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HTML deployment
From Qedoc
| This article is primarily for software developers and may contain sections which are of an advanced or highly technical nature. Do not panic. Normal users do not need to understand anything written here. |
HTML deployment of quizzes means the ability to deploy a Qedoc learning module as a sequences of web pages.
This article is here because we get asked questions about "HTML deployment" or "HTML conversion" of Qedoc. In fact there are a variety of much better ways to integrate Qedoc into a web environment than mere HTML-conversion.
The term "HTML" is used loosely here to describe a combination of server-side and client-side scripts which interact to produce what is commonly known as a web page. More accurately, HTML deployment can be referred to as "javascript/HTML/PHP deployment".
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Putting Qedoc modules into web pages and web applications
There are a large number of ways to integrate Qedoc modules into web pages and web applications. These are generally better than and/or easier than HTML conversion.
- Web launching of quizzes, which involves the insertion of "launch me" buttons onto your web pages. Every module in the Qedoc repository has such a "launch me" button and you can drop the code into your own website. This is the most popular (and by far the easiest) way to put Qedoc onto your website. The technical details are discussed under JNLP deployment but ordinary users just need to drop in the code.
- Click-and-start
- Moodle integration
- In version 1.4.4, support for Moodle XML format was added for both importing and exporting quizzes. This has the advantage of linking Qedoc into the world's leading open source virtual learning environment (Moodle), where learners can take their quizzes in a purely browser-based online environment. The downside is that Moodle's user interface isn't yet as interactive as that of the Qedoc Quiz Player and doesn't offer as many question types.
- As of version 2.7.0, the Qedoc Quiz Player can be integrated directly into Moodle and interact with Moodle. For example, if the Qedoc Player is launched from Moodle, the Qedoc Player receives a temporary pointer to a record of the user's identity and can submit results back into Moodle for that user. This places the entire ability of the Qedoc software at Moodle's disposal - e.g. all 100+ question types can be used from within Moodle, rather than the half dozen or so supported by Moodle's "quiz module".
- SCORM packaging
- LMS/VLE integration, allowing developers of learning management systems and virtual learning environments to adapt their products to allow Qedoc integration.
Other web-linked services available with Qedoc
The Qedoc Quiz Player comes in both a desktop version and a web-based version. The desktop version also links up to web services, and these web services may be what you are really interested in. The most important web services attached to the Quiz Player are these:
- Email submission of results: there is currently an experimental feature whereby student results are emailed back to the teacher.
- Halls of fame: students results from classes can be uploaded and shared in a hall-of-fame (or ladder) feature. The hall-of-fame feature is managed entirely from within the Quiz Player interface. Students need only click a single button, and their results are uploaded, shared and displayed alongside those of their classmates.
Limitations on HTML deployment
This section is for technically curious people who want some answers about HTML deployment.
A large part of the idea behind the Qedoc quiz software is to go beyond what conventional web-based testing and training can achieve. This principle means that by definition, a complete conversion of Qedoc learning modules into HTML format is impossible. Qedoc goes where HTML cannot. It is supposed to do this. It is designed to do this.
There are two main weaknesses of HTML deployment:
- Lack of pedagogical depth.
- Security. Web browsers were never designed to be secure testing environments. Features such as the back-button, right-click page code viewing and browser cache are the first things students will try in order to cheat. Cheating itself is rampant in electronic environments - a student may be reluctant to cheat their teacher, but cheating a computer is often not considered so unethical. Even if the back-button, context menu and cache problems can be defeated, browsers remain an inherently insecure environment for test taking with plenty of subtler weaknesses.
Nevertheless it is possible to produce HTML quizzes from Qedoc learning modules (e.g. by converting to Moodle XML format). "Produce from" falls short of complete conversion. The idea is not to convert, but to do something useful for learners and educators who prefer these kind of simplified environments for their learning.
