groupLog

About GroupLog

GroupLog is a tool for supporting collaborative group work and facilitating tutor feedback in large cohorts, developed at the University of Bath. For further information about GroupLog please consult the GroupLog homepage

The JISC eTools programme which is part of the JISC Distributed E-learning Strand, funded some further development of GroupLog between September 2004 and April 2005. Further information on the GroupLog project can be found on the Jisc Web site at http://www.jisc.ac.uk/whatwedo/programmes/edistributed/grouplog.aspx. Please note some of the links are to external sites which may no longer be available.

UKOLN's Role

UKOLN's contribution was to report on the feasibility of developing GroupLog as a portal application that could be delivered using portal standards.

Portlet Feasibility Study

Monica Duke (UKOLN) and Elaine Swift (CDNTL). April 2005.
[Word][pdf][University of Bath repository entry]

Summary

GroupLog is a project funded by the JISC under the 03/04 call for projects to develop E-Learning Tools for learners and teachers. This is a report on an assessment of the feasibility of developing GroupLog as a WSRP application, carried out by UKOLN in conjunction with CDNTL. Web Services for Remote Portlets (WSRP) is first reviewed as a standard by covering the background information obtained from desk research. The review contains extensive links to portlet-related resources. Development options are then considered. A test platform that was installed to complement the desk-research by providing hands-on experience is then described, together with a sample application illustrating two different ways in which it could be delivered by WSRP. This report concludes that a solution that involves the use of Java-related technology is the most practical option given the current status of the technology. This approach would require a suitable Java platform to be set up and configured. Significant technical knowledge and programming effort would be required. The time and experience required to implement such a solution does not fit within the immediate plans and timing for GroupLog development. The report ends by drawing some general conclusions that can be used to inform any future decisions regarding the delivery of GroupLog using WSRP.

A report addressing similar objectives was published a few months after GroupLog by another JISC-funded project, CREE.

Chris Awre, Stewart Waller, Jon Allen, Matthew J Dovey, Jon Hunter, Ian Dolphin. "Putting the Library Into the Institution: Using JSR 168 and WSRP to Enable Search Within Portal Frameworks". October 2005, Ariadne Issue 45

UKOLN Staff working on GroupLog

Andy Powell
Distributed Systems and Services, Team Leader. Assistant Director (UKOLN).
Email: A.Powell@ukoln.ac.uk

Monica Duke
Software Developer, UKOLN.
Email: M.Duke@ukoln.ac.uk