Table of Contents

• DECALS
• Results of the DECALS Project
• Instructions for Setting up DECALS, and the Competency System UI
  • Code projects in this Github repository required to build DECALS
  • Prerequisites
  • VMware VM settings
  • Install Ubuntu OS
  • Install Eclipse Development Environment
  • Install Java 7
  • Install Java JDK
  • Install Apache Ant/Git
  • Install Apache Tomcat 7
  • Install Apache Solr DBs
  • Setup Apache Solr DB for DECALS DB
  • Setup Apache Solr DB for LR Registry DB
  • Download the source code from this repository
  • Setting up and building the decals-ui source project
  • Setting up the decals-ui and EwGWTLib projects
  • To build the decals-ui project
  • Building the LEVR components
  • Installing LEVR scripts
  • Creating a location for the database files
  • Install and configure the decals-ui project
  • Open decals/js/installation.settings for edit
  • Open /var/lib/tomcat7/etc/decals.competency.config.rs2 for edit
  • Open /var/lib/tomcat7/etc/decals.config.rs2 for edit
  • Installing the competency-ui source
  • Open /var/lib/tomcat7/webapps/ROOT/competency/index.html for edit
  • Open /var/lib/tomcat7/webapps/ROOT/competency/js/definitions.js for edit
  • Final Steps
• Contributing to the Project
• License

<a name="1_0"></a>DECALS

DECALS, stands for Data for Enabling Content in Adaptive Learning Systems. DECALS was a follow-on project to RUSSEL with disparate high-level goals, all of which were achieved during the two-year project.

GOAL 1: Improve search in the LR by adding “semantic search” capabilities.

GOAL 2: Enable authorized users to upload their own content to the LR. The LR contains pointers to content and metadata, but not the actual content. DECALS allows users who are interacting with the LR to store content in a persistent repository and make it discoverable in the LR.

GOAL 3: Provide content curation services to ADL’s Personal Assistant for Learning (PAL) projects.

GOAL 4: Define and implement decals that encode information about learning activities in a way that adaptive learning systems (e.g. PALs) can interpret and use to select or recommend activities.

GOAL 5: Evaluate whether adapting search to basic user preferences can improve learning. This addresses the question: “How much adaptation is really needed to increase effect sizes?”

GOAL 6: Improve the architecture and feature set of RUSSEL.

<a name="2_0"></a>Results of the DECALS Project

In achieving the goals stated on the previous page the DECALS team produced the following results:

RESULT 1: DECALS Application: The DECALS application turns the LR into a repository that learners and instructors can use to find resources matched to learning goals and preferences and to add additional relevant resources. It serves as a web-based search interface to the LR and provides a means for users to store resources and register them in the LR. DECALS includes RUSSEL’s repository capabilities, innovative search and discovery features, a competency management system, and the ability to produce “decals,” explained below.

RESULT 2: Evaluation: DECALS search was evaluated for usability and for its applicability as a learning tool. The results of this evaluation, which were positive, are reported separately.

RESULT 3: Content Curation: DECALS implements a web service infrastructure that exposes DECALS functionality so that other PALs and adaptive learning systems can use DECALS to manage and curate resources. DECALS includes content management services, meta-tagging services, and competency management services. DECALS is architected to allow third-party services such as machine-learning-based competency alignment services to be added as well.

RESULT 4: Competency Management: Most adaptive learning systems maintain information on the competencies (skills, knowledge, and abilities) that individuals have mastered or desire to master. Although not in the original scope of DECALS, it became apparent early in the project that PAL systems must maintain ontologies of competencies and store competency-based learner records. The DECALS team developed a competency management system that meets these requirements. The competency system can be accessed through a user interface or through a set of APIs. It uses information models derived from existing standards and modified by the DECALS team with input from an ADL competency alignment working group.

RESULT 5: Decals: DECALS tackled the problem of tagging content with metadata that is not only for human consumption but can also be interpreted by PAL systems and used to select or recommend learning interventions. These tags are called decals. Several possible formats for decals were researched. The format finally used is based on www.schema.org. It uses the JSON-LD representation of existing schema.org elements to represent decals and to associate them with resources and is documented at http://repo.decals.eduworks.com.

