Reload Editor

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Definition

The Reload Editor tools are multi-standard IMS/SCORM editors.

The content packaging editor
  • It allows to assemble contents (with different IMS Content Packaging versions, IMS/IEEE Metadata, and SCORM run-time instructions)
  • Most recent versions add support for IMS Learning Design (level A), IMS Simple Sequencing

It also can produce a a simple stand-alone HTML-based preview package that can be deployed on a simple web server. See also the Telcert [Content Re-Engineering Tool].

The IMS Learning Design editor
  • Allows to edit IMS Learning Designs.

See also: IMS Global Learning Consortium, SCORM, Educational modelling language

Tools and releases

Currently, (march 2007) there are two releases of the Metadata and content packaging editor and a release of the stand-alone Learning design editor.

Reload Metadata and Content Packaging Editor 2.0.2

This release includes support for

  • IMS or LOM Metadata
  • IMS Content Packaging 1.1.4
  • SCORM 1.2 Specific Elements (prerequisites, maxtimeallowed, timelimitaction, datafromlms, masteryscore)

Reload Editor 2.5.2 nov 2006

The 2.5.2 release of Reload editor (nov 2006) includes support for

This latest version is only available as manual install (files to dezip and there is no manual (as of 21:30, 29 November 2006 (MET)), but since the interface is the same we suggest to install this version.

Screen dump of the "normal" Content Packaging View
Reload Editor Workspace in default mode
Screen dump of the Learning Design View
Reload Editor Workspace in Learning Design mode
Installation instructions for the 2.5x Reload Editor
  • Make sure that you have Java installed, e.g. open a console window and type "java". Else, get it from JAVA
  • Get Reload editor from here (as of march 2007, make sure you take the 2.5x manual install and not some older version).
  • Dezip the file somewhere
  • If clicking on the *.jar file doesn't work (likely because the *.jar extension is associated with another program, you can write a simple "bat" or "cmd* file (on windows) or shell script (on Unix). Contents of the Windows reload.bat file should be something like:
java -jar reload-editor.jar

Alternatively type the above command from a command (DOS) window. To find the DOS window application in your Windows: "Start menu -> execute" then type cmd

Reload Learning Design editor

  • This specialized Learning Design editor can do more than the 2.5.2 release of the "normal" Reload editor, i.e. it supports all levels of learning design.
Screendump of the Reload Learning Design editor

It has several tools:

  • Overview: Define title, objectives and prerequisites
  • Roles: Define roles (specialize the 2 default roles)
  • Properties
  • Activities: Definition of activities (simple and composite/structures)
  • Environments: Tools or Contents
  • Methods: Definition of the play
  • Files: File management (resources used in the Content Package)
  • Export: Creation of an IMS Content Package for distribution

Reload Editor how-to

This is a short "how to" for the IMS Content Package/Scorm editor based on the 2-page Reload Editor Step by Step Guide.

Read through everything quickly before you start doing it. In particular, read the last item about editing existing content packages.

