Distributed Open University Learning Systems
#DOULS
Version 0.1
Date 15th June 2011
Project Information
Project Identifier
To be completed by JISC
Project Title
Distributed Open University Learning Systems
Project Hashtag
#DOULS
Start Date
1 July 2010
Lead Institution
The Open University
Project Director
Niall Sclater, The Open University Strategy Unit
Project Manager
Judith Pickering
Contact email
j.a.pickering@open.ac.uk
Partner Institutions
N/A
Project Webpage URL
www.open.ac.uk/blogs/douls
Programme Name
E-learning programme: Distributed VLE
Programme Manager
Sarah Davies s.davies@jisc.ac.uk
End Date
31 December 2011
Document Information
Author(s)
Judith Pickering
Project Role(s)
Project Manager
Reporting Period
From 01-01-2011 to 10-06-2011
Date
17th June 2011
URL
http://www.open.ac.uk/blogs/douls/wpcontent/uploads/2011/06/DOULS_interim_report-Jan-to-June-11.doc
Access
 Project and JISC internal
Filename
DOULS_Progress_report_2.doc
 General dissemination
Document History
Version
Date
Comments
0.1
15/06/2011
Initial draft – J.Pickering
1.0
17/06/2011
Final draft – J.Pickering
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Table of Contents
Section One: Summary...................................................................................................................................... 3
Section Two: Activities and Progress ................................................................................................................ 3
Development of gadget specifications ........................................................................................................... 3
Integrations with Google Apps for Education ................................................................................................. 4
1.
Google calendar integration ............................................................................................................. 4
2.
Portfolio Activity Tool (previously known as Google VLE activity module) ...................................... 4
3.
Google Collaborative Activity Tool ................................................................................................... 5
4.
Save to Google Docs ....................................................................................................................... 5
5.
Gadget - Moodle Plugin and associated code ................................................................................. 5
Development of Gadget shortlist .................................................................................................................... 6
Study Planner ............................................................................................................................................. 6
Forums (formerly referred to as Forum update) ......................................................................................... 6
Development of this gadget is due to commence in June, aiming for a September release. .................... 6
Module suggestion ..................................................................................................................................... 6
Assessment Helper (formerly referred to as TMA buddy) .......................................................................... 6
Forum Recommender (formally part of the study buddy gadget idea) ....................................................... 7
OU Buddy ................................................................................................................................................... 7
Activities in addition to those outlined in the work plan .................................................................................. 8
Development of an Institutional Process for the assessment and management of VLE accessibility ....... 8
Development of iGoogle as a start page .................................................................................................... 8
Personalisation of Students Study Planner ................................................................................................ 8
Section Three: Institutional & Project Partner Issues ........................................................................................ 9
Section Four: Outputs and Deliverables ............................................................................................................ 9
Section Five: Outcomes and Lessons Learned ................................................................................................. 9
Section Six: Evaluation ...................................................................................................................................... 9
Section Seven: Dissemination ......................................................................................................................... 10
Section Eight: Risks, Issues and Challenges .................................................................................................. 10
Risks affecting the wider community ............................................................................................................ 10
Institutional Delays to Moodle 2.0 integration .......................................................................................... 10
Google accessibility .................................................................................................................................. 10
Stability of the Google Apps for Education environment .......................................................................... 11
Autoforwarding of mail for students .......................................................................................................... 11
Risks specific to the Open University........................................................................................................... 11
Google technical support .......................................................................................................................... 11
Access to the admin account required. .................................................................................................... 11
Security associated with domain level API access .................................................................................. 11
Section Nine: Collaboration and Support ........................................................................................................ 12
Section Ten: Financial Statement .................................................................................................................... 12
Section Eleven: Next Steps ............................................................................................................................. 12
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Section One: Summary
The Distributed Open University Systems (DOULS) project has advanced largely to plan during
this reporting period. Progress includes the development of our first gadget, the Study Planner
gadget, in addition to other integrations between Moodle and Google Apps for Education in the
form of the Portfolio Activity Tool and calendar. Importantly the Moodle plugin and associated
code to facilitate connection of OpenSocial/Google Gadgets to a Moodle VLE are either complete
or at a beta stage of development. Outstanding gadget specifications are close to being finalised,
as is an approach to the delivery of our gadgets via iGoogle. All of this work has been approved
after extensive consultation and user evaluation.
In parallel to progress made against the project plan, additional activities have included the
development of an institutional process for the assessment and management of VLE accessibility.
Implementation of this process has been necessary to ensure that no student is disadvantaged as
a result of engagement with their VLE. Development activities to improve scope for
personalisation of the student study planner have also been undertaken in this period. Students
will soon be able to view study planner content either on the VLE or export it to Google or an
alternative calendar using the iCal standard.
Progress has not been without its difficulties which relate largely the current migration of our VLE
to Moodle 2.1 and our close reliance on Google Apps for Education both of which are detailed in
this report. Despite this, the project does have promise and it is hoped, will feed into many future
developments within learning systems both here at the Open University and within the wider
community.
Section Two: Activities and Progress
The section below describes how we have met our aims which were stated in the development
plan as follows:
 Make progress with the development of gadget specifications
 Have put some concepts through usability testing/evaluation
 To have produced one or two prototype gadgets to include end user evaluation of these.
Development of gadget specifications
Consultation of the gadget ideas has been extensive and as a result, in some instances the
specifications have evolved markedly. For the latest functional specification please refer to
DOULS Gadget Specifications available on the DOULS project website.
The gadget specifications have been discussed with the following groups / individuals:
 DOULS Steering group
 The JISC funded Lucero project. The goal of LUCERO (Linking University Content for
Education and Research Online) is to investigate and prototype the use of linked data
technologies and approaches to linking and exposing data for students and researchers.
Linked data technologies and principles represent emerging practices to format
and interconnect information on the Web.)
 The JISC funded RISE project. RISE (Recommendations Improve the Search Experience)
has been investigating the use and issues around user activity data and recommendations.
Judith Pickering, the DOULS project manager is also member of the RISE project board.
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



