The Kaleidoscope Shared Virtual Laboratory was described and demonstrated at this workshop. It provides and infrastructure for researchers in technology-enhanced learning (TEL), with tools for software development, project management, distributed experiments, shared data, and networking communities of practice.
The SVL consists of four individual labs - a metamodeling center, a project center, an exchange center/repository of resources, and support for distributed experimentation.
The Metamodeling Center is a software component laboratory and brokerage portal. It uses a model-driven methodology to ensure interoperability, portability, and reusability of (TEL) components. There is currently poor interoperability between TEL environments, explained Emmanuel Renaux, and so the metamodeling workbench uses models, not code, to describe courses or learning systems. This separates functionality from specific technologies in order to overcome complexity. Models are a simplified description of a complex system (in programming parlance, a class not an object or instantiation). Described with Uniform Modeling Language (UML), they can be text-based or graphical. They can describe a system from different points of view - for example from a business perspective, or from a domain expert.
The Project Center allows distributed development, and can be installed at various sites. It includes workflow tools such as a To Do List and a Forum, which allow access to resources according to roles. Designed for large software development projects, it draws from the burgeoning field of 'eXtreme Programming'.
The Repository uses metadata to create a browsable catalogue of learning objects and other resources. And the support for distributed experimentation allows for large-scale experiments spread over time or space, such as those planned by the Learning GRID special interest group of Kaleidoscope.
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