1) Starting a content package
  1. Put all the resources (e.g. HTML and picture files) you plan to use in a directory.
    • You may use subdirectories.
    • You later may add other materials, but it's more practical to start with this step
    • A word of warning: Since a simple Content Package organization id organized as a hierarchical items structure and since an LMS (or the previewer) will display this tree you better refrain from using pages that implement links to each other.
  2. Open the Reload Editor Software
    • See above for some installation hints.
  3. Create a New IMS Content Package
    • Select File, New, IMS Content Package. You will be asked to select a new folder to store your package in. Select the resources directory you create above.
2) Getting familiar with the panes and the three main elements of the manifest
Reload Editor Workspace
  1. The main Reload Editor window has three editing panes (look at the picture above) :
    • The Resource Pane on the left lists all the resources that will be distributed with your content package and that you can use to define a a learning organization (i.e. content structure that a learner will see).
    • The manifest pane on the right will allow you define both meta data and a learning organization.
    • The Attribute pane (right bottom) will allow you fine tune things. For starters you only will use it to change titles of items (see below).
  2. Edit some metadata that will describe your package.
    • Right-click on "Metadata" in the manifest pane".
    • Keep it to a minimum for starters. You don't need to fill in anything if you don't want to...
  3. Add an organization
    • An organization will contain the learning sequence, i.e. it is here that you will define what contents learners will be exposed to !
    • Right-click on the organizations element in the manifest pane and select Add Organization from the menu which appears.
    • Usually, a content package will only contain a single organization (since most LMSs can't handle more than one).
    • You may change it's title from organization to anything you like. To do so, change "organization" in the attribute pane below (but do not change attributes and values!)
    • All the content we add to our Content Package will be added to this Organization as Items (see below).
  4. Do not worry about Resources element right now. For simple Content Package editing you will not need this! .
3) Adding contents to your organization
  1. Drag individual files for inclusion in the Package from the Resources pane onto the Main Organization node in the manifest pane.
    • As you do this, they will appear as new Items. Titles will be taken from HTML pages if present, though you can include non HTML content such as spreadsheets and PDF files as well.
    • The files (and any files which Reload identifies as associated, e.g. images and stylesheets that are used by an HTML file) will automatically be added to the Resources element. Therefore again: do not manually edit the resources elements.
    • You may change the title of an item by clicking first on the item (below your organization) and then by editing the text input window of the attributes pane.
  2. Reorganization of items
    • You can move items up and down by right-click + move up/down
    • You can move items into items as sub-items by dragging them with the mouse.
  3. Adding new resources
    • If you need more resources you can import these by clicking on the import "open folder" icon in the resources pane. It can import whole folders and sub-folders (so be careful).
    • You should delete unused resources from the resources pane (right click) because all resources will be distributed with the content pack.
  4. Adding links to external resources
    • You also may add links to external resources, e.g. this wiki :).
    • To do so right-click first on organization and "add item". Only in this case you will have to add a resource to the resources in the manifest pane.
    • Right click on resources and "add resource"
    • Edit the HREF attribute in the attributes pane
    • Click (left-click) on your new item you created (make sure that is highlighted).
    • Click on the empty value slot next to referenced element' in the attribute pane. A menu will pop up from which you can select the resource you just added. Wow !
4) Previewing
  1. Save your Content Package
  2. Click on the "preview icon" in the top menu bar (or alternatively "View -> Preview Content Package").
  3. Deployment of your Preview
    • If you wish to deploy this preview in a traditional web server, you can "File -> Save Content Package Preview" into a folder (do not use the same folder !!).
    • Then just copy the folder to your web server.
5) Saving as zipped content package
  1. Make sure that you added some minimal metadata, e.g. authorship and copyright.
  2. Do "File -> Zip Content package" or click on the "archive icon".
  3. Import into an LMS.
6) Editing existing content packages
  1. You may download a test package from the reload web site or you may find them on the web (but be careful, some of these will be badly done and not load)
  2. To (re)edit your own content package:
    • simply "File -> Open", select the directory of your content package and click on the imsmanifest.xml file.
    • This file contains all the information you can edit with this tool. If you wonder why, read the IMS Content Packaging article.

A last word of warning: This small "how to" explained how to build a simple IMS CP learning sequence. Building a SCORM 1.2 organization is more complicated ...

Comments

Defaults

  • Assembling a standard IMS content package is fairly simple if you stick to the defaults. At least with Reload Editor version 2.5.2 trying things like using IEEE LOM instead of IMS Learning Resources Metadata will cause you major headaches since the result will not validate (probably because LOM XSD files are missing but maybe for other reasons too.

SCORM

  • Assembling a SCORM 1.2 package that truly makes use of Content-LME communication is very difficult and needs programming experience. If all you need is just a SCORM-compatible content package, it's easy (i.e. you nearly get the same structure as in a simple IMS Content Package).
  • We rather suggest to use eXe to edit SCORM-compatible contents, or if you want to assemble existing materials use an LMS that provides support for editing and export.
  • Reload editors can not really handle SCORM 2004 (as of 12:40, 13 January 2007 (MET)), i.e. there is no way to define a simple sequence.

Links

  • Reload Tools page (editor and player, make sure to pick the correct tool, i.e. don't get the Learning design tools !. These tools need Java)
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