Without your course, your learning content, and your participants, OLAT would only be a wrapping; you are the one to give meaning to it as author. OLAT puts several features at your disposal in order to enable you to do so. These features can be assigned to different areas of function within OLAT.
In OLAT there are five areas of function at the moment:
Storage folder,
Operation,
Production,
Private space,
Public space.
In addition to these areas of function and their respective features OLAT organizes the users' access as well as their rights.
In the following section we will comment on OLAT's areas of function and their respective basic features. Furthermore, you get the possibility to familiarize yourself with the terminology of OLAT. The diagram below as well as the corresponding explanations will give you a first overview. More detailed information regarding these features can be found at Kapitel 6. OLAT Reference. The interplay of OLAT's areas of function can be looked up at Kapitel 3. "OLAT in 5 Steps" - Understanding OLAT in Context.
The function area called "Storage folder" is meant to store and manage single learning resources or documents in OLAT. The storage folder and the resources stored within have the same name: learning resources.
OLAT distinguishes between different categories of learning resources in the storage folder:
| - courses, |
| - tests, |
| - questionnaires, |
| - CP learning contents, |
| - SCORM learning contents, |
| - other files. |
In the following section we will describe the basic characteristics of these five types in learning resources. Further information can be found at Kapitel 6. OLAT Reference as well.
"Courses" controls the operation of your event. This category enables the presentation of lectures, seminars, group puzzles, problem-based learning, etc. in OLAT. These courses exist in an OLAT format.
"Tests" can be used within and without a course (or several courses) for examinations or self-tests. These tests have to be available in IMS-QTI format (version 1.2).
"Questionnaires" can be used within or without a course (or several courses) for data collection. The questionnaires have to be available in IMS-QTI format (version 1.2).
"CP learning content" and "SCORM learning content" can be used within or without a course (or several courses) as content (learning material, script, module, etc.). CP and SCORM are standardized e-learning formats in order to store your learning content. OLAT supports these formats to give you the possibility to use your learning content outside of OLAT within other LMS. CP learning contents have to be available in IMS-CP format, SCORM learning contents in SCORM format.
Other files, that is, files containing different formats (PowerPoint folios, PDF documents, Word files, GIF and JPG files, etc.) to be used outside of your course as well, can be stored in learning resources, too.
Within learning resources you can furthermore create one or more resource folders in order to store files or even an integrated starting page from which you may want to get to other courses.
In order to be able to administer learning resources, OLAT puts several features at your disposal to be found in the area "Storage folder" or "Learning resources": assign users, copy, delete, edit, download, search, etc.
The function area "Operation" is meant for learning and teaching. This area is also called runtime environment. In the function area "Operation"
| - students will enrol for your course, |
| - students will work on their learning material, |
| - students will take tests, |
| - students will get tasks to be solved, that will later on be assessed online by you as author, |
| - students will be able to write entries in a forum of which you are the presenter, |
| - students will get an evidence of achievement at the end of your course. |
In order to enable all these options OLAT offers an interface for students in the function area "Operation", as well as a group management, a rights management, a tool for data archiving, and one for assessments. Detailed information regarding these features can be found at Kapitel 6. OLAT Reference.
In the section "Production" you create the material you want to offer your students. Here you can generate a course or a test; to a limited extent you can create contents at the same time (learning material, scripts, etc.).
OLAT offers the following tools: a course editor in order to create courses; a test editor in order to store your qestions and answers; and a HTML editor in order to generate your content. More detailed information regarding these tools can be found at Kapitel 6. OLAT Reference.
In the area Home ("Private space") all OLAT users can store personal documents or manage bookmarks, notifications, and personal notes. Here you can also modify your settings (e.g. language) or determine the content of your internal OLAT visiting card or search for other users.
By means of the tab Groups ("Public space") all OLAT users can get to different group areas. These groups provide collaborative tools for their members such as forum, disk space, e-mail, information, and chat. In addition to course groups to be opened by course editors, there are project groups as well as right groups. Each OLAT user can open a project group and invite other OLAT users to join that group as members.
The access to OLAT is controlled by means of a registration process. This registration guarantees the users' identification in case of emergency. The distribution of copyright documents is also made possible (according to current Swiss law). After registration, new users will be provided with their own OLAT account with limited rights. Author rights can be later on allocated to them by our support team. These author rights represent user rights of the highest degree within OLAT. However, it is also possible to provide other limited rights: rights to use tutoring, data archiving, and group management tools.
Additionally, there is the possibility to access OLAT as guest. Learning resources available for guests will be visible without registration while visiting OLAT.