Telecommunication technologies applied in the Virtual Corporate University Project at the Mexican Petroleum Institute

In the Mexican Petroleum Institute (IMP), the project on Virtual Corporate University is under development. This project integrates the research on telecommunication technologies adoption, learner and tutor support and computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) to design and develop an efficient infrastructure for web-based training (WBT). To insure interoperability, portability and reusability of training software and its independence from specific technologies, the integration of component and agent technologies is used as a basis for the software infrastructure development. In this work, the hardware/software platform for WBT is described. We also focus on the software components for CSCL that are considered essential for a constructivist environment for learning. Finally, agent architecture enabling component integration within the CSCL environment mounted over the Component Agent Platform is described. This technology integration enables the IMP to enhance its existing training program with resources of the Virtual Corporate University, in which groups of oil specialists (learners and tutors) could collaborate at different geographical areas.