Invitation to tender: development of the Common Awards Virtual Learning Environment

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MINISTRY DIVISION OF THE CHURCH OF ENGLAND

Invitation to tender: development of the Common Awards Virtual Learning Environment

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Contents

Business requirements

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System functional requirements

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Business requirements

ID

Requirement

Description

Obligation Notes and references

B01 Service delivery To serve as a trusted partner to the Ministry Division of the Church of England in the development and continuing maintenance and support of the Common Awards VLE.

M

B02 Project team The supplier will make available to the project a dedicated project team with named contacts and responsibilities, one of which will be the lead contact for the account.

M

B03 Client communications The supplier will provide regular project updates by e-mail and telephone, and will be available for face-to-face meetings as directed by the client.

M

B04 Reporting The supplier will provide to the client monthly project progress reports, including operational status summary and project progress against delivery and financial milestones.

M

B05 User support The supplier will provide a user helpdesk service providing telephone and e-mail based user technical support.

M The tender bid should include helpdesk service levels and a costing framework, based on office business hours/out of hours support, ticketing systems and response times. B06 Training and roll-out As part of the tender bid, the supplier will

provide a framework and timescale for the roll-out of the VLE system to the constituent communities/Theological Education Institutions (TEIs).

M The tender bid should include proposals for the provision of user training on an ongoing basis, which should be focused on ‘teacher’ users only.

B07 Documentation Full system technical documentation will be provided to the client no later than 3 months after delivery and sign-off of the live VLE system.

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System functional requirements

ID

Requirement

Description

Oblig-ation

Notes and references

F01 System architecture The VLE will be a centrally hosted system accessible to constituent TEIs via web browser. System architecture will comprise TEI 'portals', through which TEI tutors and students will access the courses and learning resources specific to their institution.

TEI portal's design will be fully customisable by TEI system administrators.

M A suggested system architecture is provided in Annex A. Web browser and platform compatibility is detailed in T09 and T10 below.

F02 System administration System administrators at TEI level should be able to monitor, customize and control their portal from a standard web browser. Facilities should include:

• adding and removing system users; • controlling access by setting

appropriate security permissions; • reporting staff, student and course

statistics;

• setting storage quotas for individual courses;

• contacting users about system maintenance;

• regular, unattended, incremental backups of the system.

M Web browser compatibility is detailed in T09 and T10 below.

F03 Course administration The system should provide a structured means for tutors to create course outlines giving an overview of the course structure and dates for tutorials, assignments, assessments, lectures, video conferences and so on.

M The pedagogic strategy for the delivery of the Common Awards is centred on a ‘blended learning’ approach, combining face-to-face (peer to peer, teacher to student, student in the workplace and site visits) with technology supported learning and assessment.

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course pages and content directly.

Whilst some of the following modes of teaching, learning and assessment will largely take place outside of the VLE, the holistic formulation of each module of study and assessment should be recognised and accommodated for within the VLE solution.

Each course module could combine a mix of some the following teaching and learning modes:

Lectures Small group learning

Virtual discussion forums

Seminars Tutorials Practical classes Guided reading Programmed online learning Placements or Work Based Learning Context placements based learning and supervision Supervision / Spiritual direction Independent research

Supervision Visits Action Learning Sets

Case studies

Note that there are small variations in the lists of

recommended teaching and learning modes for each of the awards.

F04 Enrolment of learners The VLE will facilitate the enrolment of learners at TEI level by system administrators against specific course/award criteria. Enrolment data may exist separately and be imported into the CA VLE.

The VLE must facilitate the storage and export of this data in a standardised format.

M Each of the nine awards has recommended entry

requirements, such as formal educational qualifications or work experience.

A common entry requirement to all awards is a language proficiency qualification (IELTS) where the prospective student does not have English as a first language.

F05 Assessment Tutors must be able to monitor student

readiness and progress by setting formative and

M Each module contains both formative and summative assessment. For the former, students will be expected to

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It should be possible to both mark assessments online and submit documents electronically to the tutor for marking.

The TEI may upload marks/transcripts to the hub based on manual entry by tutors. Assessments should be password protected.

demonstrate engagement with the subject matter and the learning outcomes throughout the module by suitable formative assessments that encourage integrative and reflective skills.

Formative assessments will not be formally marked, whereas summative assessments are, with achievements contributing towards award.

Module summative assessments, which are formally marked and contribute to an award, will take one of the following formats, as selected by teachers:

Written assignment Written examination Group project Portfolio Theological reflection Project-based task / output Presentation Book review Placement or

visit report Creative

resources for others

Language tests Time-limited tests Reflective journal Performing practical skills Literature review Project report Practical skills

assessment

Note that there are variations in the percentile composition of marks leading towards each of the different (nine) awards, and these are likely to vary from TEI to TEI. It is likely, however, that for the BA, as an example, they will fall in the following range:

% derived from formal examinations 0 - 20

% derived from summatively assessed coursework 80 - 90 % derived from dissertation or project 0 - 20

F06 Electronic submission of coursework by students

The VLE will facilitate the electronic submission of coursework by students, using

M Once coursework has been fully assessed and moderated, marks are made available to the student.