Stuart Brown, the OU eBusiness Manager, Online Communities & Web Developments.
Stuart is an expert in the use of social technology for teaching and learning. He has been
involved in the development of apps for Facebook.
Student Services – Student Services have a good understanding of the needs of students
and can also help the project to deliver accessible alternatives while iGoogle continues to
inaccessible.
The Project manager of Collaboration and Communication Tools at the OU has helped us
to refine the specification of the forum gadget and the OU Buddy gadget.
ePortfolio stakeholders. Discussions about the requirements for an ePortfolio have shaped
the functional specification of the Portfolio Activity Tool which integrates Moodle with
Google Apps for Education.
Integrations with Google Apps for Education
1. Google calendar integration
Prototypes of the Google calendar integration were put through usability testing. User feedback
resulted in amends to the user interface and screen design. The redesign has made it easier for
students to understand the choices available for integration of their Moodle calendar with
alternative calendars, including Google calendar. User feedback has also influenced the support
and guidance documentation associated with this functionality which enables module events
(tutorials, assessments etc) to be exported from the VLE into the user’s (personal/OU) Google
calendar using a link from the module website. We have also incorporated the existing Moodle
calendar iCal export support in this feature so other calendar clients (Outlook) are supported. A
beta version of this development is now complete and undergoing technical testing prior to release
in August. The Google calendar integration specification is also available from the DOULS project
website.
2.
Portfolio Activity Tool (previously known as Google VLE activity module)
This tool is still under development and should be ready for technical testing by 15th July. The tool
will enable the scaffolding of reflective or portfolio type learning activities from the VLE via the
creation of ‘template’ documents in a Google Docs account. This tool will ‘push’ either specific
folder structures, documents or forms into students Google Docs in an attempt to scaffold their
learning. In such an instance, the student would be presented with a button within the Moodle
interface which when selected, triggers the upload of the template/document/form/folders to their
Google Docs (once the student has agreed access). The student will be the ‘owner’ of the
documents.
After presentation of a prototype of this tool in staff workshops, the following additional functionality
has been added to the specification:

Template text will have a display option so it can either be shown on screen and not in output
document or be shown on both.

