It should be possible for students to cope with the limitations, although the impossibility to copy-paste URLs (impossibility to send a web reference by email) is a severe restriction.

The default layout of the communication tools (i.e. the forum) is less pleasant. Some developers might want to customize it.

- activity tracking ist in jeder der angesprochenen funktionen seit der v6 verfügbar. über die module ibt management information, ibt skill management oder auch den teletutoring workspace/desktop (ab v7) in je unterschiedlichen hinsichten mit standardberichten und -statistiken, die um individuelle berichte ergänzt werden können.

Time4You suggests to use the web based xhtml editor and structure editor to create courses.

Our experience however shows, that the xhtml editor is difficult to use, and requires more knowledge about xhtml files than with desktop (x)html editors. Even on a fast network the editor reacts slowly, which is a typical drawback of complex web applications. Informal polls reveal, that many users perceive the web based xhtml editor as clumsy and hence refuse to work with it.

As far as the integration of the numerous tools into a course is concerned: everything is done over the logically/hierarchically web interface. Unfortunately, this does not mean, that it is simple to use! Example: configuring a search tool for some content pages or a discussion forum is not intuitive, and we can't expect occasional course designers to do it. For an experienced support staff member however, this is a fairly easy task.

The platform is implemented in Java, JSP, JavaScript and XML/XSLT. It is possible to extend the functions or integrate complex content by programming in JSP, JavaScript and XSLT - the developers of Time4You have proved this, with the efficient development of custom extensions.

However, to be able to make extensions, one needs to know (and have experiences) with the achitecture framework, which is considerably complex. The URL and JavaScript API is documented and examples are available. The XML-processing framework (XSLT-Pipeline) is not in the online documentation. The more advanced JSP API is dedicated to accredited developers, and not to end users.

- ein ganz wichtiger punkt bei der scorm/aicc-integration ist in unseren augen die möglichkeit, eigene content-produktionen scorm- oder aicc-fähig zu machen. dies erfolgt über den cmi authoring workspace im ibt skill management. Moreover, there is no technical documentation available for the JSP and JavaScript APIs, or for the technical framework (XSLT-Pipeline)?

Course designers, who want to go beyond static xhtml pages will have difficulties. A technical documentation of the JSP/JavaScript API is missing. The use of the XSLT pipeline isn't documented either, which makes it too difficult to modify the existing stylesheets, or add new ones. (A technical documentation should however be available to certified partners)

The content pages are stored in the normal file system. Therefore it is possible to add a ftp- or WebDav-server to the machine, where the IBT-Server is running. This gives the authors transparent access to the content files.

The web interface to create and edit questions and quizz banks is complex and not intuitive. New course designers are lost without documentation at hand and they initial training is essential.

Entering a SCORM module does not necessarily open a new window, but can be embedded in the environment. This is an interesting and original implementation feature.

A more advanced approch is the adaptation of the system's XSLT stylesheets. The UI can be totally adapted (i.e. frame-free UIs are possible). Anything can be done - it only depends on the time/money that can be spent.

Adapting the UI requires a higly skilled XSLT and JavaScript expert/programmer, who also has intimate knowledge of the IBT-server architecture. It's also a problem, that the XSL processing framework is not documented.

It is therefore possible and and even natural to represent content in native XML and providing XSLT stylesheets to display it. Unfortunately, there is no public documentation or tutorial available, that tells how new stylesheets can be integrated into the complex processing framework, and what the pitfalls can be. (Cerified partners do have access to a internal documentation)

The system requirements are moderate. Multiple instances of the server can run on a common notebook without problems. Medium sized installations up to a few thousands of users run on a single server with Tomcat and mySQL. Frequently accessed data like user account informations are fully cached in RAM.

An internal API is available that allows to implement gateways etc. to make the authentication and user management system interoperable with other directory/authentication systems.

A weak point is the documentation: There's almost no technical documentation and just little admin documentation (that would i.e. be needed to make IBTServer interoperable with SWITCH-AAI)

With regard to student numbers, different licensing models are available too.

• Java Runtime Environment
• Database: Hypersonic SQL (bundled with IBT-Server). Recommended database for production servers: Oracle, MS-SQL, MySQL (any DB with JDBC driver?)