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F16 below). F07 Access by external

examiners

The VLE will provide managed/restricted access for third party external examiners to selected coursework.

O Restricted access by third parties such as external examiners will be subject to identity validation and password protection and managed by TEI system administrators.

F08 Submission of marks to validating body

The VLE will facilitate the electronic

submission of assessed coursework and marks to the registry of the validating body (Durham University).

M In the initial period of implementation, it is likely the validating body will require only a summary of marks at module level in data format.

When teachers assign grades, these should not be

visible/published until moderated. Only then are grades made visible to students and made available to the central VLE and validator/exam board.

F09 Personalisation and student accounts

Students should be able to access their own course details and performance information, subject to appropriate password control. They should also be able to access details of their enrolment options, class lists, student home pages, a calendar, address books and directory services. The VLE must provide easy-to-use navigational tools and allow students to add bookmarks to record their progress.

Such access will be subject to data protection legislation (DPA 2002).

R The system could provide access to a wide range of information about the TEI, ideally tailored to the needs of individual students via a ‘portal’. Examples of services to be provided include:

• student clubs and organizations;

• college facilities, policies and procedures; • financial aid, student accounts;

• marketing information on courses for existing and potential students.

The VLE will require users to periodically update/change passwords and provide the facility for users to manage their usernames, passwords and other registered details.

F10 E-portfolios The VLE will provide all learners with the ability to create a personal learning space/e-portfolio, to store relevant coursework, awards and certificates.

The e-portfolio will allow the export of data in a standardised format.

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tracking

The system should provide tutors and administrators with an overview of individual student progress from course enrolment to course completion/graduation.

Learner tracking should enable the recording and reporting of data comprising, for example, marks/grades, total module credits gained, dates and outcomes of external placements.

R The programme is credit based, with each module

representing 10, 20, 40 or 60 credits towards achievement of the full award.

Unusually for HE degree work, the Common Awards contain and accommodate for a significant element of work-based learning and placement, with a strong emphasis on personal skills development.

All modules contain an element of ‘Programmed Online Learning’, comprising materials designed to guide students through the knowledge content, its wider framework and different approaches to its application.

F12 Management systems integration: learner data and authentication

The VLE should be able to demonstrate the potential to use standardised

means/technologies to share/exchange data with institutional management systems.

The TEIs currently use a variety of means to manage student data, from spreadsheets, to proprietary databases to vendor specific platforms.

Suppliers may include as part of their bid, a schedule and framework of costs for working with individual TEIs at local level to integrate user authentication and learner data with local management information systems.

O The survey of TEIs (summary report is contained in Annex B) reveals that a variety of Management Information Systems are used, including Access (3), Excel (3), Content Management System (1), AMP Educator (1), SharePoint N(1), web databases (2), document store systems (1), and a combination of databases (1). These are variously hosted on Microsoft and/or (My)SQL compatible platforms.

F13 Integration with existing local VLE systems

A proportion of TEIs have expressed a desire to maintain existing VLEs alongside the new CA VLE. Suppliers may demonstrate how, through standardised data exchange or other

mechanisms, the system can allow data and content to be exchanged between local systems.

O May include data associated with learners enrolled on courses outside the Common Awards syllabus, or not registered with the Common Awards validating body (University of Durham).

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mechanisms to allow the interaction of :

• Tutors:tutors • Tutors: students • Students:students using 1:1 and 1:many models.

Teachers must have the ability to manage email addresses of their students, to create groups and mailing lists.

M

F15 Synchronous communications

Synchronous communications channels will facilitate the delivery of online seminars and lectures and live tutor-to-student

communications. These may comprise:

• Video conferencing • Webinars

• Chat

R The VLE should enable system administrators to post live service updates to all users in the event of, for example, planned system updates or interruptions of service.

F16 Asynchronous communications

Asynchronous communications channels will facilitate the exchange of knowledge and information, assignments, content and resources. These may comprise:

• Integrated e-mail • SMS

• Discussion groups • Forums and communities

R NOTE: it may be a requirement for integrated e-mail to synchronise with existing college/TEI-based e-mail addresses.

Discussion groups, forums and online communities should support topic based, threaded discussions, with sufficient security protocols in place to protect individual privacy and to mitigate against abuse.

F17 Anti-plagiarism services The VLE will provide anti-plagiarism functionality.

M As TurnitIn is the most widely used anti-plagiarism solution in Higher Education institutions, it is advisable to base any proposals around this particular package. Note that not all assessment submissions will be submitted electronically, and consequently the use of any anti-plagiarism software needs to

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presentation

The user-experience of the Common Awards VLE should align with the culture and ethos of the Ministry Division of the Church of England. Suppliers will demonstrate how they intend to design the presentation of the user interface of the VLE to ensure a positive and engaging experience for students and teachers alike. TEIs should be able to localise/tailor their portals/pages/courses to their own needs.

