Appendix B.1 : Caleidoscope

by Keith Brown

Overview

Caleidoscope is a Courseware Management and Delivery System (CMDS) that is designed to control and integrate computer based teaching and learning resources. It provides a generic framework for the management and delivery of courseware learning materials, and consists of three applications:

Typically, Caleidoscope is used for the following two types of application:

  1. A Main Menu - allowing users access to all the available computer based learning or training materials within a department or organisation (figures 1 and 2).
  2. A Stand-Alone CAL package that can be distributed to users by floppy disc or CD-ROM (figures 3 and 4).

In both cases, Caleidoscope is used to build a front-end to the available materials, which could be modules constructed using an authoring/programming environment (such as Authorware or Toolbook), or any other Windows application.

By using such a front-end, learners benefit from the highly structured and secure environment, complete with powerful navigation and orientation tools, such as the Map, Index, Contents and History views, and the facility for keyword searching. Students are able to move simply and confidently between related activities, leaving them free to concentrate fully on the content of the learning materials. Caleidoscope is essentially a 'CAL Server' that provides the functionality and services that are required when delivering computer based learning materials.

Figure 1 thumbnail Figure 1 thumbnail
Figures 1 and 2. The opening screen and map view of a Main Menu application used at the University of Bath. The main menu provides access to a large amount of applications, including software from different TLTP projects, Powerpoint lecture notes, Minitab and assorted DOS and Windows programs suitable for undergraduates.
Figure 3 thumbnail Figure 4 thumbnail
Figures 3 and 4. The opening screen and map view of a Stand-Alone application. Caleidoscope has been used for the distribution and delivery of hundreds of copies of PCCAL packages around the world.

In addition to providing a structured approach to courseware management, a log of student usage is also available. Figure 5 is a simple example of one type of report that Caleidoscope can generate:

Figure 5 thumbnail
Figure 5. Monitoring the usage of computer based resources.

Structure

Courses are created by building structures appropriate to the subject matter and available materials. This is achieved by constructing hierarchical levels using 'Gateways', and importing existing courseware modules that (once imported) are referred to as 'Activities'. Figures 3 and 4 above illustrate a simple course consisting of 6 Gateways and 16 Activities.

Thus there are two main structural elements or building blocks:

1. Gateways
A Gateway primarily consists of a 'graphical menu'. This graphical menu typically contains push buttons that launch another gateway or activity. As the user moves from one Gateway to another, the screen changes to display the graphical menu of the 'open gateway'.
2. Activities
An Activity is simply a courseware module or application that has been imported into the course. Clicking on a button for an Activity will launch the corresponding module or application.

It is interesting that the structural nomenclature used by Caleidoscope is similar to that used in the Hypercourseware Reference Model explained in Section 3.1, "Issues addressed by existing Courseware Management Systems". The main difference is that a Hypercourseware 'Topic' is referred to as a 'Gateway' in Caleidoscope, as shown in the following table:

CaleidoscopeHypercourseware
CourseCourse
GatewayTopic
ActivityActivity

Further Information

For full details on Caleidoscope, please see: http://www.coacs.com/freebird/

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