Design and Implementation of a Student Centred Learning Environment

Online learning systems are complex environments. Environments such as WebCT [31] and Blackboard [6] provide elegant interfaces to a suite of tools that assist in the creation of an online classroom. Teaching institutions are using technologies of this sort to produce flexible learning environments. There are a number of infrastructures which facilitate interaction between the users of these virtual classrooms; however, there are none known to the author that provide meaningful feedback with reference to learning outcomes. Typical, learning environments are modelled on the interactions of users [33], not the users achievements and learning outcomes. WebCT+ is a project at the University of Wollongong, which ultimately aims to develop a complete learning environment. The project is actively being developed on the Macintosh OS X [1] platform using a number of open source technologies. The learning environment is based entirely on students and their interactions with the system. The environment provides valuable feedback to a student in the subjects that they are enrolled in by expressing achievement of learning outcomes through assessment. It is anticipated that this outcomes based feedback could be usefully deployed for reflective learning activities. This paper describes the rationale behind WebCT+ as a student centred learning environment. It also details the architecture and technologies used to develop the project whilst being mindful of its future directions. It should be noted that WebCT+ has no association with the commercial product known as WebCT.