As the popularity of eLearning continues to grow, more and more academic institutions and corporate training and development departments are developing content and delivery systems for Internet based “online” education, training and development. Oracle lab environments may call for access to specific Oracle applications, products, and tools, and the feasibility of having every user or student locally install a required lab environment is low due to constraints with licensing, technical support, local hardware and software available, and the level of expertise of the end-user. The use of thin-client technology appears to present a solution to this problem. This report reviews the design and implementation of an extensible eLearning Information Systems architecture that allows integration of Oracle 8i and 9i development and administration tools with content delivery systems in online corporate training and development initiatives, and distance education and eLearning programs by delivering a “virtual-lab” (V-lab) environment. By utilizing current compression and streaming technology from protocol vendors such as Citrix, the advent of the “thin-client/ server laboratory”, or V-lab, is here and is supported by an educational format (pedagogy) and information systems architecture that significantly advances the ability of corporate and educational institutions to deliver viable, quality instruction of Oracle application development tools, GUI based resources, and Information System modeling and data analysis tools via the web. Attendees of this presentation will be familiarized with the platform architecture and associated technologies used to integrate and deliver GUI application based tools with the academic course content through the Internet, as well as the concept of “infomediation”. The principle outcomes of the report will be a detailed analysis of the platform architecture and associated Internet, broadband, and application integration technologies used to deliver Oracle via thin-client/server technologies, the performance metrics of the platform, a suggested academic support model, and associated deliverables for designing and implementing the system with new and existing organizational information systems.
['Samuel S. Conn']
Platform Architecture and Features for Thin-Client/Server Delivery for Oracle Interface and Tools