3.3 OU Structured content tools

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Figure 1 ALT format files displayed for a section of a course on OpenLearn Create.

The Open University developed the OU structured content tool (using oXygen XML editor) to enable the creation of other formats of course material from one structured content text file (which also references images, video, audio and animation files). At the moment the system uses templates for the different formats which include OU branding and Intellectual Property information as it was developed for the OU Virtual Learning Environment and is used for all courses on the free online learning platform OpenLearn and for some OU collaborative project courses on OpenLearn Create. The branding and IP information has to be stripped out for external projects which are using OpenLearn Create to host their courses, making it a two-stage process of ALT format creation for external projects.

The following alternative formats are available from users which have been rendered to OpenLearn and OpenLearn Create using the OU structured content tool:

For offline study:

  • Word
  • PDF
  • ePub 2 and 3
  • Mobi (for use on a Kindle)

For uploading the materials to another Learning Management System or providing a feed for a website:

  • SCORM 1.2 (not compatible with all Learning Management Systems)
  • RSS
  • IMS Common Cartridge
  • HTML zip
  • OU XML

The advantage of using a structured content tool which can generate other formats of the course material for download means that the same content file can be used for creating all the formats. This helps with version control when making a course. It also means that learners studying those materials can choose to download and study sections of a course offline, even if they have to return to the online version to complete any assessment activities which count towards a digital badge or a Statement of Participation. At the moment this tool is not available to external users of OpenLearn Create as it has to be set up by OU staff and the interface is not very user friendly. However, the university is building a direct authoring tool called ‘OpenCreate’ for its academic staff. The new tool will bring this structured content functionality to external users of OpenLearn Create with an easy to use interface.

3.2 OpenLearn Create

3.4 Alternative formats