User entry text will have an option to make it not show in the output document. (The potential
use of this is that it will enable students to create content which is stored in Moodle but will not
be saved to the final document. This will enable them to have content that may take the form
of notes / drafts for reflection, in addition to separate content that could be output into the final
document for assessment. Output choices are Google Docs or .rtf).

A new 'reference/link' type will be created. This will allow for duplication of items within/across
templates so that the same user entry field can be used multiple times (using a single user
response).
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
An optional alternate navigation interface will be created that will list all of the pages by name probably listed under the activity within the Moodle Navigation block on the left (although this is
likely to be added to a later release of the tool – possibly November).
3. Google Collaborative Activity Tool
The Google Collaborative Activity is to be a Moodle module that enables collaboration between
groups of students on a shared document. All of the user interactions with the document take place
within Google Apps for Education; the key purpose of this activity module is to initiate the creation
and sharing of the document with the correct users. Further information is outlined in the Google
collaborative activity tool specification which is also available on the DOULS project website.
Progress with this tool has been put on hold until we were in a position to test group functionality
within Google.
4. Save to Google Docs
We have capitalised on existing Moodle 2.0 functionality which includes a ‘save to Google Docs’
function, enabling students to save Moodle forum, blog posts etc into their Google Docs accounts.
As a result of some of this work we will be in a position to feed improvements in this area back to
the community.
5. Gadget - Moodle Plugin and associated code
Moodle Plugin and associated code plugin to facilitate the connection of OpenSocial/Google
Gadgets to a Moodle VLE with the intention of transferring secure user data have been produced
as part of the preparatory development. The status of this work is outlined in the following table:
Feature
Moodle plugin to allow OpenSocial Gadgets to
access Moodle web-services
Stage
beta
JavaScript library to assist with gadget
connection to Moodle plugin
beta
Moodle plugin to allow users to export course
event information into Google calendar
Complete
Code library to interface with Google Apps for
Education/Docs API
This hasn’t been required for any gadgets
developed to date. For example, as part of the
Portfolio activity we have extended existing
Google Docs integration within Moodle. This
will be required for the later development of the
Google Collaborative Activity.
Web-services etc in Moodle to support gadget
requirements
Complete
Migration of gadget to alternate platform.
Presently there are no suitable gadgets for
conversion
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Development of Gadget shortlist
For the latest functional specifications please refer to DOULS Gadget Specifications available on
the DOULS project website.
Study Planner
A beta version of this gadget has been produced and put through usability testing with students.
Feedback was very positive and has resulted in the study planner becoming more interactive,
enabling data transfer to flow in both directions between the gadget in Google Apps for Education
and Moodle. Programming is due to complete shortly with the finalisation of improved accessibility
of the tab structure and refining / editing the associated guidance text. This gadget is currently
undergoing technical testing in preparation for release in September.
Forums (formerly referred to as Forum update)
Discussions with Student Services and the Collaborations and Communications project manager
resulted in a decision to split the development of the forums gadget into two separate phases;
prioritising Module forums above open access forums, e.g., Open University Students Association
forum, library forums.
Development of this gadget is due to commence in June, aiming for a September release.
Module suggestion
Due to changes to internal policy, this gadget has been de-prioritised and therefore will not be
delivered as part of this project.
Assessment Helper (formerly referred to as TMA buddy)
Development of this gadget is currently being assessed in relation to the Study Buddy gadget on
the shortlist and it is possible that other gadgets will take priority. The gadget name has been
changed because TMA (tutor marked assignment) is too specific and we want this gadget to be
used for any type of assessment).
Progress with this gadget has been focussed on concept testing. The TMA buddy ideas went
through usability testing with students who confirmed that a prompting gadget would be very
useful, whereas a gadget which enabled students to chart their mood at specific times throughout
the course of their module, had less of a demand (this functionality could be earmarked for phase II
development of this gadget). Consequently, the gadget specification has been developed and the
gadget idea re-badged as the ‘Assessment Helper’ gadget, developments being phased as follows:
Phase I
Incorporating a study timer that can be configured to count down study time, i.e., the
student specifies no. of hours they want to spend on an assessment, how they want
