Determine
what course Web sites and course management systems are in use on your
campus. This impacts your content import/export strategy, and defines
the infrastructure required to collect, build, and manage course
content.
Create standards for structure and presentation of
content on your OpenCourseWare Web site. Standardization helps reduce
cost, improve usability of the Web site and streamline the publication
process.
Evaluate the content delivery infrastructure needs of
your OpenCourseWare initiative. Worldwide distribution of end-users,
use of video, anticipated peak/average loads, and other factors
determine your metadata strategy. Capturing robust metadata for course
content improves site search and the overall manageability of the site.
The
type of technology infrastructure required for your OpenCourseWare
depends on several factors: your publishing goals, existing systems
infrastructure on your campus, any existing publication processes,
timelines for publication (initial as well as long-term publishing
model), number of end users and their geographical distribution, and
budgets, among other factors.
Large institutions
considering implementing an OpenCourseWare initiative may have existing
technology components that can be leveraged. These components include
course management systems, content management systems, interfaces to
course catalogs, and enterprise application integration standards and
infrastructure.
Selecting Software
In addition to tools that exist at
your institution, the Consortium members can also provide open source
tools to support your open publication effort, including Utah State
University's open publishing platform, eduCommons.
We have been gathering information to help you compare the most common options for OCW software platforms. This information is available in the form of our OCW Software Platform Comparison Matrix.
Best Practice Recommendations
The Technology Working Group has been collaborating to develop some conventions and standards to foster greater cooperation and interoperability amongst OCW participants. Within each organization there will exist a variety of factors which impact their options for adopting standards. Therefore we are offering the following as best practice recommendations with the understanding that adoption of these recommendations are in the best interest of the community and the OCW movement in general.
