The DicWiki is a tool that generates dynamic dictionaries that can automatically be personalized and updated at the same time. The way DicWiki works is simple: every time one enters a new term in DicWiki, the application automatically looks for words and concepts on reliable sources such as Wikipedia, but also on other specialized sources. Ultimately, DicWiki automatically generates a multilingual dictionary of a precise subject and draws up a downloadable text file which includes terminology in English, Catalan, Spanish and French as well as reference sources.

In our opinion, to collect and bring together related concepts of a specific topic from relevant sources may be extremely useful for creating teaching materials, writing theses and papers, or just updating information. Moreover, DicWiki keeps the user from carrying out endless and complex Internet searches.
Our team is now also planning to integrate DicWiki to the university search tool employed to look for educational contents.

For more information click here.

Apertium is an open source translation platform that has been improved by our team together with the company Prompsit to provide translation services adapted to our university, the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya. Apertium currently translates from Catalan to Spanish, English or French and vice versa and is currently under development to include other languages.

The huge advantage of Apertium compared to other translation platforms is that allows the translation of documents in a variety of formats, pages Web, HTML files and compressed files. In addition, it can also be used to create translation memories in TMX format, giving rise to more accurate and personalized translations.

Learn more about Apertium watching the following video:

In an attempt to continue finding solutions to improve the e-learning experience, we’ve been working on an innovative software to bring together in one form lectures in audio and video, notes and presentations.  Indeed, this software allows any user to see a recorded class simultaneously with the slides shown by the teacher and any other relevant documentation for download or print.

This initiative is being carried out by thirteen American and European universities, being the UOC one of them. Under OpenCast project, these institutions are developing a practical and easy to use application which allows to collect simultaneously and in one place different formats of data and information.

The application, in addition to the web, would also be accessible from any mobile device (phone, PDA, iPod …). And it will also incorporate all kinds of tools that will help the user to work over the educational material such as tools that highlight the most interesting part of the class or tools that allow to write notes and share them with other students.

In case you are interested in the OpenCast project, for further information you may want to visit the OpenCast site (www.opencastproject.org)  or check the following video from a lecture recorded with Opencast Technology:

The Office of Learning Technologies is currently working on an application based on QR codes (Quick Response Codes),  two dimensional codes designed for storing information in small spaces.  The UOC QR Codes aims at mobile device users since they  would allow to easily access to UOC addresses and URLs from a mobile or a PDA .
The increasing aplicability of QR Codes has not only been noticed by UOC. Moodle, for instance, has just released an enhancement for Moodle users who want to access material on their mobile device. Moodle pages have long, crufty URLs that would be difficult to enter into a mobile browser. To help these users, QR codes are automatically added to Moodle pages.

Would you like to try a QR code? We have a message for you. The only thing you must do is (1) go to this website, (2) download the appropriate software according to your brand of mobile phone and (3) make a picture of the QR code from above.

The course Introduction to the Mathematics has just started as a pilot course for the recently created program of electronic annotations, named UOClet. UOClet will be soon available to all students and advisers from the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) and to any user interested in it due to its open source nature. In fact, the aim of UOClet is to become a widespread e-learning tool that enhances communication among the educational community during the learning process.

UOClet allows the user to underline and make notes as digital posts on a html in addition to a word document. The underlying text as well as the comments made can be both shared with other people, so that there is no longer need to send emails when discussing a document among different people. UOClet also collects all the comments and underlined texts and generates a summary of links to websites followed by their corresponding annotations.

The way UOClet works it is simple. Firstly, the user must install at the browser bar the UOClet tool provided by the UOC. Once the tool is already installed, the user only has to select a particular text, press the icon “Mark” to underline it, and make the corresponding comment. The selected text changes automatically color to indicate that it has been referred to a comment.

Currently, this digital annotation tool is optimized for Firefox 3 and Explorer 7 browsers  but several adjustments are being developed for using UOClet with other browsers. Would you like to check how UOClet works? Then, you may want to access to the demo here.

Short description. “Karaokes” is a format for mobile devices like iPhone and Blackberries that mixes text, audio and video. On screen a text scrolls down while a specher reads the content. The sentence that is beeing locuted is highlighted. The actual video is generated automatically from regular textbooks using techlologies as XML, TTS and Open Laszlo.

