Stephen Downes continues his examination of open source learning management systems (LMSs) with a visit to Sakai's Web site. While Sakai's Web site is not particularly easy to navigate, it provides access to a large community and constellation of related online learning products and initiatives. Visitors can visit discussion forums to ask…

Software complexity is the most important software quality attribute and a very useful instrument in the study of software quality. Is one of the factors that affect most of the software quality characteristics, including maintainability. It is very important to quantity this influence and identify the means to keep it under control; by using…

"DaisyQuest" is a software bundle that offers computer-assisted instruction in phonological awareness, targeting children aged three to seven years (or preschool to second grade). The instructional activities, framed in a fairy tale involving a search for a friendly dragon named Daisy, teach children how to recognize words that rhyme;…

Course management systems (CMSs) are software systems designed to manage course content and course activities. These tools integrate technological and pedagogical features into a web-based system that allows instructors, even those who are unfamiliar with web-based technologies, to design, deliver, and manage an online course. However, CMSs have…

This article presents the universal design features that were identified during the alpha development of a scheduler software program, known as MySchoolDayOnline, for use in schools, and provides preliminary research on the usability of these features. The study presented here investigated the accessibility and usability of MySchoolDayOnline for…

This paper reports on a project involving software selection in the context of a curriculum redesign of a university level Japanese language program. The project aimed to improve learning outcomes, increase flexibility in student access, and increase flexibility in approaches to teaching and learning, through the use of a variety of software…

There are more similarities than differences among learning management system (LMS) software products. In a recent study, Carriere, Challborn, and Moore compared a variety of LMSs and went as far as to suggest that the only real differences between systems lie in marketing approaches. In addition, because LMSs have interchangeable parts, those…

This paper discusses the evaluation of Web-based tools to support Personal Development Planning (PDP) in order to illustrate issues associated with the introduction and assessment of the effectiveness of online resources. The aims of the evaluation were based on concerns about the very complex situation that offering online resources including PDP…

In an effective e-learning game, the learner's enjoyment acts as a catalyst to encourage his/her learning initiative. Therefore, the availability of a scale that effectively measures the enjoyment offered by e-learning games assist the game designer to understanding the strength and flaw of the game efficiently from the learner's points of view.…

The paper will argue that adopting a learning design methodology may provide a vehicle for enabling better design and reuse of Open Educational Resources (OERs). It will describe a learning design methodology, which is being developed and implemented at the Open University in the UK. The aim is to develop a "pick and mix" learning design…

Many popular terms such as software description, software review, software evaluation and lastly software usability used by design, development and evaluation experts in the field. However, such terms used interchangeably by researchers and developers are syntactically and semantically different due to their conceptual backgrounds and the…

BEAT is a Web-based system that generates fault-based test cases from Boolean expressions. It is based on the integration of our several fault-based test case selection strategies. The generated test cases are considered to be fault-based, because they are aiming at the detection of particular faults. For example, when the Boolean expression is in…

A detailed comparison of four computer programs for analyzing hierarchical linear models is presented. The programs are: VARCL; HLM; ML2; and GENMOD. All are compiled, stand-alone, and specialized. All use maximum likelihood (ML) estimation for decomposition of the variance into different parts; and in all cases, computing the ML estimates…

The Early Childhood Technology Integrated Instructional System (EC-TIIS), a Steppingstones of Technology Innovation Phase 1--Development project, was developed by the Center for Best Practices in Early Childhood (the Center) at Western Illinois University as an online instructional system. EC-TIIS' ultimate goal was to improve technology services…

The MEDA (Methodologie d'Evaluation des Didacticiels pour les Adultes) tool is a generic instrument to evaluate training courseware. It was developed for software designers to improve products, for instructors to select appropriate courseware, and for distributors and consultants to match software to client needs. Describes software evaluation…