eLearning Envisioning Project
March 26, 2003
Prepared by:
3202 East Harbour Drive Suite One Phoenix, Arizona 85034
Rio Salado College
eLearning Envisioning Project
Table of Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .............................................................................................. 4 SOLUTION OBJECTIVES AND APPROACH ............................................................ 7 PROPOSED SOLUTION ............................................................................................... 10 FUNCTIONAL OVERVIEW................................................................................................ 10 Presentation - Portal................................................................................................. 14 Course Creation ........................................................................................................ 14 Communication ......................................................................................................... 15 Notification ............................................................................................................... 15 Reporting................................................................................................................... 16 Assessment ................................................................................................................ 16 Grade Book and Roster ............................................................................................. 17 Progress Letters ........................................................................................................ 17 Additional Custom Web Interfaces ........................................................................... 17 Content Management ................................................................................................ 18 Course Authoring ...................................................................................................... 18 Innovation ................................................................................................................. 19 DEVELOPMENT OVERVIEW ............................................................................................ 21 CMS Configuration ................................................................................................... 24 Course Creation Web Interface ................................................................................ 25 Setup Service ............................................................................................................. 27 Calendaring Service and Web Interface ................................................................... 29 Assessment Integration and Web Interface ............................................................... 31 Presentation - Portal................................................................................................. 33 SPS Collaboration Process ....................................................................................... 35 Grade Book/Roster Service and Web Interface ........................................................ 36 Notification User Service and Web Interface ........................................................... 38 Progress Letters Web Interface ................................................................................ 40 Student Tracking Service .......................................................................................... 42 Archive Service ......................................................................................................... 43 OLAP Cube Pilot ...................................................................................................... 44 INFRASTRUCTURE OVERVIEW ........................................................................................ 45 IMPLEMENTATION OVERVIEW ........................................................................................ 53 Implementation Approach ......................................................................................... 53 eLearning Deployment Strategy ............................................................................... 55 Time Line .................................................................................................................. 56 Project Team Organizational Structure.................................................................... 57 Cost Summary ........................................................................................................... 57 Cost Breakdown ........................................................................................................ 59 Open Items ................................................................................................................ 64
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APPENDICES ................................................................................................................. 66 A - USER INTERFACE COMPONENTS ............................................................................... 66 B - USER ACCESS CONTROL LIST................................................................................... 68 C - MICROSOFT ESTIMATE ............................................................................................. 70 D - QUESTIONMARK‟S RESPONSE TO REQUIREMENTS .................................................... 77 E – TEAM‟S ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES .................................................................... 83 F - MEETING AGENDAS & MINUTES .............................................................................. 85 G - ACTION ITEMS ........................................................................................................ 105
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Executive Summary Rio Salado College is one of the nation‟s premier providers of online education. The College prides itself on convenient and flexible delivery of asynchronous distance learning courses that allow the student to learn anytime and anyplace. Last year the college served more than 34,000 credit students with enrollments increasing at an annual rate of 30%. To accommodate and sustain such high growth rates, the College needs an eLearning system that is responsive, reliable and scalable. Perhaps more importantly, the college needs a system that is flexible enough to accommodate the unique characteristics of its environment such as “flexible starts” and accelerated formats. Rio Salado engaged Microsoft Corporation and MSS Technologies, Inc. (MSS) to design and document a Microsoft component based solution to meet Rio‟s eLearning system requirements. The deliverables of which include a documented system approach and an estimate that will allow Rio to assess whether a purchased or custom developed solution can better meet their needs. Multiple work sessions were conducted with key Rio Salado personnel to fully understand the business processes and unique services the College provides. From these sessions, it became clear MSS and Microsoft together could design and develop an integrated solution that would: Support the key characteristics of the College; Meet or exceed Rio‟s functional and technical requirements; Establish a dynamic, interactive and collaborative environment for all system users; and Provide an infrastructure that will support growth and future innovative enhancements.
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The following table provides a summary of the proposed solution at a glance. Release 1.0
FUNCTIONAL SCOPE
Release 2.x Enhanced Administrative Base Course Delivery System Functionality Presentation - Portal Grade Book (& Roster) Communication o Grading Rules o Email o Grade/Student o Calendar Management o Audio o Threaded Discussions Notification Whiteboard o Creation and o Video Delivery Course Creation Progress Letters o Master Grade Book o Student o Master Calendar Correspondence o Content Link Course Authoring o Assessment Link o Document Assessment Collaboration o Exams/Quizzes o Assignments o Surveys o Feedback Content Management o Workflow o Versioning
APPLICATION SOFTWARE
DEVELOPMENT
DURATION COST
3rd Party Assessment Application Microsoft Exchange Microsoft Content Management Server Microsoft SharePoint Portal Server CMS Configuration Course Creation Web Interface Setup Service Calendaring Service and Web Interface Assessment Integration and Web Interface Presentation - Portal 5 Months $845,721
Microsoft Instant Messenger
SPS Configuration Grade Book/Roster Service and Web Interface Notification Service and Web Interface Progress Letters Web Interface Student Tracking Service 5 Months $879,969 Grand Total
Release 3.0 Enhanced Analysis Capabilities Reporting o OLAP Cubes o Ad-Hoc
3rd Party Reporting Tool Microsoft SQL BI
Archive Service OLAP Cube Pilot
2 Months $105,672 $1,831,362
The timeline and implementation approach shown in the table above is based upon the expressed desire to have a pilot deployed by August 25, 2003. Within reason, both the costs and the timeline can be adjusted depending upon the specific priorities set by the College.
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While the initial goal was to address the College‟s eLearning requirements, it should be noted that the technology selected for this solution could provide benefits across the organization. For example: Document collaboration can be extremely useful for managing internal documents such as policy manuals or team projects; The Content Management Server (CMS) is fully equipped to handle multiple web sites, so it could accommodate Rio Salado‟s public site too; The Exchange Server will provide the entire campus with diverse calendaring and scheduling functionality; and The reporting and OLAP tools can be used to enhance analysis and decisionmaking processes throughout the organization. The ROI for this eLearning solution can therefore be extended well beyond just the learning management system for Rio. The subsequent sections provide more detailed information on: The solution objectives and approach; The various functional components of the proposed eLearning solution; The associated development efforts; The technical infrastructure required to support the solution; and The solution estimate including costs, timelines and an implementation approach strategy. When reviewing the remainder of this document it is important to keep in mind that the proposed system is an all encompassing solution, which addresses all of Rio‟s requirements plus some innovative extras. This approach was specifically selected to provide Rio Salado with an estimate for: The optimum eLearning system, and The flexibility to pick and choose various functionality and features. Thus, the final solution, cost, implementation approach and timeline are totally dependent upon the college‟s preferences and priorities.
