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| Product Name | Timecruiser Solution Suite |
|---|---|
| Developer Name | Timecruiser Computing Corporation |
| URL | www.timecruiser.com |
| Review Date | November 17, 2008 |
| Forums | Timecruiser Solution Suite Discussions |
| Reviewer | Email Review Staff |
| Communication Tools | |
| Discussion Forum |
Discuss |
| Discussion Management |
Discuss |
| File Exchange |
Discuss |
| Internal Email |
Discuss |
| Online Journal/Notes |
Discuss |
| Real-time Chat |
Discuss |
| Whiteboard |
Discuss |
| Productivity Tools | |
| Bookmarks |
Discuss |
| Calendar/Progress Review |
Discuss |
| Searching Within Course |
Discuss |
| Work Offline/Synchronize |
Discuss |
| Orientation/Help |
Discuss |
| Student Involvement Tools | |
| Groupwork |
Group Collaboration & Communication Tools Team interaction and real-time project collaboration is promoted through the LMS’s group collaboration features and functionality. With discussion forums, file exchange, real time chat, multi-media sharing, blogs, Team Collaboration functionality, CampusCruiser email, and shared calendars, wikis, students can work together in groups and exchange ideas. Discuss |
| Community Networking |
Discuss |
| Student Portfolios |
Students can share content from their personal files with the class, and submit assignments to the instructor easily through the My Assignments Tool. Discuss |
| Administration Tools | |
| Authentication |
Discuss |
| Course Authorization |
Discuss |
| Registration Integration |
Timecruiser provides three primary interfaces to interoperate with the external business systems: 1. Single-Sign-On – Timecruiser supports the industry standard LDAP authentication and CAS (Central Authentication Services) SSO protocols. In addition, to simply and to minimize the time for integration development, an HTTP-based SSO and data exchange open API developed by Timecruiser is also used when proprietary integration is needed. 2. Batch Data Feed – Timecruiser provides batch data feed utilities and Web-based tools to facilitate open exchange of student, course and class data with the customers’ backend systems. 3. Real-time Data Transactions – Timecruiser adopts an IMS-compliant open data exchange API to conduct real-time data transactions (XML over HTTP) with customer’s backend systems. An extension API based on Web Services standard will be offered to expand the interoperability. **CourseCruiser is developed to receive student, course and class enrollment data from the customers’ ERP systems using batch data feeds over HTTP/FTP or real-time IMS-compliant XML feeds over HTTP. Discuss |
| Hosted Services |
Discuss |
| Course Delivery Tools | |
| Test Types |
Discuss |
| Automated Testing Management |
Discuss |
| Automated Testing Support |
The Assessments Management Tools enable instructors to design, administer, grade, and re-purpose assessments. Assessment items can be stored in the searchable question bank and may be imported from external test banks. Discuss |
| Online Marking Tools |
Assessments Editor provides an online integrated quiz and test tool which can be linked to instructional material. Automatic scoring, direct link to the Gradebook, and student completion status reports are also available within this tool. Discuss |
| Online Gradebook |
The intuitive set up tool helps instructors to custom design their Gradebook. Available set up options include: grading scales, extra credit options, category configurations and weights, and synchronization with assignments. Sorting, viewing, editing, exporting, and printing the Gradebook make the Gradebook easy to work with. Through their personal Gradebook view, students may see what items have been graded and their overall grade. Instructor-published grades that the instructor has published are restricted to viewing by the instructor and the individual student. Discuss |
| Course Management |
The Faculty Workstation is the CourseCruiser control center, providing a central location where instructors can execute repetitive tasks one time for multiple sections of the same course. Content created for one course can be distributed to other courses, as well as be shared with other faculty members--leading to tremendous time savings for the faculty, leaving more time to teach students Discuss |
| Student Tracking |
Usage of all course content and materials is tracked and can be exported into various Student Tracking report configurations to measure student progress through course material and participation in online collaborative activities. Detailed, real-time information on students’ interaction with the class tools provides instructors with informative data to help assess students’ participation in the class. Because they’ll know exactly how each student is progressing through the course content, instructors can quickly intervene with students who may be falling behind --before it is too late. Tracking includes assignment views, downloads, uploads, discussion participation, clicks into class features, and time spent. Graphical drill-down functionality provides deeper detail for a richer understanding of student progress. Discuss |
| Content Development Tools | |
| Accessibility Compliance |
Discuss |
| Content Sharing/Reuse |
Discuss |
| Course Templates |
Discuss |
| Customized Look and Feel |
Each user’s interface is a personalized learning content delivery system that channels information according to roles — student, faculty or administrator — dashboard tools. Discuss |
| Instructional Design Tools |
