Adapt Learning Community: Components for inclusion in first release

I’ve just clicked through the 15 odd Adapt courses produced so far and identified the most commonly used components. The idea being to identify which ones we should focus on including within the first iteration of the Open Source Adapt.

The following 8 are pretty much ubiquitous in every build to date (the GMCQ could be used in nearly all instances of where Pin Point Questions have been used).

Presentation Components

Text
Graphic
Narrative
Hot Graphic
Accordion
Media Player

Question Components

MCQ
Graphical MCQ

I feel we’re a bit light on question types so I think we may want to include one of the following.

Ordering
Matching
Slider

There isn’t a clear favourite here in terms of which one will be most used. I’d probably lean slightly towards matching, but it’s not the most inspiring to use in its current state.

I’ve not included blank within this list and I’m taking for granted its inclusion.

Hi Paul,

thanks for doing this. Great to know we're applying a bit of science in selecting the most common ones.

I agree with your sentiment on question component types. I think we'd need to have at least one more. Matching sounds like the one, which would help diversify the range the most.

Daryl also mentioned Text Entry. If it's achievable in terms of effort, it would be great if we could include these two additional items.

On the other hand, I wondered if the Media Player component is the one we have bought a license for (i.e. is a licensed component). If so, I'm afraid we won;t be able to include it as part of the open source code.

Thanks, Sven

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Good point about the Media Player component - it does use the commercially licenced 'JWPlayer' Flash component as a 'fallback' player when HTML5 video is not available.

JWMediaPlayer have since released an open source version - but it's only for non-commerical use; a licence is still required for any commercial use.

Perhaps we should swap it out for MediaElement.js? I used this the other day and it seemed OK. It's good that it has the same API for HTML5, Flash and Silverlight.

Either that or we just use the default Adobe Media Player (which doesn't look that great) - or require that people provide their own 'Flash fallback' media player? Neither is ideal really.

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With regards to text entry do we mean the open input style free text entry field which is more of a reflective activity than a question? We hardly ever use these nowadays as learners doing compliance type courses don't use them and more self directed learners resent the lack of marking and the inability to track the inputs easily between sessions.

If Daryl means the text entry question we used on City and Guilds then perhaps we should put it into the mix. It's a good template but we won't use it that often outside of functional skills type courses - that of course doesn't mean others won't. There is also the risk it becomes a spelling test and not a test of comprehension (although I know you can mitigate against this to some extent).

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I guess from looking at the MCQ and Graphic MCQ, they're both the same interaction - One visual and one text based items. I did mean the Text Input component and not the Free Input/Open Input. But I also see the need for either matching and ordering. So maybe we extend the core base components?

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If its not tons of extra work I'd like to have more rather than less question components. Ordering, Matching and Text would all be good additions and would cover all bases when combined with the trusty MCQ varieties.

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Sorry - I'm late to the discussion on this topic but I agree with Paul re more question types if poss please - certainly select from a list (more than one correct answer), multiple choice (one correct answer), True/False, a matching type activity (pics with missing text labels with a drop down list of answer options for example), missing words (again a drop down list to select the correct option), ordering (pics), ordering (words).

Regarding multi-choice style questions can we have a range of accompanying media for learners to view as part of the question e.g. video, podcast, picture to create richer scenario-based questions?

For multi-choice style questions and feedback - can we have the ability to provide differentiated feedback per answer option?

That might be a bit of a wish list...

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Hi Deborah,

The MCQ can have one, more or all correct so its both MCQ and SFL. It could also be used as a true/false.

The matching component can be used as you describe for the question types with drop downs.

We created an ordering (for words). I'd like to see this included as soon as we can as well. Perhaps phase 2?

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All sounds good Paul. Appreciate the need for some restraint for phase 1!

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Sorry, forgot to mention that we place anything within the block to accompany the MCQ so (once we have a media component) we can insert rich media etc to build complexity into questions - see Logitech demo on Kineo YouTube which shows how the Reveal/PPQ question components within one block for an example.

Agree that option specific feedback a must (as well correct, partial and incorrect).

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Also, with regards to using mediaElement.js, it was something we looked into and would take a bit of time to implement. Could be something we open up to the community to implement?

Ideally, what we need is a standard looking video player across multiple browsers and I believe mediaElement would give us this. But it doesn't render properly if the video element is in a blockSlider and templating will need to be researched. This has all come from building a video screen in a previous framework and having lots of problems.

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Thanks. Can we agree to set ourselves the following aim?

Presentation Components

Text
Graphic
Narrative
Hot Graphic
Accordion

Question Components

MCQ
Graphical MCQ
Matching
Text Input (not open input)

I have excluded the Media Player on the grounds of us using a licensed component. This may be a first task for a capable additional community member. We might even reach out to the developer who wrote what we use now and see if he is interested in adding it here himself and thus fitting into our GPL license terms. You never know.

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I think those components are achievable. So we're looking to have 10 including the 'blank' component. As I create the first few components to sit in core I shall document every step I take so we have a solid and real-life process/documentation of creating a component. This will come in handy as creating a component is one of the easiest ways to get developers started.

Daryl

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