EXELearning

This is the User Guide for eXeLearning, a program for creating courses for electronic distribution. The program can be found at http://exelearning.org and new releases from http://exelearning.net

Backgrounding eXe
The eLearning XHTML editor (eXe) is a web-based authoring environment designed to assist teachers and academics in the design, development and publishing of web-based learning and teaching materials without the need to become proficient in HTML, XML or complicated web-publishing applications.

The Web is a revolutionary educational tool because it presents teachers and learners with a technology that simultaneously provides something to talk about (content) and the means to hold the conversation (interaction). Unfortunately, the power of this hypertext medium is constrained in educational settings because the vast majority of teachers and academics do not have the technical skills to build their own web pages, and must therefore rely on the availability of web developers to generate professional looking online content. The eXe is being developed to overcome a number of identified limitations:


 * Traditionally web-authoring software entails a steep learning curve; it is not intuitive and the applications were not designed for publishing learning content. Consequently teachers and academics have not adopted these technologies for publishing online learning content. eXe aims to provide an intuitive, easy-to-use tool that will enable teachers to publish professional web pages for learning;
 * Currently, learning management systems do not offer sophisticated authoring tools for web content (when compared to the capabilities of web-authoring software or the skills of an experienced web developer). eXe is a tool that provides professional web-publishing capabilities that will be easily referenced or imported by standards compliant learning management systems;
 * Most content management and learning management systems utilize a centralized web server model thus requiring connectivity for authoring. This is limiting for authors with low bandwidth connectivity or no connectivity at all. eXe will be developed as an offline authoring tool without the requirement for connectivity.
 * Many content management and learning management systems do not provide an intuitive wysiwyg environment where authors can see what their content will look like in a browser when published, especially when working offline. eXe will mimic wysiwig functionality enabling users to see what the content will look like when published online.

Overview of eXe tools
With the eXe, users can develop a learning structure that suits their content delivery needs and build a resource that is flexible and easily updated. The Outline pane of the eXe Control Panel enables users to design an outline that reflects their own preferred hierarchical structure and taxonomy, i.e. topics-sections-units, or books-chapters-verses, etc. This can be established at the outset or can develop as the resource is built.

The iDevice (instructional device) pane consists of a collection of structural elements that describe learning content. Some of these include, objectives, pre-knowledge, case studies, free text. Learning content is compiled by selecting iDevices from the iDevice menu and entering your learning content. A learning resource may consist of as few or as many iDevices as required to deliver the learning content effectively. New iDevices are in development and recommendations for additional iDevices are being sought from the wider learning community. An iDevice editor enabling users to design their own iDevices and templates has been released in an experimental format as work continues on its development.

eXe offers the ability for users to customise their published content by selecting from a range of graphical style sheets. eXe’s Export facility allows content to be packaged in two ways. Learning resources can be packaged as a self contained web site for publishing to a web server, or as a SCORM Content Package which will enable the resource to be imported into any SCORM enabled learning management system (LMS).

Windows
To start the eXe, double-click the eXe icon that should have appeared on your desktop after installation. If you don't have an eXe icon on your desktop you will need to find the application's icon in your Windows start menu under Programs. You should probably maximise the eXe window to utilise all the space you have available to work in.

Linux
Type run-exe.sh (all lower case) from the command line. This will launch eXe.

Chapter 3 - Building a resource
This chapter is designed to guide you through using the tools in this application to produce your own learning resources. Submit

Objectives
At the conclusion of this tutorial you will be able to:


 * Use the outline tool set to structure a resource
 * Select iDevices and add content to a resource
 * Apply a new style to a resource.

Section 1 - Defining Properties
The Properties tab allows you to record general details about your project e.g. Title, Author, and Description. It also allows you to define the taxonomy you may prefer to use to describe the different components or levels within the resource.

Activity
To begin this activity with eXe open (see Chapter 3- Starting eXe).

1. Select the Properties tab (at the top of the authoring workspace) 2. Type a title for this resource in the Title field e.g. eXe Tutorial. 3. Type in the author details and a brief description of the resource in the space provided 4. Change the taxonomy to Module, Section, Map. (The taxonomy determines the naming convention for the different levels in the outline.) 5. Click  6. Return to the Authoring tab.

Preknowledge
You should have completed Section 1 - Defining Properties and set the properties for your package.

The Outline tool set allows you to define the structure your project will take. This is particularly useful for large or complex projects that contain many parts or topics. On startup the authoring pane displays to the right of the eXe sidebar. The outline pane displays two defaultdnodes, draft and home.

Home
The Home node is the first page displayed when the project is exported to the web or an LMS. This is a parent node and additional child level nodes can be added under this node.

Adding nodes
To add additional nodes select the parent node by highlighting the parent level and click the Add Child button (on some systems this is shown as "Add Page").

Delete nodes
To delete a node select the node you want to delete and click the delete button. A dialogue message displays to check this action. Click OK to continue.

Renaming nodes
Select the node you want to rename and double click. A dialogue message prompts you to enter the new name. Enter the name and click OK. This action can also be done using the Rename button

Promote/Demote arrows
The promote/demote arrows are located beneath the outline pane. Selecting a node and clicking on one of the arrows will change the position of that node with the outline structure.

Activity
Now try adding a new Module to your project. To do this click on the parent node you want the new "child" module to be associated with and click the  button. Select the new module and double click or click . Add a title, in this case call it eXe Tutorial.

Preknowledge
You should have completed Section 2 - Defining an outline.

iDevices are instructional elements that provide a framework within which to set your content.

To demonstrate iDevices in action take a look through the examples below.

Multiple Choice Question
Which iDevice would you use to describe the learning outcomes of a learning resource?
 * Reflection
 * Multiple choice Question
 * Objectives
 * Preknowledge

Move on to Sub-section1 of this section Entering content into the iDevice to enter content.