JISC

Start date: 1 February 2006

End date: 31 July 2006

Funding programme: e-Learning Frameworks and Tools programme

Project website: http://smirkboard.herts.ac.uk/smirkboard_sweet_perception

JISC theme(s): e-Learning

This project has now completed. See the project website and the final report available at the foot of this page.

Smirkboard was a project developed under the JISC e-learning tools group of projects. It was developed as a single system largely because we wanted to assure ourselves of the robustness of any components invoked before embarking.  However, now that it has been in use successfully on 2 iterations of a master’s course, as well as being used as a repository for learning materials on the East of England Resource Network project we now recognize further modifications necessary to it.

Principal of these is the ability to link to other systems for its user data.  The weakness of monolithic systems with their own user permissioning information is that it leads to the proliferation of data, usernames and passwords etc.  The JISC call to be a demonstrator of a toolkit is thus an ideal opportunity for us to make Smirkboard link into another data source.  In our case, Question Mark Perception.

Aims and Objectives

The aim of this project will be to remove membership data and interfaces within Smirkboard, and use those QuestionMark Perception instead. This will follow the IMS enterprise specification through the Sweet.net toolkit.

The specific objectives are:

1. To write a person, group and membership adapter for sweet.net to interface with a Questionmark Perception database
2. To make Smirkboard do all its user authentication though IMS enterprise calls to Sweet.net
3. To make Smirkboard do all its access control and permissioning level awarding through Sweet.net
4. To develop documentation about how to develop such interfaces with Sweet.net
5. To adjust the interface of Smirkboard to align it with the new plumbing underneath

Project Methodology

The project methodology is basically to develop it and use it!  Essentially we hope to have the Sweet.net adapter and the beginnings of the changed Smirkboard ready by the end of April.  If that is the case, we will be able to trial it with students in May.  After this we will review progress in order to plan the work of the final month and a half.

Implications/ Deliverables/ Stakeholders

The value of this project will be that it connects a public domain developed web application (Smirkboard) – to a very popular commercial application (Questionmark Perception).  This will thereby serve as an exemplar to any other institution who would like to connect extraneous web apps to their Perception database.