With its partners, the TDL has been developing the Texas Learning Object Repository (TXLOR) as a statewide tool for storing and disseminating materials used in teaching and learning. Following a final development sprint that concluded in early September, the TDL launched a version of TXLOR on production hardware on Friday, September 10.
The TxLOR project is jointly funded by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) and the UT System Office of Health Affairs.
TXLOR consists of two connected systems: a submission workflow application and a DSpace repository for storage and dissemination of approved content. Learning objects and individual assets are submitted, reviewed, and approved through the submission workflow. Once approved, the assets are published via the SWORD protocol to the DSpace repository.
The DSpace site for TXLOR is available at the following URL: http://main-migrate.tdl.org/txlor-dspace/.
Ownership of the TXLOR project is transferring from UT TeleCampus to UT San Antonio. TXLOR project manager Junius Rowland will continue to manage the on-going development of TXLOR, and the TDL will continue to provide technical development work on the repository in Fall 2010.
Currently, the repository is populated with learning objects from a proof-of-concept repository developed at the University of North Texas. Those objects are part of THECB’s Texas Course Redesign Project, which is intended to revamp entry-level academic courses to improve learning outcomes and reduce costs. The TXLOR team, led by Rowland, will continue to ingest these materials from other institutions and enlist a group of faculty to use and evaluate the system as TXLOR expands its user base.
For more information about TXLOR or the Texas Digital Library, please contact the TDL program coordinator via e-mail at info@tdl.org or by phone at 512-495-4403.