The Course Designer is a pedagogically-neutral tool that enables instructional designers and instructors in the creation of dynamic, engaging courses. After using the content creation wizard to construct a set of Learning Units and unit elements based on their own pedagogy and teaching style, instructors and designers can link the units to assessments, surveys, message boards, assignments, chats, and more. By designing courses with Course Designer, faculty are better able to guide their students through the course because they can organize learning materials in accordance with a progressive learning path that they construct. Course content may be created directly in CourseCruiser, imported from other classes within the system, imported from other LMSs, or from a publisher package, such as Pearson Ed’s e-packs. Among the many options course designers/instructors have through the CourseDesigner are: - Integration of courses with assignments - Set up for feedback - Scheduled release of content to students based on calendar, sequence of weeks within a semester, or by test benchmarks. Discuss |
| Instructional Standards Compliance |
Discuss |
| Hardware/Software | |
| Client Browser Required |
Reviewer Comments System is 100% Browser-Based. Discuss |
| Database Requirements |
Discuss |
| UNIX Server |
Discuss |
| Windows Server |
Discuss |
| Company Details/Licensing | |
| Company Profile |
Reviewer Comments Timecruiser Computing Corporation has been a trusted software as a service (SaaS) partner to the higher education community since 1999. Timecruiser’s award-winning products are used by over 2.5 million students, faculty, and administrators at 90 institutions to • Improve Campus Communication • Implement Effective Course Management • Streamline Faculty Workload • Build Cohesive Campus Communities • Increase Efficiencies Campus-wide Discuss |
| Costs / Licensing |
Reviewer Comments Pricing is based on enrollment and is paid as a subscription price on an annual basis. Restricted licenses are available based on percentage of faculty licenses required. Discuss |
| Open Source |
Discuss |
| Optional Extras |
Reviewer Comments Timecruiser is able to customize its solutions to fit the unique requirements of the various segments of the higher education industry, such as the requirement of a flexible architecture that supports various pedagogical approaches. On-Demand Solution: Because CourseCruiser is delivered as an on-demand SaaS, there is no software to download, no upgrades to install, and minimal on-site IT support required. All this is delivered with significantly lower investment by the college than required when installing a self-hosted LMS.Attendance Sheets are generated from the student information system for click-and-pick tracking by faculty. Attendance Sheets: Real-time student attendance records facilitate compliance with attendance tracking for accreditation reporting. Users may print, export, custom code, and view summary data. Easy management tools are available to make custom event labels, mid-semester changes, and for easy recording. Scaleability/Reliability: CourseCruiser is well-equipped to manage high levels of concurrent users. The scalable system and software infrastructure allows it to expand capacity on the fly to handle usage bursts or sustained heavy loads. Timecruiser’s industry-leading SaaS solution delivers secure, high performance and highly customizable software applications to CourseCruiser users 24 by 7 without institutions’ direct involvement. Training and Support: is a dedicated Project Team that works with an institution’s own team every step of the way to ensure and expand the interoperability between CourseCrusier and other customer systems. Timecruiser’s wide range of training programs meet the varied needs of different types of users; Online self-paced, remote, instructor-led, and customized onsite options are available. Face-to-Face This is a 3-day hands-on training experience at your institution in a lab environment. A series of modules are chosen from the Training Library to accommodate Faculty, Instructional Designers and LMS Administrators. Webinars Timecruiser provides a synchronous virtual experience via our CruiserOnline training series, which is followed up with a Resource course including discussions, printable job aids, activities, and other additional resources. Self-paced Learning This type of training allows individuals to learn at their own pace, and on their own schedule. Learners will step through an online course via CruiserOnline, with a variety of learning materials readily available. Access to on-line Help and Support are included. Blended The “blended” environment is for the institution that has multiple needs. This type of training allows the institution to combine learning methodologies including Face-to-Face, Webinars, Self-paced, and Consultative Services. Blended training accommodates all learning styles and schedules. Consultative Services Consultative Services are delivered either remotely or on-site, and are tailored to a client’s unique needs. The consultative engagement is followed up with a set of deliverables (i.e. report, recommendations, etc.) In addition to the above training options, Timecruiser provides free training resources: -Free webinars on an on-going basis on a variety of topics pertaining to the teaching/learning experience. -Once training is complete, participants are invited to opt-in to CruiserAcademics, an online community of their peers from many colleges and universities world-wide, where they can collaborate and share ideas, discuss current trends in education, and even share course materials if they wish. Discuss |