quality, how many time a course has been started, and how much time the student has spent on a course.

The following tools and technologies were used in the project:

• Client side: Visual C++ & MFC, COM, Netscape Plugins, HTML, JavaScript;
• Server side: MS SQL Server, ODBC, Visual C++, Java Servlets, JDBC.

To learn more about our company, please see our Company, Services, Outsourcing Partnership areas, or contact us for more information.