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Solution Objectives and Approach Solution Overview Rio Salado College provides asynchronous distance learning courses enabling a flexible and independent learning environment anytime and anyplace for its students. Last year the college served more than 34,000 credit students with enrollments increasing at an annual rate of 30%. As a result of this phenomenal growth, the College is seeking an innovative eLearning system that will provide a long-term solution to sustain this momentum. Project Objectives Design a Microsoft component based solution that supports Rio‟s key characteristics of: o Flexible starts (every 2 weeks); o Course and test version synchronization; o A user-friendly and logical delivery environment; and o An independent learning format. Ensure the solution design addresses system expansion, maintenance and manageability requirements by providing a architecture that is: o Scalable; o Responsive; and o Configurable. Provide a cost effective solution that is based upon an open architecture, which can accommodate future innovations. Project Approach This venture began with the understanding that: 1. Microsoft products will be used if: o They can meet Rio‟s requirements out of the box or in a cost effective manner; and o The products have a strong market presence and future viability. 2. For areas not addressed by Microsoft products, the integration of 3rd party products will be considered if: o They can meet Rio‟s requirements out of the box or in a cost effective manner; and o The products have a strong market presence and future viability. o Any 3rd party products will be evaluated outside the scope of this project. 3. Custom modules will be developed to address all remaining functional and integration requirements. With this premise, the project team immersed themselves in six consecutive days of intensive design work sessions.
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Activities focused upon validating the project goals, defining the business drivers for the project and understanding the systems and applications currently in place at Rio. As an outcome of this meeting, the following drivers were captured. Rio‟s business drivers include the need to: Accommodate growth for: o Students o Faculty o Courses and sections o Content types Simplify system: o Administration o Maintenance o Use Improve: o Content delivery system o Test delivery system Minimize: o Costs o Implementation timeline o Manual processes o Support requirements Provide: o 24 x 7 x 365 availability o Consistent, acceptable user response times o Bi-directional 3rd party system integration o Content and test synchronization o Data and system integrity o Integrated administration solution for faculty o Integrated Helpdesk support o Intuitive user interface for students o Tools to better manage and measure course effectiveness o Tools to better manage and measure real-time faculty performance o Tools to better manage and measure real-time student performance o Single point of login and access o Support for learning objects o The ability to rapidly respond to current partner needs o The ability to rapidly support new lines of business o Improved system integration which will reduce faculty operational efforts and allow for increased student interaction The next two days were spent developing the functional scope, constraints and assumptions associated with Rio Salado‟s eLearning system needs. To ensure the team fully understood the business processes and unique characteristics of the Rio environment, great effort was made to review and comprehend the detailed requirements previously gathered. As this process took place, the team began to associate the
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functional requirements with various Microsoft application components and other third party products. On the forth day, efforts were focused upon the presentation layer, or more specifically, the end users‟ view of the system. In this work session, the various system components that would be a part of each user‟s view of the system were identified. This information was further refined to specify who would need access to what types of functionality and at what level access would be granted. This was a key step to verifying that the team understood the level of functionality required, as well as, the interaction between system components. It was on the fifth day that the system solution and design emerged. As the team formulated the solution strategy and approach: Custom development efforts were documented; Integration requirements were captured; and Course administration and system management requirements were addressed. The final day of the design work sessions focused on the infrastructure, support and deployment strategies. The team identified: The required software and hardware; A phased implementation approach (for development and content migration); and The associated training, documentation and support requirements. It is from the time and effort invested in these design work sessions that Microsoft and MSS have the appropriate foundation to develop an implementation estimate for an eLearning solution to meet Rio Salado‟s needs.
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Proposed Solution Functional Overview This section describes the overall functionality that will be provided by the proposed eLearning solution including a description of the major components with which students and Rio personnel will interact. Before proceeding to describe the proposed solution, it is important to understand the functional assumptions and constraints upon which the solution was founded. Functional Assumptions: Most of the report requirements will be addressed by existing reports and the in house use of a 3rd party reporting tool for new development. Thus, the only specific reporting requirement that will be addressed by this project is the creation of a pilot SIS On-Line Analytical Processing (OLAP) cube for the analysis of student enrollment trends. The existing interface from/to the SIS will feed Matrix and will not need to be addressed or modified by this eLearning solution. This system will only support Windows based clients (not Macintosh) running on Intel processor architecture. o This includes Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows 2000, Windows XP and future versions of the Windows operating system. The system will provide the ability to use Outlook over the Internet by the features in Microsoft Exchange 2003 (Titanium) and Outlook 2003 without a VPN connection. Rio staff will run Office XP. Rio will purchase an ActiveX control that can be used to assess the students‟ computer hardware. This ActiveX control may be custom built at an additional cost not covered in this specification, if a suitable solution cannot be purchased. The current minimum PC configuration requirements will be upgraded to include: o IE 5.5 or higher (other browsers will not be supported); and o The browser must be configured to support ActiveX. Functional Constraints: The solution must be accessible with Rio‟s current minimum PC configuration requirements of: o Windows 98 or better; o 32 MB of RAM; o 56 K modem or better; and o Pentium 300 MHz. The solution cannot require students to have high-speed Internet access. The solution must be accessible despite the potential for external firewalls. Going forward, no one will have access to student passwords as per FERPA. Instead, a web interface will be developed to allow technical support to impersonate a user.
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The diagram on the following page provides a graphical overview of the various functional components of the proposed eLearning solution.
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FUNCTIONAL OVERVIEW MATRIX Single Login Security Core Info.
ACTIVE DIRECTORY
PRESENTATION - PORTAL
COURSE CREATION Master Grade book Master Calendar Content Link Assessment Link
COMMUNICATION Exchange & IM E-mail, Calendar, Audio Threaded Discussions Whiteboard, Video
ASSESSMENT Exams/Quizzes Assignments Surveys Feedback
Existing Technology
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CONTENT MANAGEMENT CMS Workflow Versioning
NOTIFICATION
GRADE BOOK (& Roster) Grading Rules Grade/Student Management
Microsoft Product
REPORTING SQL BI Existing OLAP Cubes Ad-Hoc
Creation & Delivery
COURSE AUTHORING SharePoint Document Collaboration
PROGRESS LETTERS Student Correspondence
3rd Party Application
Custom Development
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The functional components of the Microsoft based eLearning solution do vary slightly from those of the Conceptual Model used in the RFI process. Thus, to provide a familiar point of reference, the following table lists the components of the RFI Conceptual Model and the corresponding components of the proposed solution. RFI Conceptual Model Proposed Solution Presentation – Portal Presentation - Portal Custom Developed User Views of the System. Communication Communication Microsoft Exchange and Instant Messenger Calendar
Communication
Microsoft Exchange/Custom Development
Assessment
Assessment
3rd Party Application/Custom Development
Grade book Reporting
Grade Book and Roster Reporting
Custom Development Existing/Microsoft SQL Business Intelligence/3rd Party Application
Student Administration Integration Security Content Management Course Authoring
Grade Book/Reporting
Custom Development Custom Development Matrix/Active Directory Existing Content Management Microsoft CMS Course Authoring Microsoft SharePoint
Note: In the proposed solution, student administration has been addressed as a development and integration effort. As is shown above, the roster functionality has been incorporated in the grade book module, and the reporting module addresses most of the other student administration requirements. Beyond the components shown above, there are a number of background processes that are outlined in the services overview section of this report. To provide a more thorough understanding of each component‟s functionality, the following pages contain: A high-level overview of each functional component, Commentary on how the proposed solution addresses Rio‟s key characteristics, and A description of the innovative characteristics and opportunities. For any custom developed component, additional details regarding the development and integration effort can be found in the development overview section of this report.
