A Customized Open Source Content Management System to Support Collaborative Distance Learning: The J@LON Platform

Aimed at supporting a distance learning graduate course in "Quality and Risk Management in Healthcare" (ESSQU@D course), a collaborative learning environment has been designed and implemented (J@LON platform). This full Web based authoring tool is based on an object-oriented programming framework (Zope) and implements both native and customized features of a content management product (Plone). The system handles a core component, called a lesson. It allows teachers to aggregate single resources (documents, quiz, glossary term...). It provides students with a consistent and structured view of the content of a lesson. The Web based platform was initially developed to meet specific needs of the medicine campus. It has been extended to support the whole publishing process of pedagogical resources in the university. Its integration in the university information system is partly achieved with single sign on features (CAS authentication). Access to a centralized description of curricula still remains to enhance: it depends on an institutional reviewing of the database according to the policies of License, Master, and Doctorate schema. A multidisciplinary configuration of the platform is available, allowing students and teachers to be involved in several courses handled by a same instance of Zope / Plone.