M Beyond awareness raising and user-training programmes, the Ministry Division of the Church of England expects the Common Awards VLE to 'sell itself' to users, through innovative functionality, dynamic design and - above all - intuitive navigation.

The successful supplier will be expected to work with Ministry Division and a TEI 'Champions group' to agree an overall design and branding approach, based on existing guidelines.

F19 Search The VLE will provide an effective means for users to search for courses, content, resources, support, guidance and peers.

It is expected that most searches will be focussed on the local TEI portal.

R See T06 - Information Architecture below.

F20 Content management The VLE will provide the means for tutors to store and access content and resources, both within their local system (TEI portal) and through the global system.

The approach to content creation, storage, search and access will be subject to the requirements laid out in System Technical Requirements T04 and T06 below.

M

F21 Access to third party digital repositories/libraries/resour ce networks

The VLE will facilitate access to third party federated resource repositories through standardised SAML-based protocols, such as the Shibboleth Identity Service.

In particular, CA tutors and students may need authenticated access to collections in the University of Durham digital library, subject to agreement.

M Shibboleth SSO: http://shibboleth.net

Standards-based federated access to digital content may need to be facilitated by membership of a trusted provider network, such as The UK Access Federation: http://www.ukfederation.org.uk/

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reporting

System administrators should be able to harvest, interrogate and report as a minimum:

• Enrolments • Retention data • Copyright usage • Subscribed/paid courses • Anonymised portal usage data • Course outcomes, success rates,

marks/grades

M Tenderers may also consider offering reporting functions covering:

• lists of students with photos and backgrounds for each class; individual student records (eg results) • class email lists

• marking schedule (name / date) • results by student and modules

F23 Curriculum support All TEIs will require centralised access to information, support and guidance on the Common Awards curriculum.

M .

F24 Future developments Tenderers are invited to submit proposals in respect of VLE development over time to accommodate upgrades and new functionality, and improvements to user experience.

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System technical requirements

ID

Requirement

Description

Obligation Notes and references

T01 Hosting The supplier will provide an independent and dedicated hosting environment for the CA VLE.

M As part of the tender bid, the supplier will provide a fully detailed hosting specification, covering server specification, load balancing, disaster recovery, data back-up, server mirroring, system

security/firewalling.

The hosting environment/datacentre will conform to a minimum Tier 3 level:

• Single non-redundant distribution path serving the IT equipment

• Non-redundant capacity components

• Multiple independent distribution paths serving the IT equipment

• All IT equipment must be dual-powered • Concurrently maintainable site infrastructure

with expected availability of 99.982%

As part of the hosting specification, the supplier will make clear the Data Protection implications should hosting facilities be based outside the European Economic Area (EEA).

T02 Data centre access/inspection The supplier will make available the datacentre for inspection by the

client/representatives of the client at any mutually agreed date.

O

T03 Technical support and maintenance

The supplier will provide a technical

helpdesk/ticketing service and a framework of costs for technical support, maintenance and further development of the VLE system.

M The technical support service will include fault and bug fixing at no additional cost to the client.

As part of the service level, the supplier will provide a dispute resolution procedure.

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redundant managed storage servers, either single array/direct, or network (SAN) to support the media handling, archiving and database requirements of the system.

M Short term storage requirements are likely to be less than 2TB in total.

The supplier should provide a schedule of costs for future storage capacity growth.

T05 Media handling The system will support the embedding of video, image, audio and text media types within course content.

M As part of the tender bid, the supplier will provide an overview of all compatible media types.

T06 Information architecture Annex A demonstrates expected system architecture: with a centrally hosted VLE system accessible via multiple client TEI portals.

It is anticipated that content and resources will be referenced via a system of structured metadata that could be stored centrally in a metadata repository (see T07).

R It is possible that content and resources could be stored at a number of levels:

• local level (TEI portal), • global level (VLE hub),

• external TEI systems/existing VLEs. Using centrally stored metadata records, it should be possible to track content and resources in multiple locations.

T07 Taxonomy and metadata To ensure content and resources are

efficiently stored and retrieved, sharable and reusable, the supplier will create a standards-based descriptive data model, using accepted schema.(A suggested model may be

IMS/IEEE Learning Object Metadata (LOM)).

The data model must incorporate the elements needed to:

• Record Student ID/unique ID • Acknowledge and identify

intellectual property rights

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Common Awards curriculum • Indicate cost and/or subscription

requirements

T08 Data security The supplier will ensure, and be able to demonstrate that data is protected from both accidental and malicious exposure.

Procedures should cover both hardware and software, and include disk encryption, full back-up /data loss/disaster recovery procedures, data masking,

physical/environmental security and access control.

M Reference: BS ISO/IEC 27002 - 2005

T09 Mobile access and cross-platform browser support

The VLE will support access across the following browsers: Internet Explorer 8 + Google Chrome Mozilla Firefox Opera 10 + R

T10 Mobile access and cross-platform browser support

The VLE will support access across the following devices:

• IOS based mobile devices • Android OS based mobile devices