to spend that time over a number of study sessions. As the student studies, they
activate the counter (similar to timer in a game of chess). Working above or below
target will adjust time required in later sessions.
Phase II
Incorporate opportunity for student reflections following completion of their
assessment.
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Forum Recommender (formally part of the study buddy gadget idea)
Following consultation the Study Buddy gadget idea has been evolved into two separate gadgets;
Forum Recommender and OU Buddy. The following outlines the functional specification of the
Forum Recommender gadget.
Many students find it appealing to participate in forums that are not owned by the module team
because they feel free from the perceived gaze of their mentor/tutors. This is why open forums are
popular.
Users will be able to enter search terms into the forum recommender. The gadget will return a list
of recommended forums based on these terms after searching against a database of forum tags.
The app will work via a wizard based on a tagging system, i.e., when a forum is created it is
tagged. Initially the forums will be actively moderated, i.e., Platform forums
http://www.open.ac.uk/platform/ and Learning space forums
http://openlearn.open.ac.uk/mod/forumng/view.php?id=396256 . Later developments of the gadget
may enable the incorporation of non-moderated forums, e.g., allowing students to flag their own
blogs or Facebook forums that the student will tag and these will then be included in the
recommendations list. In such in instance, a method to alert staff of inappropriate content would
be required and if content is agreed to be inappropriate, the forum could be manually removed
from the recommendation list.
User generated ratings systems could also be built into the gadget and the recommendations
returned according to most popular, e.g. star rating or ‘like /dislike”.
OU Buddy
Students will have option of self ‘buddying’ with other students by setting up personal contact using
methods similar to those employed by Facebook and other social networking sites. Any personal
data exposed is dependent upon the way a student sets up their personal profile to configure it with
the personal data they are happy to expose within the study buddy gadget. This gadget assumes
that it will be difficult to access student personal information already held within institutional
systems. It is therefore assumed that we will ask students who access this gadget to specify their
personal details, e.g., what they have studied; would like to study; their geolocation; gender etc.
Messages from potential buddies will be sent to the student from the system within a free-text box.
Students can choose to accept or reject approaches.
Potential for later enhancement of this gadget may involve bringing together student enquirers with
students who have already studied a module the enquirer is considering. There is a suspected
market for this because 90% of questions on the Open University Students Association wall are
from enquirers asking to speak to individuals who have previously studied a particular module.
Potential new students wanting to enquire about specific modules would interact with the gadget
via Google only because they wouldn’t have sign-on. This buddying could be enhanced by also
recommending access to the xml (openlink data), e.g., iTunes U, YouTube, Podcasts containing
content from their specified module of interest. Consideration needs to be given to how we would
provide this functionality to disabled students for whom iGoogle is not very accessible. There is
therefore a need to investigate the potential for a version of the gadget to be made available within
the VLE, e.g, via ‘Services for Disabled Students http://www.open.ac.uk/disability/what-we-cando.php).
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Activities in addition to those outlined in the work plan
Development of an Institutional Process for the assessment and management
of VLE accessibility
To support the work undertaken in the last reporting period when a process was drawn up and
agreed for evaluation of developments in terms of usability and accessibility (see Usability and
Accessibility testing plans), an institutional process for the assessment and management of VLE
accessibility has been reached (see A System for managing accessibility for the VLE platform).
This was made necessary due to the absence of an operational institutional framework for
accessibility supporting the OU Securing Greater Accessibility (SeGA) policy. Consequently a
process to feed VLE platform accessibility information/queries to the informal SeGA working group
was proposed and agreed. The SeGA Group has now been formalised with governance reporting
lines. This Group will provide institutional interpretation and implementation of the British standards
and legislation with the OU mission; and is responsible for identifying accessibility contacts for
each unit, providing them with training and resources and a community of best practice for
accessibility.
Development of iGoogle as a start page
The gadgets produced as a consequence of this project need to be made available to users. The
use of iGoogle as a start page was confirmed following student testing which compared the
distribution of gadgets via iGoogle or via a bespoke Google site. The resulting iGoogle Personal
Start Page specification (also available via the DOULS project website) describes how the start
page will function. Also planned is guidance and support documentation which will explain how to