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Component Overview Presentation - Portal The presentation layer or user interface to the system will be custom developed to provide Rio with a dynamic personalized environment that can accommodate future innovative enhancements. To the end-users this view is their Rio home page. Since the overall system consists of various pages, applications and resources, the presentation layer becomes a dynamic view of the various components to which each end-user has been granted access to. As such, the students‟ view of the system will be quite different from their instructors‟ view. For example, both users‟ will have a link to the grade book, however, the students will only be able to view their grades, whereas, the instructors will be able to view and update the grades for all the students in any section they instruct. Appendix A contains a listing of the various components that could be included in a users view, followed by a matrix that outlines the associated access levels for each user/component combination in Appendix B. It is understood that the presentation or system views for: Students will be distinctly different from Rio personnel; and Army students should link directly to a specific course home page upon login, with limited access to other system components. To accommodate the large number of part-time students and adjunct faculty, this custom user interface will be designed to provide intuitive navigation in a manner that is both user-friendly and logical.
Course Creation This module is a core component of the eLearning system that will be custom developed to meet Rio‟s requirements. This module will allow the user to create the course master files necessary to automate most of the system administration functions. More specifically, this module will provide a user interface for the: Definition of a course; Creation of a new course version; Establishment of content links; Establishment of assessment links; and Definition of the master grade book and calendar. The functionality provided by this module has been designed to accommodate Rio‟s course and assessment versioning requirements which allow the system to: Associate multiple sections to the appropriate course version based upon the course release date; and Ensure proper delivery of the appropriate content and assessments for each section based upon the links provided with the corresponding course version.
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Communication Most communication features will be provided via the integration of Microsoft‟s Exchange and Instant Messenger (IM) products. Without any modifications, these products can meet or exceed Rio‟s requirements in the following areas: Exchange: E-mail services via Outlook Web Access (OWA); Threaded discussions via public exchange folders; and Basic calendar viewing, printing and scheduling features. Instant Messenger: A personalized list of contacts from the Active Directory; The ability to send instant messages to one or more contacts; Voice and video for real time communication with contacts; Real time document collaboration using the whiteboard and application sharing features; and The ability to instantly see if contacts are online, offline, or available for communication (presence awareness). Some custom development will be required to accommodate Rio Salado‟s independent learning format. A web interface will need to be developed to accommodate the creation of an academic calendar. A background process will be developed to automatically populate a student‟s calendar with events relative to the student‟s start date (i.e., assessments and end date). While a student can manually adjust their own calendar, a web interface (not shown on the functional overview) will need to be developed to accommodate the students desire to accelerate/decelerate their program of study and automatically adjust assessment due dates. The functional assumptions that influenced the design of this module include: Rio‟s preference to provide Instant Messenger and threaded discussions (bulletin boards) as communication collaboration options instead of chat rooms. Palm Pilot PDA users to supply their own full client Outlook and 3rd party Microsoft Outlook synchronization application, as Outlook Web Access does not support this feature.
Notification A module will be custom developed to facilitate the creation and delivery of system notifications. These notifications can originate from any module within this system, such as the grade book, assessments, student tracking or any other module that has been designed to send messages. This component will include two user interfaces: An end-user configuration routine; and A notification maintenance routine.
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The end-user configuration routine will allow a user to define and modify their preferred delivery method for system notifications. For example, some may wish to be notified via e-mail, while others may prefer to have notifications delivered to their hand held devices. The notification maintenance routine will allow Rio personnel to create various types of notifications for broadcast delivery to various levels of system users. The overall design is intended to provide considerable flexibility with regards to: Who will be notified (i.e. system wide, specific course, individual…); How they will be notified (i.e. pop-up, banner, e-mail, cell phone…); and How frequently the message will be broadcast (including a start and end date/time).
Reporting Report development will be addressed by both in house existing reports and the use of 3 rd party reporting tools for new development. As such, reporting is presented on the functional overview to demonstrate its significance and integration into the overall proposed solution. Since Rio already has a highly qualified reporting team, the decision was made to forgo the specific reporting requirements and focus efforts on the creation of a pilot OLAP cube instead. OLAP enables a user to easily and selectively extract and view data from different perspectives. To support this dynamic environment, a multidimensional cube must be built to house the various data elements that will be used for analysis. Thus, beyond links to existing reports, the only reporting requirements specifically addressed by this solution is the development of a pilot SIS cube for the analysis of student enrollment information.
Assessment There are a number of vendors in the market place who have experience and expertise in the development of assessment modules. It would therefore be advantageous to utilize a 3rd party product to address the majority of Rio‟s assessment requirements. Rio is already evaluating and likely purchasing Questionmark‟s Perception product and has determined that it does address the majority of their requirements (see Appendix D). Knowing that Rio is favoring the Perception product, this solution includes the custom development of an assessment feedback module since this is one of the few areas that are not adequately addressed by Perception. The solution also includes the development efforts necessary to create a fully integrated solution including: The automatic creation of assessment user accounts; The synchronization of course and assessment versions; Notification system integration; Provisions for instructor feedback and a student‟s review of assessments; and Grade book system integration.
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Grade Book and Roster It is believed that 3rd party grade book applications will not meet Rio‟s requirements. This solution, therefore, includes a custom developed module to address grade book functionality. This module will also provide the functionality necessary to meet Rio‟s roster requirements. From a functional perspective, this module will provide the ability to: View grades; Change a student‟s grade, status (i.e. withdraw, reinstate) and/or end date; Assign a final letter grade; Add a student; Transfer a student‟s grade book information from a prior section (i.e. Military students, or moving a student to new section); and Create the nightly export file for the SIS.
Progress Letters This is a custom developed module that will provide Rio with the ability to define various types of student progress letters that can be either automatically generated by the system or created on demand. There are two basic items necessary to produce a progress letter: A collection of form letters; and The progress letter definition. As such, a web interface will be developed to facilitate the definition of a progress letter. Rio personnel will be able to identify the form letter, distribution type, generation method (i.e. on demand or automated) and some predefined criteria for the creation of the following five basic types of student progress letters: Welcome, Inactivity, Progress Update, Congratulations, and Marketing.
Additional Custom Web Interfaces In addition to the major components shown on the functional overview, there are three custom developed modules that should also be mentioned. A web interface will need to be developed to accommodate the creation of an academic calendar Academic Calendar This web interface provides Rio personnel with the ability to create an academic calendar for the College. Acceleration This module was design to accommodate Rio‟s need for an independent learning environment that allows a student to accelerate/decelerate from whatever the default timeline was to what the student wants. A small web interface will allow students to
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request the acceleration/deceleration of course due dates by specifying the section number and a desired end date. Group Administration This web interface provides Rio personnel with the ability to create user groups that can be called from multiple processes (i.e. threaded discussions, distribution lists…).
