Lrn: E-Learning inside and outside the classroom: Supporting collaborative learning communities using a web application toolkit

Abstract

LRN is an Open source Web portal and Web application toolkit designed to support both large and small communities of practice and learning inside and outside of educational institutions and the enterprise.LRN has the features of a complete Course Management System, but is focused on supporting collaborative online learning communities that often go beyond the typical institutional or course based setting. This chapter describes the main features of.LRN, gives an overview of its modular and adaptable technical architecture, includes case studies from projects the authors are directly involved with (which help highlight the benefits of the platforms open source nature and its high performance capabilities), and concludes by giving a quick summary of the future direction of.LRN and the not-for-profit corporation that has formed around the software. © 2007 Springer.