present gadgets to users in terms of promotion, education, installation and support.
Personalisation of Students Study Planner
Every study module at the Open University has a Moodle module website with a study planner
displayed in the central area of the homepage. In its basic form the study planner is a module
study calendar displaying assessment dates, weeks for block study however in many cases the
study planner is more complex, displaying links to date specific online module content and tools
such as resource pages, links to websites, quizzes or forums.
An additional activity of this project has been to consider personal choice for students, enabling
them to choose whether to use the institutional Moodle calendar, or to export information from the
Moodle calendar to their own personal calendar (see calendar integration development above).
We want to bring a similar level of personal choice and customisation to the study planner and
consequently we are developing tools to enable users to export all the activities in their study
planner either to their Google calendar or another calendar application which supports the iCal
standard (the ‘export of study planner activities to Google or ical calendar’ specification is available
on the DOULS project website) .
We are also developing a note making tool (specification also available within the DOULS project
website) which will allow users the ability to create notes-to-self within the study planner on their
module website(s). There will be one note per week of the study planner on each module website
(not one note per activity or resource) to give the user somewhere within the relevant section of the
planner to note information/reminders relating to the content of that week’s activities on each
module they are studying, e.g. to note sections/activities that the user needed to return to in a
subsequent study session, a skills activity to be done, to highlight particular weaknesses or
reminders about contacting their tutor. The usefulness of the note making tool was confirmed
following usability testing with students who liked the idea of making a note within the planner, and
had a variety of suggestions about how they would use it.
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A separate export page is currently under development which offers a range of different things that
can be exported in different ways, each of which can be used independently. This will include the
calendar export functionality, export of study activities and note making (provided the user has
note-making enabled).
These tools are currently undergoing technical testing and are scheduled for release in September.
Section Three: Institutional & Project Partner Issues
Not applicable.
Section Four: Outputs and Deliverables
Our most advanced gadgets and builds are currently going through technical testing so aren’t yet
at a stage for sharing. As soon as testing is complete we will share on a community site such as
github or Google code. We will also specifically share with the Moodle community through their
contrib plugins system.
Section Five: Outcomes and Lessons Learned
We believe that the work outlined in this report maps mainly to the model where the learning
environment is both a provider and client (model five). Quoting from the CETIS briefing paper,
http://wiki.cetis.ac.uk/images/6/6c/Distributed_Learning.pdf, “…the ‘both a provider and a client’
model does the provisioning and consumption directly, and to equal degree. Ideally this model
ought to allow the seamless import of functions and information from systems that are dedicated to
those functions and that information, while allowing other systems to easily make use of those
things the system itself specialises in. In that sense, the approach resembles the ideal, if not the
method, of Service Oriented Architecture (SOA).
The key areas our model provides are:
1. Consumption (and publication) of VLE data for use in alternate software e.g. calendar
export.
2. Exposing of VLE data and interaction with VLE in other platforms via web services e.g.
study planner gadget.
3. The VLE consumes data from other internal systems via web-services e.g. forum gadget,
assessment gadget
4. Integration with Cloud applications within the VLE e.g. pushing content to Google Docs,
setting up collaborative Google docs for tutor groups.
Section Six: Evaluation
Throughout project, evaluation of the project outputs has relied on expert testing in addition to
usability and accessibility testing with student volunteers. Testing provides us with detailed reports
which then feed into further developments if necessary. Development of usability and accessibility
approaches has been a key deliverable of this project. The agreed approach has been formalised
and recorded in the Usability and Accessibility Testing Plan and Guidance document.
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As and when our gadgets are put into the live environment, we are currently considering the
application of Google Analytics to asses how often the gadgets are used and how long users dwell
on each page. To complement this we also intend to identify users of the gadgets and ask them
about their experience. This could take the form of an interview or user diary. Observations from
these evaluations will feed into later gadget developments and approaches.
Section Seven: Dissemination
The following communication or dissemination activities have been undertaken in the current
reporting period January to June 2011.