Target audience. karaoke is perfect for those who commute using public transportation and wanted to review the lectures that have readed the day before. Under these circumstances it could be better than a book, difficult to read standing or on a bus; and in front of a simple audio file generated with a TTS tool it shows a visual interface on wich to see pictures and tables and even re-engage in case of lost.

The project “edit@: a system for the interoperability of multiplatform contents” has been recently approved by the by The Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Commerce of Spain.

The edit@ proposal can be summarised by the following objective: to create a gateway based on standards and open source code that allows interoperability with the content management systems available on the market, and which through a user friendly and accessible user interface amplifies its functions and possibilities; in this way, edit@ will enable the editing, modification, validation and publication of content through a single workflow, producing outputs in multiple and innovative formats, such as outputs for mobile ‘phones and PDA, audio format, DAISY format for mobile ‘phone, outputs for digital interactive television and a format adapted for digital ink devices. Furthermore, the content will be available in multiple languages, thanks to the incorporation of a translation system, and in all of the output formats there will be an annotations system so that the reader or end user can contribute, whilst respecting the original content.

Furthermore, through the use of the SCORM standard, edit@ will make it possible to monitor the use of those contents, thus guaranteeing continuous evaluation and improvement. Finally, user centred design and accessibility will be fundamental pillars of edit@, in order to guarantee user satisfaction in all its services and functions.

edit@ will therefore be a system geared to facilitate the evolution of document and content formats. It aims to gain greater penetration in providing products and services to companies, by bringing different contents closer to specific user profiles. Companies using the system will be able to obtain their content in formats that are currently not within their grasp, as a result of the high cost of their skilled production. edit@ can also be used for companies’ private content, although its principal application will be with public content, bringing creative commons or open courseware to the end user.

edit@ will automate the method for passing online content directly to the optimum format for each user. If there are currently solutions on the market for transforming documents into web or PDF format, edit@ will provide multiformat solutions of the innovative nature already mentioned above. Finally, the system will consider the solution for creating content markers and spaces for collaborative annotation.

The traditional universities are entering the online world and are doing all at once. So suddenly the problem with that is that university managers have no tools to carry out certain demands.
Fortunately from time to time an open source development appears to facilitate the task. The Free Software is superbly suited to the needs of universities and is partly the reason for the success of products such as Moodle and Sakai.

The latest fashion is to record and upload lessons. The service is highly valued by students. As a result they can review the lesson once at home.

Record and distribute lessons is a process that requires large amounts of resources, both human and technical. Until now we did not know any development that would facilitate the task. Educational Technology Services of UC Berkeley has been working in this subject for a long time and just now has decided to open its Opencast project to other institutions. For this purpose the former July 10th ETS Berkeley held a meeting in Oxford with its European partners. We were very kindly invited to attend.

Opencast is a product developed over Apple’s Podcast Producer. It involves software and hardware and it allows to record lessons and the deliver them through different channels like YouTube and u-iTunes.
ETH Zurich has developed a similar product named Replay. At Oxford (pictures) we talk about how to organize the project and what to do in order to share developments, many of them already working. We all agree that we should have a common APIs.

The traditional universities would do well to follow the project if they want to record lessons and they need a product to automatize the task. Our interest is in using video, for example recordings of our
teachers, as teaching material. That is why our cooperation is based on transforming the recordings in full multimedia content as well as those contained in packaging formats IMS - Common Cartridge.

IMS Learning Impact took place in austin between May 12th and 15th. We presented MyWay project, more specially our iPhone solution that mixes text and audio, to the anual awards and .

Vece Rector of Technology Llorenç Valverde, Eva De Lera an myself had a wonderful time chatting with people all over the world about e-learning, standards and the future of teaching and learning. The feeling that we perceived is that we are really at the beginning of a new era.

In the picture: Eva, Chris (from Peirce College and a good friend) and myself receiveing our correspondant prizes.

The final prototype of the “karaoke” project. It’s an mpg4 movie so you can upload it to your iTouch / iPhone. Video to desktop (mpg4, 80Mb, Right click to dowload).

Thanks to Albert (Omaonk, programming) & Irene (design). They have done an outstanding job!