integrating merlot with the blackboard community
DESCRIPTION
Integrating MERLOT with the Blackboard Community. Dr. Sorel Reisman Managing Director, MERLOT. Presentation Overview. Overview of MERLOT LMS Initiative MERLOT Building Block Administrator’s Perspective Instructor’s Perspective A Comment on MERLOT PowerLink Questions. What is MERLOT?. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
Integrating MERLOT with the Blackboard Community
Dr. Sorel Reisman Managing Director, MERLOT
Presentation Overview
• Overview of MERLOT
• LMS Initiative
• MERLOT Building Block– Administrator’s Perspective– Instructor’s Perspective
• A Comment on MERLOT PowerLink
• Questions
What is MERLOT?
A user-centered, searchable database of online learning materials, pedagogical support, and participants based on:
• COMMUNITY COOPERATIVES• Institutional Partners• Organizational Affiliates• Individual Members
• PROCESSES• Building, organizing, reviewing, and developing applications
of online teaching-learning materials • Building and sustaining online academic communities.
• SOFTWARE• WWW.MERLOT.ORG
MERLOT Homepage
• REGISTERED MEMBERS– Higher Ed Faculty, K-12 teachers, students, workforce
development programs, librarians, administrators, life-long learners
– 47,000+ members, growing at about 1,200/month – 12,000+ Student Members (25%)
• MATERIALS– 17,000+ as of June 15– 2,300+ Peer Reviewed– 7,300+ in Personal Collections– 4,600+ with Member comments– 975+ assignments
• USAGE – Average 67,500+ Users per month– 130 VSB Guest experts
MERLOT Metrics
• Website Services– Personal Collections & Virtual
Speakers Bureau– Communities and Portals
• 16 disciplines and growing • Workforce Development
Communities • Institutional Teaching
Commons– Carnegie Foundation –
Snapshots• Vineyard & Grapevine• JOLT• MERLOT International
Conference
Some MERLOT Services•Search Services
MERLOT LMS Initiative
Partner Objectives• Companies provide institutions content-free LMS
infrastructure• Companies want outstanding reference examples
of utility of their system over competition• Companies seek strategic alliances with content
partners to demonstrate their products’ superiority • All MERLOT partners consider MERLOT a
superior source of multi-disciplinary, high quality, academic content
MERLOT Objectives
• MERLOT collection and services exposed to hundreds of thousands of higher education instructors/student worldwide.
• Increased partnership possibilities• Increased MERLOT membership • Potential for significant growth of collection• MERLOT remains completely “agnostic” and
above board
Essence of Relationships
Advanced
Simple
I. Partners search MERLOT
Federated
II. MERLOT searches Partners
MERLOT Vendor Partners/Projects
1. Proprietary Vendors– Blackboard– WebCT– Desire2Learn– Angel Learning
2. Open Source– Moodle– Sakai– University of Toronto - UTutor
3. Innovative Opportunities– Epsilen Learning Environment– Second Life
Active LMSPartner Functionality
Blackboard - Integrated MERLOT Search Building Block
WebCT - Integrated MERLOT Search PowerLink
Angel Learning - Integrated MERLOT Advanced Search
Desire2Learn - Integrated MERLOT Advanced Search
Epsilen Learning Environment – Integrated advanced and “semi smart” search
UTutor – integrated MERLOT Advanced Search
Resulted in 310+ active keys & 152,000 queries in 2006
Repository Federated Search
EdNA Online - Education Network Australia
ARIADNE - ARIADNE Foundation for the European Knowledge Pool
NIME-glad - NIME Gateway to Learning for Ability Development
LORNET - Learning Object Repositories NETwork
Discipline Federated Search
Physics - MERLOT Physics: ComPADRE
Teaching and Technology - MERLOT Teaching and Technology: CATS, and UNC PDP
Information Technology - MERLOT Information Technology: IEEE Computer Society
MERLOT LMS “Affiliates” (310+)
Building BlockFree
Built by BlackboardPrimary support – BlackboardSecondary support – MERLOT
Blackboard Administrator’s Perspective
Installing the Building Block
The Process
• Download Building Block from Bb website• Install Building Block on server• Prompted to fill in ‘form/key request’• Agree to MERLOT terms and click
“submit”• Key sent to requestor• Building Block unlocked• Questions: Bb Tech Support
Instructor’s Perspective
Finding and Using Learning Material
1. Create Course Folder
2. Select MERLOT From Drop Down List
Select MERLOT
3. View MERLOT Search Form
4. Complete Search Form
Select keywords & Number of ResuttsSelect keywords & Number of ResuttsSelect keywords & Number of results
5. View Results
Link to actual learning material
6. View Items of Interest (in new window)
7. Select Items of Interest
Two ItemsTwo Items
Standard Blackboard Process
Items Added - Instructor View
Items Added – Learner View
A Comment onMERLOT PowerLink
The WebCT/MERLOT PowerLink
• Built by WebCT
• Released July, 2006
• Compatible with Vista 3, 4+, CE 6+
• View Appendix
The Future – Web Services
• MERLOT-built Building Block(s)
• Improved search
• Join function
• Direct federated and advanced search
• Other
QUESTIONS?
APPENDIX
WebCT PowerLink/Building Block
The WebCT/MERLOT PowerLink
The WebCT/MERLOT PowerLink
The WebCT/MERLOT PowerLink
The WebCT/MERLOT PowerLink
The WebCT/MERLOT PowerLink
The WebCT/MERLOT PowerLink
The WebCT/MERLOT PowerLink