The DOULS lead technical developer, Jason Platts, attended the JISC/CETIS widget bash
at Bolton University in March. http://wiki.cetis.ac.uk/Widgetbash. Jason’s DOULS
presentation for CETIS Widget Bash are available on the DOULS project website.

Open University Learn About Fair (http://cloudworks.ac.uk/cloudscape/view/2234. A drop-in
event open to all staff regardless of role and gave an informal opportunity to find out about
the latest developments in the use of technology in education. The DOULS project and
gadget ideas were presented on a stall which was very popular with participants.
Meetings have been held to promote communication between other related project groups
at the OU. These include the following JISC funded projects; RISE and the LUCERO
project. The DOULS project manager, Judith Pickering, also sits on the RISE project
board.
Open University (Learning and Teaching Solutions) Google Users group. Meeting up to
twice a quarter, this group has been kept informed regarding the evolution of gadget
specifications. A demo of the study planner gadget was also given to the group in May.
There have been two steering group meetings held in this period.



Section Eight: Risks, Issues and Challenges
Risks affecting the wider community
Institutional Delays to Moodle 2.0 integration
The Open University as an institution is about to migrate its VLE from Moodle 1.9 to Moodle 2.1
(Moodle 2.0 has accessibility issues). Moodle 2.1 will be available at the end of June at which
point it will be used as a basis for formal evaluation. This has impacted upon the project because
certain functionality will only be available within Moodle 2.1, e.g., Save to Google, Portfolio Activity
Tool, Collaborative Activity Tool, Forums gadget.
Google accessibility
Google Apps for Education is central to most of the developments outlined in this report. Lack of
accessibility of Google Apps for Education means that these tools cannot yet be used for
compulsory teaching and learning until the accessibility issue is resolved (which is within the
control of Google who are aiming to deliver accessible apps by the end of 2011). In the meantime
Google Apps for Education can only be used for students’ personal use and on a limited pilot
basis. As a project we have been working closely with Google to highlight our situation and
discuss their timeline for accessibility improvements to their apps. In the meantime, we can
progress with gadget development as long as we make accessible alternatives available, e.g.,
enabling access to aggregated forum feeds from within the VLE in addition to via iGoogle.
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Stability of the Google Apps for Education environment
Google reserve the right to amend and develop their apps. They have a history of regularly
updating the user interface at short notice. One recent example of a change made by Google was
within Google Docs where they renamed ‘folders’ as ‘collections’. This has implications for any
additional guidance and support documentation we produce for our staff and students because any
support material can rapidly become out of date. To minimize this risk we aim not to incorporate
screen shots in addition to limiting reference to specific Google features. Wherever possible we
aim to keep guidance centralized and also point to Google’s own support material if appropriate.
One recent positive development is that Google have now produced a release calendar which
provides users with advanced warning of forthcoming changes to the apps. This of course helps
us to manage the risks associated with working with third party software.
Autoforwarding of mail for students
If a student hasn’t set up Gmail as their preferred email account, they won’t notice the email
notifications to alert them to the fact that a document has been shared with the group (functionality
that is part of the Collaborative Activity Tool development). This is because documents shared
with a group do not appear within individuals Google Docs until access via a link contained within
the email notification. Possible solutions include advising tutors to copy and paste the url of any
shared document into their TSA forum. Guidance could also be offered to students to encourage
them to either use Gmail as their preferred email account or to set up autoforwarding of email from
Gmail to their preferred email account.
Risks specific to the Open University
Google technical support
The OU staff email service is Outlook. In order to enable staff and tutors to engage with Google,
e.g., share documents with individuals or groups of students, collaborate within Google Apps for
Education etc, staff need to also have Google Apps for Education accounts. Signing up for a
Google Apps for Education account automatically includes the provision of a Gmail account. A
policy decision was made not to provide our staff tutors with two email accounts, i.e., Outlook and
Gmail therefore we have been aiming to programmatically set up autoforwarding of email from
Gmail to the staff Outlook accounts. At the moment, although this can be done manually, we
haven’t found a way to do this programmatically. The impact of this is that Google Apps for
Education can only be rolled out on a pilot basis until this is resolved. We are currently exploring
this with Google in addition to looking at alternative approaches that are not reliant on Google
developments.
Access to the admin account required.