Content Management The majority of Rio‟s content management requirements will be addressed by the implementation and integration of Microsoft‟s Content Management Server (CMS). Some of the benefits associated with the implementation of CMS include: Providing a consistent look-and-feel throughout the site with centrally managed presentation templates; o Templates can be used to provide a structured progression of logical steps for the presentation of course content. Ensuring content is properly reviewed and approved prior to publication by developing a role-based workflow approval process; Providing automated content publishing and archiving to ensure content is always published on time; Enabling Rio approved users to make real-time site updates; Providing page revision history by automatically storing content revisions and page versions; and Supporting Content Management of both course information (secured site) and general Rio College information (public site). In summary, this system provides for the creation and display of new versions of similar content and the ability to update existing content, which is instantly visible to the participants using that version. It should be noted that there is a substantial planning and configuration effort involved with the successful implementation of the CMS product. Furthermore, there will be additional development efforts associated with the creation of the presentation templates mentioned.
Course Authoring The majority of Rio‟s course authoring and collaboration requirements will be addressed by the implementation and integration of Microsoft‟s SharePoint Portal Server (SPS). Some of the benefits associated with the document management services of SPS include: A check-in and check-out process that ensures documents are reserved for work by one user at a time; The tracking of changes with different version numbers; Collaboration using the discussion features in Office and Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) documents for online, content review; and
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Security features that ensure only users with appropriate access can view and modify a document. Beyond some basic configuration, the largest effort associated with the implementation of this product will be the re-engineering or definition of the College‟s business processes associated with course authoring and the use of this tool. Note: With the tight integration of Microsoft‟s SPS and CMS products, this eLearning solution will provide Rio with the tools to significantly simplify the development, maintenance and deployment of all courses.
Innovation The proposed solution has been designed to incorporate as many “state of the art” innovations as possible given the functional constraints associated with designing a system that can be utilized by the general public given the varying levels of technology present in the market place. Some specific examples that demonstrate the use of innovative “state of the art” technology includes the presentation layer, the communication module and the enhanced analysis and reporting environment. Dynamic and Personalized Presentation The presentation layer is designed to utilize the latest technology, such as configurable web parts and dynamically rendered pages, to provide personalized views into the system that are customized to meet the specific needs of the end-user. Interactive and Collaborative Learning Environment The communication layer has been designed to provide the highest level of interaction possible in an asynchronous environment. Presence awareness has been incorporated to provide the user with the knowledge of others who are currently online and available for communication, collaboration and assistance. Real time collaboration is also made possible (voice, video and text) through instant messenger services. Diverse Performance Analysis Opportunities With the incorporation of an OLAP reporting tool, the college will be able to better analyze performance and respond or adjust practices accordingly. For example, content changes can be incorporated based upon analysis of course effectiveness. Through student performance analysis, another option for future enhancement and innovation might include customizing course content to align with a student‟s knowledge. Integrated Document Collaboration and Content Management Through the implementation of document collaboration, the content authoring environment is both enriched and simplified. This benefit is then further enhanced by the tight integration with a content management system, which greatly reduces publishing overhead and positions the College for future growth. As tools available for internal, external, public and private content, the associated benefits are far reaching. Open Architecture
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More importantly, this solution has been designed to be configurable and open to incorporating future innovations and 3rd Party products, as is evidenced by: The integration of a 3rd party assessment application; and The configurable nature of the notification module.
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Development Overview This section is intended to describe the development services that will be required to implement the proposed eLearning solution. Much like the functional overview, before proceeding to outline the scope of each custom module, it is important to understand the development assumptions upon which the associated effort is founded. Development Assumptions A master project plan will be created prior to any development efforts. All resources will be available as needed per the project plan schedule. A Functional Requirements Specification (FRS) that includes the User Interface (UI) will be developed for each module. From the FRS a Detailed Design Specification (DDS) will be developed for each module. A development system consisting of equipment that is the functionally equivalent to the production system will be provided for the developers. A test plan that includes test scripts and sample data will be provided for the Quality Assurance (QA) team. A deployment package will be created for each module that will be used by the QA team and the system administrator for all module deployment. Installation documentation (if required) will be created for each module as part of the development process. A QA team will adequately test all custom built software. A software defect tracking system will be provided for the project team. Rio will be provided with all source code for custom developed modules including: o Database schema; o Stored procedures; o DTS packages; o Web pages; and o Object modules. End-user documentation (if required) will be created for each custom developed module prior to production deployment. The following assumptions are made of the Matrix system o Matrix will create all new Active Directory user accounts. o Matrix will create an encrypted password and store it in one of the unused attributes of the user object. o Matrix will create all new user mailboxes. o The Matrix database will contain a table of users with a flag that indicates whether the user has been created in Active Directory o A view will be created to provide the eLearning solution with access to faculty, student and course/section information in Matrix. Matrix will identify new student enrollments and new sections. The impersonation module will be developed by Rio staff and integrated with their IVR system.
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All development efforts will follow the standard software development workflow process as depicted in the following diagram. Development Process User Interface Design
UI Designer
Functional Requirements Specifiication
General Requirements
Detailed Design Specification
Design Engineer
Business Analyst
Business Analyst
Test Plan
Developer
Bug Report
Source Code
Database Analyst
Database Design
Developer
Deployment Package
Technical Writer QA Tester
Technical Writer
End User Documentation
Installation Documentation
Deployment
End User
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System Admin
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As depicted by the preceding diagram, there are a number of resources and skill sets that will be required to successfully implement a project of this magnitude. In support of this diagram, the table below describes the various development roles necessary to complete this project. Role Business Analyst User Interface Designer Design Engineer Developer Database Analyst Software Tester Technical Writer System Administrator
Description Develops detailed functional requirements specifications and test plans. Designs the user interface. Develops the detailed technical design specifications and object model. Develops the custom source code and deployment packages. Designs the database schemas. Tests the software and produces bug reports. Develops the installation and end user documentation. Installs the custom software on the production system.
Development Module Overview The following table summarizes the overall development efforts associated with the proposed solution. Module
Description CMS Configuration
Provides for the web site design and content management configuration. Course Creation Web Interface Provides an interface for the creation and maintenance of various course templates. Setup Service Provides the functionality to create virtual classroom resources. Calendaring Service and Web Interface Provides an interface to accelerate/decelerate a student‟s calendar and creates the calendar calculator service. Assessment Integration and Web Interface Provides integration with a 3rd party assessment tool and supports feedback functionality. Presentation – Portal Provides for the implementation of various user views of the system. SPS Configuration Provides for the design and configuration of the course authoring system. Grade Book/Roster Service and Web Interface Provides an interface that includes grade book and roster functionality. Notification Service and Web Interface Provides an interface for notification configuration, maintenance and creates the notification service. Progress Letters Web Interface Provides an interface for the maintenance of the student progress letters. Student Tracking Service Provides a student tracking service. Army Interface/ SCORM Compliancy Provides a SCORM compliant interface for the Army customer to login, obtain table of contents, transfer to eLearning System and transfer to external client. Archive Service Provides for the archival and removal of classrooms. OLAP Cube Pilot Provides On-Line Analytical Processing (OLAP) reporting services.
Subsequent pages provide a high-level overview of each module including: A software module diagram that depicts component interaction; An outline of the general requirements for the module; and Any corresponding assumptions.