RESULT 6: RUSSEL Updates: To alleviate issues with the original Alfresco-based RUSSEL, the DECALS team re-architected RUSSEL to use a NoSQL database and web service middleware called LEVR™. RUSSEL functionality was then ported from the original RUSSEL implementation, improved for DECALS, and ported back to RUSSEL.

<a name="3_0"></a>Instructions for Setting up DECALS, and the Competency System UI

These are instructions for getting the RUSSEL, DECALS, and Competency System installed and running on a VMware VM running Ubuntu Linux version 14.04.3. These instructions can also be used to setup the system software on a server running Ubuntu Linux version 14.04.3.

<a name="3_0_1"></a>Code projects in this Github repository required to build DECALS:

• decals-ui
• EwGWTLib
• competency-ui
• LEVR
  • eduworks-common
  • levr-core
  • levr-base
• scripts
  • base-v2
  • base
  • competency
  • decals

<a name="3_0_2"></a>Prerequisites:

• VMWare Player 7.1.2 or higher OR
• A web server running Linux
• Ubuntu Linux 14.04.3 64 bit
• Java 7
• Tomcat 7
• Solr
• Eclipse Kepler v4.3 for Java EE Developers 64-bit and the GWT plugin

Download and Install VMware Player 7.1.2

<a name="3_1"></a>VMware VM settings:

• CPUs: 2
• RAM: 4GB
• Vitualization Engine: Intel VT-x/EPT or AMD V/RVI with Virtualize Intel VT-x/EPT or AMD V/RVI box checked
• VM OS: Ubuntu 14.04.3

<a name="3_2"></a>Install Ubuntu OS

Download Ubuntu 14.04.3 and install in the new VM

Ubuntu 14.04.3 LTS 64-bit installation in VMware player 2015

<a name="3_3"></a>Install Eclipse Development Environment

Download and install Eclipse Kepler v4.3 for Java EE Developers 64-bit on VM

Install GWT Eclipse Plugin

<a name="3_4"></a>Install Java 7:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:webupd8team/java
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install oracle-java7-installer
sudo apt-get install oracle-java7-set-default

<a name="3_5"></a>Install Java JDK:

sudo apt-get install default-jdk

<a name="3_6"></a>Install Apache Ant/Git:

sudo apt-get install ant git

<a name="3_7"></a>Install Apache Tomcat 7:

sudo apt-get install tomcat7

<a name="3_8"></a>Install Apache Solr DBs:

Download Solr

Untar file:

tar -zxvf solr-4.10.0.tgz

Copy contents of folder /solr-4.10.0/example/lib/ext/ to /usr/share/tomcat7/lib/

cp -r ~/solr-4.10.0/example/lib/ext/*.jar /usr/share/tomcat7/lib/

Edit file "tomcat-users.xml" in directory /var/lib/tomcat7/conf/ and setup these users:

<tomcat-users>
  <role rolename="manager"/>
  <role rolename="manager-gui"/>
  <role rolename="admin"/>
  <role rolename="admin-gui"/>
  <user username="tomcat" password="tomcat" roles="manager,manager-gui, admin, admin-gui"/>
</tomcat-users> 

<a name="3_8_1"></a>Setup Apache Solr DB for DECALS DB:

Copy contents of folder /solr-4.10.0/example/solr/ to /var/lib/tomcat7/darSolr

sudo mkdir /var/lib/tomcat7/darSolr/
cp -r ~/solr-4.x.x/example/solr/ /var/lib/tomcat7/darSolr/ 

Copy /solr-4.10.0/dist/solr-4.10.0.war to /var/lib/tomcat7/darSolr/darSolr.war

cp ~/solr-4.10.0/dist/solr-4.10.0.war /var/lib/tomcat7/darSolr/darSolr.war

set permissions on darSolr folder:

sudo chmod -R 755 /var/lib/tomcat7/darSolr/

Create file "darSolr.xml" in directory /var/lib/tomcat7/conf/Catalina/localhost/ with the following contents:

cd /var/lib/tomcat7/conf/Catalina/localhost/
sudo vim darSolr.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<Context docBase="/var/lib/tomcat7/darSolr/darSolr.war" debug="0" crossContext="true">
<Environment name="solr/home" type="java.lang.String" value="/var/lib/tomcat7/darSolr" override="true" />
</Context>

<a name="3_8_2"></a>Setup Apache Solr DB for LR Re