The Collaborative Activity Tool development relies on access to an admin account ideally with
different levels of permission. At the moment use of the provisioning API is restricted to a ‘super
admin’ account. Some of the other APIs (e.g. contacts) requires the use of a key and ‘secret’ but
this is generic to our domain and therefore access to this allows access to all of the service APIs
which is not ideal.
A potential way forward may be for us to look at getting client access for each VLE address by
registering them with Google but this requires further investigation.
Security associated with domain level API access
For the VLE Google Collaborative activity we require domain level API access to users Google
Docs accounts. The simplest solution for this access is via an administrative account;
however, although administrative accounts can have some level of permissions controlled through
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the interface there are concerns within the IT department that these controls do not apply to API
access. Therefore there are concerns that administrative login details could be used to maliciously
access the system. We are therefore looking into using alternate authentication methods to
connect to the OU Google Apps for Education domain that provide a higher level of control over
access to services.
Section Nine: Collaboration and Support
There is nothing specific we need to discuss with other projects at the moment unless any of the
other projects have solutions to the issues flagged in section eight.
Section Ten: Financial Statement
Total Grant
£100,000
Duration of
project
Reporting
Period
1 August 2010 to 31 May 2011
1 July 2010 – 31
December 2011
Budget Headings
Total budget
allocated
Expenditure this
reporting period
Total expenditure
to date
Projected
expenditure to
end of project
Staff
£84,970
£40,320
£44,380
£84,806
Travel &
Subsistence
£3,000
£257
£257
£400
Equipment
0
0
0
0
Dissemination
activities
£500
0
0
Will been absorbed
by OU
Evaluation activities
0
0
0
Will been absorbed
by OU
Other (please
specify)
£11,530
£5,775 (Effortmark)
£5,775
£10, 500
Total
£100,000
£46352
£50,412
£95,706
Section Eleven: Next Steps
1. The Forum gadget and Study Planner gadget will complete technical testing in this period and be
released to students within an OU iGoogle tab in September.
2. The remaining gadget specifications will be finalised and approved and the approved gadgets
developed in time for a December release.
3. Evaluation of user satisfaction will take place between now and the end of the project. This will be
achieved through usability testing with end users and expert evaluation, usage statistics (vial
Google analytics) and surveys:
a.
Does the solution satisfy user needs?
b.
What improvements or enhancements would increase/improve their experience so far?
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Distributed Open University Learning Systems
#DOULS
Version 0.1
Date 15th June 2011
c.
Would users find benefit in having the solution available within their other platforms?
Our success criteria will be that 75% of users would continue to use the solution and that users feel
engaged and provide suggestions for improvement.
4. Technical robustness, interoperability with existing institutional systems and third-party platforms
will be assessed between now and the end of the project with the aim of delivering full
interoperability of the solution with existing institutional systems and a technology that fits with the
requirements of users. This will be evaluated via the use of technical testing and analysis of user
requests for technical support (incl. outcomes) which will address the following:
a.
What lessons can be learnt from the implementation of the solution?
b.
Is the solution transferable to other systems and learning environments?
5. Continue to address the project issues as outlined in section eight of this report.
6. Start to consider the influence that the JISC DOULS project has had or will have on the current
VLE.
7. Updating and validation of the online personas in light of student testing. This will be done in July
and then finalised in December.
8. Log ideas for developments post DOULS that could feed into future projects. For example:

New widgets/gadgets for Google, Facebook

Explore if any of the DOULS Google gadgets could have a presence on Facebook and
other social networking sites – e.g. study buddy.

Research the potential for producing gadgets within the LinkedIn platform – e.g. alumni
gadgets/career advice/cv building. Having a presence on this platform would require a
policy decision.

Exercise to evaluate the extent of Module Teams adoption of Google Apps for Education to
support teaching and learning activities in the medium term.

A cost/benefits analysis for taking the Google Apps for Education approach.

Investigate other Google Apps for Education tools that have the potential to be integrated
into Moodle.

Google App Engine – Google hosting

Tighter integration between Moodle and other institutional systems such as StudentHome

DOULS – IMS standards including LTI

Mainstreaming student and staff guidance within existing OU user documentation

Mainstreaming these gadgets within the OU VLE mobile and desktop designs and
architecture

Mainstreaming the integration of these gadgets within the existing OU learning systems
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