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CMS Configuration This effort addresses the general configuration of CMS which includes: The site design layout; Utilization of content and resource libraries; Definition of required templates; Definition of channel resources; Definition of template hierarchies; and The design and coding of site templates. Site developers will need to create and debug various site templates and associated template files during the implementation phase. In addition to the basic templates, a custom template will be required to dynamically generate the course content for each specific user. With links from the course version to the appropriate content and assessments, this system must provide a transparent deployment, of the appropriate course version and associated assessments to all participants. Developers might also integrate third party extensions to the standard functionality of CMS, such as custom placeholder controls, or workflow modifications. Site managers work closely with site developers during this phase to establish a channel and resource gallery structure that works well with the templates and template gallery structure being created by the site developers. Site managers also establish the proper user rights and workflow approval process. Assumptions: This effort is dependant upon: o Evaluation of existing content o The development of a content migration approach. Rio resources will be required to participate in certain established CMS roles.
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Course Creation Web Interface This module provides a user interface for the creation and maintenance of various course templates.
Course Creation Interface
Defines Course
Course Creation Interface
Faculty Chair, Adjunct Faculty, & Support Staff
Create links to assessment
Create Links to Content
Create Master Calendar Master
Assesment Create Grade Book Master Create Course Master
CMS
Calendar Master Course
GradeBook
General Requirements 1) Provide the ability to define a course a) Identify course number – validated in SIS course bank b) Display title, description, outline, competencies for verification c) Define creation date and release date 2) Provide the ability to create a new course version (maintaining modification date) 3) Provide content linking
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4) Provide assessment linking 5) Create the course master grade book a) Identify assessments (variable #) and offset from start date b) Establish grading rules i) Categories with percentages ii) Breakpoints A = 90-100, etc. 6) Create the course calendar master (based upon assessment offsets)
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Setup Service This module provides the functionality to create virtual classroom resources.
Setup Process
Create Security Groups Add Students and Faculty to Groups
Process Queries for New Student, Faculty and Sections
Setup Process
Matrix
Active Directory
Create Student Calendar Calendar Items
Create Gradebook entries
Calendar Calculator
Create Student and Faculty Access
Exchange
Master Calendar
Gradebook
Assesment
Calendar
General Requirements Query Matrix for New Data (Daily) 1) If New Section a) Create adjunct faculty mail enabled security group b) Create student mail enabled security group c) Create grade book from course grade book master 2) If New Adjunct Faculty a) Add adjunct faculty to mail enabled security group b) Establish access to assessment application (create user account) 3) If New Student Enrollment a) Add student to mail enabled security group b) Establish access to assessment application (create user account) c) Create student calendar items from course calendar master
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i) Using student start date, the course calendar master and the academic calendar create student calendar events using the calendar calculator ii) Populate the outlook calendar with student calendar events d) Create grade book entries (w/due dates and status) Assumptions: Matrix will create all new user (student and adjunct faculty) Active Directory (AD) accounts. Matrix will create an encrypted password and store it in an unused attribute in AD. Matrix will create all new user (student and adjunct faculty) Exchange mailbox accounts. Matrix will contain a flag indicating that a user (student and adjunct faculty) has been successfully set up in AD.
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Calendaring Service and Web Interface This module provides user interfaces to accelerate/decelerate a student‟s calendar, to define an academic calendar and create a calendar calculator service. The calendar calculator is an internal process that is used to create student calendar items based upon their start date and the master course calendar. This calculator is also used to recalculate calendar items when a student requests the acceleration/deceleration of a course.
Calendaring Interface
Defines Academic Calendar
Academic Calendar
Academic Calendar Interface
Exchange Calendar
Exchange Calendar
Support Staff Calendar Items
Calendar Calculator Create Academic Calendar
Request Acceleration
Student accelerates schedule
Student Calendaring Interface
Student
General Requirements 1) Provide ability to define academic calendar 2) Provide ability to accelerate/decelerate student calendar events a) Identify section and new end date b) Remove associated future student calendar events for the section c) Using the calendar calculator, create new student events d) Populate the outlook calendar with new student calendar events 3) Calendar Calculator Process a) Determine student calendar events based upon a master offset from the student start date b) Accommodate acceleration/deceleration of future student calendar events (for a section) based upon a specified end date
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Assumptions: Palm Pilot PDA users to supply their own full client Outlook and 3rd party Microsoft Outlook synchronization application.
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Assessment Integration and Web Interface This module provides for the integration with a 3rd party assessment tool, which includes two user interfaces to accommodate instructor feedback.
Assessment Integration
Assessment Process Update Grades
Assessment Complete Notification Process Queries for Completed Assessments
Gradebook Assesment
Create Assessment Feedback Update Grade
Feedback Complete Notification Retrieve Grade and Feedback
View Assessments
Provides Feedback Assign Grade
View Assessment Feedback
Student Feedback Interface
Instructor Feedback Interface Faculty Chair, Adjunct Faculty, & Support Staff
Student
General Requirements 1) Check for completed assessments (every 15 minutes) a) Update grade book b) Notify Instructor assessment is ready for feedback c) Notify Adjunct Faculty if assessment has been pending grading for 2-5 days d) Notify Chair if assessment has been pending grading for 10 days 2) Allow instructor to view assessment, provide feedback and assign a grade a) Store feedback and update grade in DB b) Notify student grade updated 3) Allow student to review feedback and grade Assumptions: Tests (mid-term and finals), quizzes and assessments will be generated and graded via a 3rd party application.
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Surveys can be generated and evaluated by a 3rd party application. The 3rd party assessment application will provide the ability to track assignments. The status of „grading complete‟ can be identified for all assessment items. Assessment items that were previously completely graded that have been updated can be easily identified. To provide the ability to take and assessment more than once and allow for grades to be properly updated.
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Presentation - Portal The Faculty Presentation consists of a web portal that integrates various system components.
Internal Presentation
Active Directory
Create custom AD Security Groups
View and send email View calendar Create threaded discussions
Interact
Presentation - Portal Exchange Presence Awareness
Student, Faculty Chair, Adjunct Faculty, & Support Staff
View Assessments Create Progress Letters
Exchange Instant Messenger Server
Create and View Notifications
View Content
Lookup associated sections Get student info
Read Course Configuration Enter and View Grades Provide assignment feedback
Assesment
Progress Letter
Master Course
CMS
Notification
GradeBook
Matrix
General Requirements 1) Create dynamic user views to various system pages, applications and resources based upon user access levels Note: Army students have a restricted view (i.e. no access to registration) and will link directly to a specific course home page. MSS Technologies, Inc.
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2) Provide a mechanism for dynamically linking users to the correct course content and test versions for their specific section and start date 3) The following major components will be integrated into various user views along with the standard options available to everyone (see User Interface Components in Appendix A). Component Outlook Web Access Course List Page Course Content Message Center Instant Messenger Assessment Assessment Feedback Grade Book Course Creation Group Administration
Notification Maintenance CMS Progress Letters Reports
Description Provides access to email and calendaring functionality. Provides functionality to view a list of courses based upon access privileges. Provides the links to course content. Provides a quick reference to unacknowledged events and messages. Provides instant messaging, whiteboard, audio and video. Provides links to the 3rd party assessment tool. Provides an interface for assessment feedback. Provides the facilities to enter and view grades including student roster maintenance. Provides the facilities to create a Course Master. Provides the functionality to create custom security groups for use in multiple processes such as threaded discussions. Provides the functionality to create a notification. Provides access to the Content Management system. Provides the functionality to create and request progress letters. Provides access to administrative reports.
