Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Profile Manager
Sketch Book
Profile Manager is a tool used to allow a user
to change personal information (email, name,
address, etc.) and account password. This is a
general usage tool that helps users to maintain the
correct contact and personal information. In order
for a learner to change the educational material
presentation language, only a click is needed at
the relevant field.
Another tool that follows the learning personal-
ization logic is the 'sketch book'. The use of this
tool provides user with a place to enter informa-
tion coming from different sources (internet,
educational objects, chat, etc.) and store them in a
container that is always available during a session.
Learners can search information on the web and
insert it to the sketch topic. This information can
be saved as formatted text combined with images,
and other multimedia features like sound, video,
animation, etc. All information stored in sketch
topic can be formatted, searched and extracted
to all known document formats (.doc,.ods,.rtf,
etc.). Sketch topic can be easily used by novice
users since all functions can be accessed from
the main menu and by clicking the right mouse
button. The layout of the window resembles
that of an exercise topic and all actions can be
performed either from the top menu or by right
clicking with the mouse on a word or other text.
Sketch book cannot be closed until it is saved or
the user confirms closing without save. This is a
precaution taken because most users often forget
to save the work done before exiting.
Diplek provides several other useful tools that
can be used to assist learners like a calculator, a
drawing tool and a web browser for internet access.
Another category of tools provided by the platform
are the collaborative-communication tools.
My Calendar
Calendar is a powerful feature that allows learners
and faculty to manage both academic and personal
events. Managing time is one of the most impor-
tant things a learner and an instructor need to do.
A learner must be given the ability to schedule
lectures, tests, assignments and other learning
processes during a week/month/year.
Instructors need to mark important dates and
schedule learning activities. This tool is useful
for learners who need to schedule their lectures,
tests and assignment submissions. All the days
are shown on a weekly basis and the dates that
have events schedule are shown in bold. Users
can schedule an event by just clicking on the date
and type the desired text. The calendar service is
directly connected to the virtual assistants' services
to inform user with upcoming events.
My Documents
Collaborative-Communication Tools
Diplek supports personalization of learning and
encourages users to have their own personal work-
space where they can store files. These files can
be anything from a single text file to an interac-
tive multimedia game. All documents (files) can
be extracted with a single click of the mouse and
can be transferred to another user of the platform
or even a learner or instructor of another system.
This category includes tools and services directly
related to the learning process that are responsible
for distance communication and collaboration of
learners and instructors. These tools aim to assist
users (mostly learners') to keep in touch with their
peers and instructors (Kear, 2007). Even though,
the most frequently used communication tool is
e-mail and it is mainly used for personal corre-
Search WWH ::
Custom Search