Presentation given at the eLearning Network's Open Source event on 12th July 2013, featuring top ten open source e-learning development and delivery tools.
2. Agenda
Growth of open source
Tips for selecting open source software
Top 10 tools for learning and development
@epictalk @maberdour@epictalk @maberdour
10. Selection criteria
Does is use an Open Source Initiative approved license?
Is code currently being committed?
Has it released final/production version?
Are there regular stable releases?
How many developers are committing code?
Are there many plugins and extensions?
How busy are the support forums?
Is there good quality documentation ?
Is commercial support available?
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14. Delivery
Moodle
Learning management system
Big Blue Button
Virtual classroom
Wordpress
Wesbite content management
Mediawiki
Build your own Wikipedia
Mahara
ePortfolio
Development
Xerte Online Toolkits
Content authoring
Camstudio
Screen capture
Sigil + Calibre
eBook authoring and conversion
Audacity
Sound recording
Gimp
Image creation and manipulation
Top ten open source tools
15. XML Editor and Run-Time Engine
HTML5 content authoring
Accessible, responsive templates
Wizard based for content authors
Can be extended by developers
www.nottingham.ac.uk/xerte/
www.xerte.org.uk/
www.ohloh.net/p/xerteproject
FACTS:
Increasing Y-O-Y
developmemt activity
Large, active
development team
(12)
Well established
codebase
Average number of
code comments
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17. Desktop screen capture
Direct ancestor of Captivate
Open sourced in 2001
Seems to be stalling as a project,
although 2.7 RC was released Feb
2013
www.camstudio.org
sourceforge.net/projects/camstudio
www.ohloh.net/p/camstudio
FACTS:
Well established
codebase
Average number of
code comments
One active developer
Decreasing Y-O-Y
development activity
@epictalk @maberdour@epictalk @maberdour
19. eBook authoring with EPUB 2
output
Book, code and preview modes
with audio, video, spellcheck
Calibre converts EPUB into right
format for e-readers,
smartphones, tablets, etc
code.google.com/p/sigil
calibre-ebook.com/
www.ohloh.net/p/sigil
www.ohloh.net/p/calibre
Sigil Facts:
Increasing Y-O-
Y development
activity
Well established
codebase
Average
number of code
comments
Average size
development
team (6)
Calibre Facts:
Stable Y-O-Y
development
activity
Mature, well
established
codebase
Few source
code
comments
Large, active
development
team (24)
@epictalk @maberdour@epictalk @maberdour
21. Sophisticated audio recorder and
editor
Import/export wide range of
formats
Pitch, frequency, quality settings
Wide range of effects
Digitize records from old media
audacity.sourceforge.net
www.ohloh.net/p/audacity
FACTS
Mature, well
established codebase
Average number of
code comments
Large, active
development team
(10)
Increasing Y-O-Y
development activity
@epictalk @maberdour@epictalk @maberdour
23. Versatile graphics manipulation
package
Photo retouching, image composition
and image authoring
Range of plugins and extensions
From simple paint tools to advanced
manipulation and scripting
www.gimp.org
www.ohloh.net/p/gimp
FACTS:
Mature, well
established codebase
Average number of
code comments
Very large, active
development team
(27)
Decreasing Y-O-Y
development activity
@epictalk @maberdour@epictalk @maberdour
25. Highly popular learning
management system
85,000 registered sites and 72 million
users
Hundreds of plugins and extensions
Vibrant community of developers
and enthusiasts
www.moodle.org
www.ohloh.net/p/gimp
FACTS
Mature, well
established codebase
Very large, active
development team
(148)
Average number of
code comments
Stable Y-O-Y
development activity
@epictalk @maberdour@epictalk @maberdour
27. Virtual classroom / web
conferencing
Slide sharing, video, whiteboard,
chat, integrated VOIP, desktop
sharing, document uploads, web
cam
Record and playback
www.bigbluebutton.org
www.ohloh.net/p/bigbluebutton
FACTS:
Mature, well
established codebase
Very large, active
development team
(28)
Average number of
code comments
Increasing Y-O-Y
development activity
@epictalk @maberdour@epictalk @maberdour
29. Website content management system
Started 2003
Widely used for education websites
and learning portals
Over 25,000 plugins
Nearly 30 million WP 3.5 downloads
and half a BILLION plugin downloads!
www.wordpress.org
www.ohloh.net/p/bigbluebutton
FACTS:
Mature, well
established codebase
Very large, active
development team
(15)
Average number of
code comments
Stable Y-O-Y
development activity
@epictalk @maberdour@epictalk @maberdour
31. Wiki system originally built for
Wikipedia
Content management system
Collaborative web page editing
Editorial version control
600 plugins and extensions
Extremely scalable
www.mediawiki.org
www.ohloh.net/p/mediawiki
FACTS:
Mature, well
established codebase
Very large, active
development team
(164)
Few source code
comments
Stable Y-O-Y
development activity
@epictalk @maberdour@epictalk @maberdour
33. ePortfolio system
Create journals, upload files, embed
resources
Submit portfolio for assessment
Social network and blogging tools
Resumé builder
www.mahara.org
www.ohloh.net/p/mahara
FACTS:
Mature, well
established codebase
Large, active
development team
(26)
Average number of
code comments
Decreasing Y-O-Y
development activity
@epictalk @maberdour@epictalk @maberdour