4) The Presentation – Portal must implement content access security (see Access List in Appendix B) Students should only be able to view and search content for the classes that they are taking Faculty Chair, Adjunct Faculty and Support Staff access is determined by discipline and/or section Assumptions: Need to provide ADA compliance.
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SPS Collaboration Process This effort will provide business process re-engineering services to assist Rio with the design, configuration and implementation of the document collaboration services provided by Microsoft‟s SharePoint Portal Server (SPS) product. A Functional Requirements Specification will document the processes and workflow that will be required to develop new course content. The SharePoint Portal Server Detailed Design Specification will define the configuration of workspaces, folder hierarchies, folder policies, schema resources, discussions and search scope. Assumptions: Microsoft supplied connector will be utilized to connect SPS with CMS.
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Grade Book/Roster Service and Web Interface This module provides two user interfaces to the grade book and an export services for the SIS interface.
Gradebook and Roster Process
Change Grades, Status, End Date Assign Final Grade Add a Student Transfer Prior Gradebook
Student Tracking
Activity
Faculty Gradebook Web Interface Grade and Roster Updates
Faculty Chair, Adjunct Faculty, & Support Staff
Gradebook Grades Student views grades
Student Gradebook Web Interface
Final Grade
Student
SIS Export Process
Final Grades are exported to flat file
Flat file is imported to SIS
Flat File
SIS
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General Requirements 1) Grade Book Maintenance a) Ability to change student grades/CEU‟s, status and end date, including views of student information and activity i) Select term, course and section (1) Display student(s) and grades – either by student or assessment (2) Update grade points (3) Calculate/store grade letter upon save (4) Send student notification ii) If status changed to withdrawn: (1) Remove calendar items for withdrawn students process b) Ability to assign a final grade i) Select term, course and section (1) Display students and calculated grade (letter and percentage) (2) Provide option to override letter grade/CEU‟s (3) Update status = Complete in DB upon save (4) Send student notification c) Ability to Add a Student i) Select term, course and section (1) Enter student name, SSN, start and end date, status = manual (2) Execute setup process (i.e. create course, calendar…) (3) Do NOT extract for SIS d) Ability to transfer prior grade book (i.e. Military, or move student to new section) i) Select term, course and section (1) Display student (2) Choose to transfer prior grade book information (a) Search for same student/course and display grades (b) Copy prior grade book to current upon accept 2) Nightly export to SIS process a) Select grades/CEU‟s from grade DB with a status of complete b) Select students with status changes and populate export file with grade = status c) Create export file for SIS d) Update grade DB to reflect SIS update e) Notify instructor final grade sent to SIS Assumptions: Assessment items can be identified as grading complete. Assessment items that were complete previously that have been updated can be identified. To provide the ability to take an assessment more than once and allow for grades to be properly updated.
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Notification User Service and Web Interface This module provides interfaces for notification configuration and notification maintenance. Notification delivery service is also included for use by other modules. The Notification Service is a process that handles the delivery of notifications initiated by other processes. The notification service provides an Application Programming Interface to be used by other modules.
Notification Service
Defines Delivery Preference Defines Delivery Preference
Notification Configuration
Faculty Chair, Adjunct Faculty, & Support Staff
Student
Define Notifications
Create Delivery Preferences
Create Notifications
Notification Administration
Notification Database
Service Queries for Notifications
Notifications: Email, Web, SMS, Banner, Popups …..
MSS Technologies, Inc.
Deliver Notifications
Notification Service
Request Notification
Notifications from other Modules
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General Requirements 1) Notification Maintenance – Allows for the creation of notifications a) Notification Level b) Delivery Type c) Notification Frequency (daily) d) Start Date and Time e) End Date and Time f) Section Item (i.e. Mid Term) IF Delivery Type is Section 2) Delivery Configuration – Allows users to configure how messages will be received a) Notification Type Notes: Notifications are self-cleansing Notification Levels: System Wide, Discipline, Course, Section and Individual Delivery Types: E-mail, Pop-up, Banner (rotates), Ticker, Short Messaging System (SMS), Announcement Page, Text File Origin: Calendar, Assessment, Grade Book, Maintenance Application, Threaded Discussion Group, Inactivity (Logon)
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Progress Letters Web Interface This module provides an interface for the maintenance of the student progress letters. The progress letters service facilitates the automated or requested generation of student progress letters.
Progress Letter Process
Faculty defines progress letter Faculty requests progress letter
Web Interface
Faculty Chair, Adjunct Faculty, & Support Staff
Create progress letter/request
Progress Letter
Student Tracking
Matrix
Service queries for new letters and logs letters sent
Activity
Student, Course
Progress letter is sent via USPS
Progress Letters Service
Grades
Gradebook Printed Letter Progress letter is sent via email
Letter Template
Progress Letter Templates
MSS Technologies, Inc.
Exchange
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General Requirements 1) Student progress letter generation a) Uses form letters or custom letters b) Generate on Demand (prompt) or Automatically (stored and updated by DBA) c) Distribution Types: E-mail, Print or both d) Letter Types: i) Welcome: Student Info – Matrix (-10 days from start date) ii) Inactivity: Lesson – Student Tracking DB (3 weeks) iii) Progress: Status in Course – Grade Book (Mid point and < 25% complete) iv) Congratulation: Finished Course – Grade Book (Status = Complete) v) Marketing: Next Course – Grade Book (% lessons complete recommends next class) (1) Must create matrix for next class Assumptions: A group of Progress letter templates will be created by Rio.
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Student Tracking Service The Student Tracking Service provides the ability to track a student‟s navigation of the website.
Student Tracking Process
Student visits web page
Control
Student
Grade Book
Control records students navigation
Status
Notification
Notification
Inactivity Service Activity
Student Tracking
General Requirements 1) DB to record student web activity 2) Control on every lesson ASPX page will populate student tracking table 3) Inactivity Service a) Faculty must be notified when students have been inactive for more than 3 weeks as student must be withdrawn Note: Student Tracking records are self-cleansing Assumptions: The Student Tracking Service will not have a user interface. History must be purged periodically to prevent data explosion.
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Archive Service The Archive Service provides for archiving and removal of expired objects from the system.
Archive Process
Remove Threaded Discussions, old mailboxes, and Calendar items
Remove Security Groups
Archive Process
Active Directory
Exchange
Process queries for completed Gradebook data
Gradebook
Archive Gradebook data
Gradebook Archive
General Requirements 1) When passed end date and no students in Mail Enabled Security Group a) Remove: i) Threaded Discussions ii) Calendar information related to a completed section iii) Student Tracking information related to a completed section iv) Exchange Mailboxes after (1 year – Student and 2 years – Faculty) of inactivity v) Remove Faculty and Student groups from AD b) Archive: i) Grade book if status = complete ii) Grade book remains for 2 years if status not complete Note: Archive data for 2 years, then purge. Assumptions: Archive Service will run as a Windows NT Service and execute on a adjustable periodic basis.
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OLAP Cube Pilot This effort will create a pilot OLAP cube from SIS data for student enrollment analysis. The OLAP Cube Pilot is the design and configuration of a OLAP Cube for the purposes of reporting. The pilot will allow Rio Salado IT staff to take part in the design, development and deployment so that they can replicate the process for future reporting projects. The activities involved with this task are: 1) 2) 3) 4)
Data Transformation Services Design and Coding; Star Schema Design; Cube Configuration; and Client Configuration.
Assumptions: The pilot requires participation from Rio IT staff. The pilot will report on no more that 8 dimensions.
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Infrastructure Overview This section outlines the underlying infrastructure that will be required to support the development, testing and deployment of the proposed eLearning solution. Once again, before proceeding to describe the system architecture, it is important to understand the technical assumptions upon which this architecture is based. Technical Assumptions Virus software including Microsoft Exchange virus scanning, SMTP gateway scanning and HTTP packet scanning are highly recommended. Note: Awaiting vendor response, therefore, associated costs have not been included as part of the estimate. This item is listed under Open Items in the Solution Estimate section. Additional networking equipment and networking designs are likely to be required for this project, but the associated costs are not included as a part of this estimate. The Rio IS team or an outside team will build and configure all servers so the associated costs are not included as part of this estimate. Rio Salado currently utilizes a software web load-balancing scheme. A hardwarebased load balancing with external SSL acceleration solution is highly recommended for future performance and scalability. The Assessment application will run on the web and SQL servers outlined as part of this solution. Current server operating system versions will be upgraded to Windows 2003 when available. The hardware estimate is based on server computer equipment purchased from Dell. During phase 1, the new production system will be used to provide a QA environment for testing. This means that the acquisition of a QA system can be deferred until the end of phase 1 when the production pilot system is deployed. o The Active Directory controller is the only server that will remain in the QA environment when the production pilot system is deployed since the pilot will be utilizing the existing Active Directory production server. The Instant Messenger (IM) server functionality will be provided by a component of Exchange 2000. Instant Messenger presence awareness will not be contextual (limited to a specific subset or group of users, i.e. buddy list).* The following assumptions relate to the new Exchange servers: o The Exchange servers will be connected to the Storage Area Network (SAN) which is partially built at Rio already, but which will need expanding; and o The Exchange servers will be in active-passive clustering configuration. The following assumptions relate to the new SQL Servers (with the exception of the data mart): *
This is an open item that may be addressed by a 3rd party product or future upgrades to IM.
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o The SQL Servers will be connected to the Storage Area Network (SAN); and o The SQL Servers will be in active-active clustering configuration. o Matrix will be a part of the new SQL Server cluster. Rio Salado already has the following recommended software: o MSDN Universal Subscription, o Change Control Tracking System, o Software Defect Tracking System, and o System Monitoring. Rio Salado already has Norton Anti Virus Software. The most prominent factor influencing the proposed system infrastructure design is Rio Salado‟s growth expectations and their key requirements for a system that is: Deployed in a hardware and application redundant manner, that provides zero downtime, unlimited scalability and dynamic load balancing. o The proposed system architecture provides redundancy for database servers, web servers and mail servers. Highly responsive regardless of volume and peak times. o The proposed system provides a load balanced web farm environment. Capable of being physically and logically expanded while in production. o The proposed system architecture provides for easy expansion. Additional servers can be added to the production environment without impacting operations. Requires minimal support resources and is in an environment in which software and hardware components can be easily managed. o The proposed homogenous Microsoft architecture will provide an environment that allows for cross utilization of support resources and reduced/consolidated maintenance efforts. System Architecture With the development and deployment of a complex application, it is essential to segregate development efforts from the testing and production environments. This is especially true with the high availability demands on Rio Salado‟s production system. As depicted in the following table, a three-tiered application development environment will be required for the successful execution of a large software development effort such as this. Type Development Quality Assurance Production
MSS Technologies, Inc.
Description The system that is used to develop the custom software. The system that is used to test custom built and purchased software. The system that is used for normal daily operations.
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Hardware A new production system will need to be built to pilot this system in conjunction with existing systems. Proposed Infrastructure Internet
Internal Network
DMZ
Web Web Web
Content Staging
Content Authoring
SQLNode1 SQL Cluster SQLNode2
PrivNode1 OWA OWA OWA
Exchange Cluster PrivNode2
Student
SQLNode3 SQL Cluster SQLNode4
SMTP Gateway
SMTP Relay
OLAP Server Faculty Chair, Adjunct Faculty, and Support Staff
IM Proxy
IM Home
Active Active Active Directory Directory Directory Existing
Media
App Server
During the initial solution development phase, the production system may be used for QA purposes. Thereby allowing the hardware costs for the QA system to be deferred until the pilot is ready for deployment. The computer hardware that must be acquired to for the production system is listed in the following table. Production System Name OWA1 OWA2 OWA3 PRIVNODE1 PRIVNODE2 SQLNODE1 SQLNODE2
MSS Technologies, Inc.
Function Outlook Web Access Server Outlook Web Access Server Outlook Web Access Server Exchange Private Store - Clustered Exchange Private Store - Clustered SQL Server - Clustered SQL Server - Clustered
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Name SQLNODE3 SQLNODE4 OLAP1 SMTP1 SMTP2 APP1 WEB1 WEB2 WEB3 MEDIA1 STAGING1 IMPROXY1 IMHOME1
Function SQL Server - Clustered SQL Server - Clustered SQL Server SMTP Gateway (DMZ) SMTP Relay/ Virus Wall Application Server Web Server Web Server Web Server Media Server Content Staging Server Instant Messaging Routing Server Instant Messaging Home Server
As describe above, additional hardware will be required for the QA system once the pilot is ready for deployment. This hardware may be purchased or acquired from the decommissioning of the existing production hardware. This hardware should, however, be of the same class of hardware as the new production system to provide accurate load testing characteristics. QA System Name AD1 AD2 OWA1 OWA2 PRIV1 SQL1 SQL2 OLAP1 APP1 WEB1 WEB2 MEDIA1 IMPROXY1 IMHOME1
Function Active Directory Controller Active Directory Controller Outlook Web Access Server Outlook Web Access Server Exchange Private Store SQL Server SQL Server SQL Server Application Server Web Server Web Server Media Server Instant Messaging Routing Server Instant Messaging Home Server
The following list of computer hardware will be required for the Development system. Again, this hardware may be purchased or acquired from the decommissioning of the existing production hardware. In the development environment it is not necessary for this hardware to be of production class. However, the hardware should perform at a level that does not impede the development process.
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Development System Name AD1 OWA1 PRIV1 SQL1 SQL2 OLAP1 APP1 WEB1 MEDIA1 IMHOME1
Function Active Directory Controller Outlook Web Access Server Exchange Private Store SQL Server SQL Server SQL Server Application Server Web Server Media Server Instant Messaging Home Server
Software In addition to the hardware shown, the following list of software will also be required for this solution. Software Windows 2003 Advanced Server Windows 2002 Server Content Management Server Exchange Server 2003 SharePoint Portal Server SQL Server 2000 Enterprise Visual Studio .Net Architect LoadRunner ActiveX Client Assessment
Vendor Microsoft Microsoft Microsoft Microsoft Microsoft Microsoft Microsoft Mercury Interactive 3rd Party
Function OS OS Content Management Mail Content Authoring Database Development Load Testing Client Assessment
Instant Messenger is not shown as a separate item because it is included with Exchange. SQL Business Intelligence (BI) is not shown as a separate line item because this OLAP tool is included with SQL Server. Crystal Reports is not shown as a separate line item because it is included with Visual Studio .Net. Technical Training For Rio Salado‟s technical team to support this system development effort and new infrastructure some technical training will be required. The following table lists the minimum recommend technical training requirements. Type Exchange Server Administration SQL Server DBA Content Management Server Administration .Net/CMS Developer Training Storage Area Network (SAN) Administration Training
MSS Technologies, Inc.
Number of Candidates 2 1 2 2 1
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Technical/Infrastructure Documentation With the exception of the Content Migration Plan, which is specific to this project, the following set of documentation is typically delivered as a normal part of any Microsoft infrastructure design project. All of these documents are valuable and relevant to this project; however, many of these documents are likely to be omitted from a purchased solution. Thus, for comparison purposes some or all of these items may need to be deducted from the total solution cost.
Content Migration Plan Migration Logistics Plan Active Directory Design Exchange Server Design Security Policy and Virus Plan Backup and Recovery Plan* Load Testing Plan Instant Messenger Design Disaster Recovery Plan*
Server Build Documents Exchange Private Store Build * SQL Server Build * Web Server Build * Application Server Build * Instant Messenger Build * Media Server Build * SMTP Server Build * OLAP Server Build * OWA Server Build * Content Migration Plan The content Migration Plan will determine the strategy that will either be a custom developed utility, a manual process, or a combination thereof. An estimate will be provided for the cost of migration once the requirements have been outlined and the migration plan is determined. Migration Logistics Plan The Migration Logistics Plan defines the logistics of integrating the new production system with the existing system without affecting the performance of the existing production system. The Migration Logistics Plan will also define the steps necessary to prepare the production system prior to the execution of the pilot phase.
*
Indicates that the Rio IS Team will likely address these items, however an estimate will be included for consideration
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Active Directory Design The active directory design document defines such items as a domain naming system, the forest and domain model, domain controller topology, organization unit structure, the time synchronization service and domain hardware configuration.
Exchange Server Design The exchange design document defines exchange server topology, SAN configuration and server configuration (i.e. storage group layout, mailbox limits). Security Policy and Virus Plan The security and virus policy plan document defines the domain policy, domain controller policy, server policy and administration policy. The security policy and virus plan also identify how intrusion is detected, how servers are locked down and how to recover from a virus outbreak. The security policy and virus plan also defines how to update virus signatures as well as managing operating system and application security patches. Backup and Recovery Plan The backup and recovery plan identifies the scope of servers that will be backed up as well as the components of each server. The backup and recovery plan also defines how tapes will be rotated, backup frequency, backup type (full vs. differential), frequency in which tapes will be moved to offsite storage, the retrieval process and the cataloging scheme. The backup and recovery plan also defines the backup and recovery process for active directory controllers, exchange servers, web servers, media servers and SQL servers. Load Testing Plan The load-testing plan defines how load testing will be conducted. It defines what tools will be used and the client architecture and protocols. The load-testing plan also defines the client parameters such as the number of users, page hit frequency and time spent on page. The load-testing plan will also define the scripts that will be used to conduct the testing. Disaster Recovery Plan The disaster recovery plan identifies how to mobilize a task force to build out and a new system in the event of disaster such as fire, flood, earthquake or tornado. The plan identifies process and resources required to get a replacement system up and running within an acceptable period of time. Instant Messenger Design The instant messenger design document defines the prototyping, architecture design, server and client configuration.
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Server Build Documents The server build documents define how to build a server from the ground up. This is a step-by-step instructional guide for building various types of servers. These servers include active directory controllers, SAN attached Exchange servers, SAN attached SQL servers, web servers, OWA servers, application servers, media servers and instant messaging servers. This is a must have guide for building new servers out of the box. Note: The Server Build documentation is required for the successful implementation and deployment of the new eLearning System. Qualified engineers who have extensive installation experience with the associated products should be used to create the Server Build documentation.
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Implementation Overview For Rio Salado to develop and deploy the proposed eLearning solution in a timely manner, a phased approach is recommended. Consequently, this section outlines: A phased implementation approach to system development; A phased content migration approach; A high-level time line; An organizational chart for the project team; and A breakdown of the associated costs. When reviewing the information contained in this section, it is important to keep in mind that the proposed system is an all encompassing solution. Thus, the final solution, implementation approach, timeline and costs are entirely dependent upon the college‟s preferences & priorities.
Implementation Approach The system modules or functionality will be delivered in a phased approach: Release 1.0 Release 2.x Release 3.0
Provides the base functionality required for course delivery. Provides enhanced functionality for the administrative environment. Provides additional reporting and analysis functionality.
Release 1.0 and Release 3.0 will be deployed once all modules have been completed. For Release 2.x, the intent is to develop the modules in the order shown below and rollout each module once it is ready for deployment instead of awaiting the completion of all modules. Release 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0
1.0 1.0 2.2 2.3 2.4
Module
Description
CMS Configuration
Provides for the web site design and content management configuration. Course Creation Web Interface Provides an interface for the creation and maintenance of various course templates. Setup Service Provides the functionality to create virtual classroom resources. Calendaring Service and Web Interface Provides an interface to accelerate/decelerate a student‟s calendar and creates the calendar calculator service. Assessment Integration and Web Interface Provides the integration with a 3rd party assessment tool and supports feedback functionality. Presentation – Portal Provides for the implementation of various user views of the system. SPS Configuration Provides for the design and configuration of the course authoring system. Grade book/Roster Service and Web Provides an interface that includes grade book and Interface roster functionality. Notification Service and Web Interface Provides an interface for notification configuration, maintenance and creates the notification service.
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Release
eLearning Envisioning Project
Module
2.5
Progress Letters Web Interface
2.5 2.x
Student Tracking Service Army Interface
3.0 3.0
Archive Service OLAP Cube Pilot
Description Provides an interface for the maintenance of student progress letters. Provides a student tracking service. Provides a SCORM compliant interface for the Army customer to login, obtain table of contents, transfer to eLearning System and transfer to external client. Provides for the archival and removal of classrooms. Provides On-Line Analytical Processing (OLAP) reporting services.
Courses will also be deployed or migrated in a phased approach. The first phase of the migration can be referred to as the pilot, since the first set of courses deployed will not exceed 25 sections. In this pilot phase, the course content and assessments will need to be manually established in the new system. Following the successful implementation of the pilot, further course migration will likely proceed in two or more phases as shown in the table below. Note: Additional effort needs to be dedicated to further defining a course migration plan and the potential for developing a migration utility. Description Objective
Pilot Select a good sampling of courses for the pilot
Unique Characteristics
Courses
Users
~ 5%-10% Sections only Not to exceed 25 sections 25 Instructors 12 IS Staff
