******************************************
CLAROLINE 1.5.3 - README
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TABLE OF CONTENT :

  1. DESCRIPTION
  2. LICENCE
  3. CREDITS
  4. INSTALL
  5. DOCUMENTATION
  6. CONTACT
  7. NEW FEATURES


1. DESCRIPTION
   ===========

Claroline is an Open Source software based on PHP/MySQL. It's a collaborative 
learning environment allowing teachers or education institutions to create and 
administer courses through the web.

The system provides group management, forums, document repositories, calendar, 
chat, assignment areas, links, user profile administration on a single and 
highly integrated package.

Claroline is translated in 28 languages and used by hundreds of institutions 
around world. The software was initially started by the University of Louvain 
(Belgium) and released under Open Source licence (GPL). Since then, a 
community of developers around the world contributes to its development.

2. LICENCE
   =======

Claroline is distributed under the GENERAL PUBLIC LICENSE (GPL) version 2.

See LICENCE.txt


3. CREDITS
   =======	

See CREDITS.txt file


4. INSTALL
   =======

See INSTALL.txt file

  PLEASE ENSURE YOU READ THIS FULLY BEFORE PROCEEDING WITH THE INSTALLATION.


5. DOCUMENTATION
   =============

Complete manuals for trainers and students are available in different languages 
at :

  http://www.claroline.net/documentation.htm


6. CONTACT 
   =======

        Universit catholique de Louvain
        54 grand Rue 1348 Louvain-la-Neuve BELGIUM

        phone : 32 (0) 10 47 85 48
        email : info@claroline.net
        web   : http://www.claroline.net
        Fax   : 32 (0) 47 89 39


7. NEW FEATURES
   ============

NEW FEATURES IN CLAROLINE 1.5.3 SINCE CLAROLINE 1.5.2
-----------------------------------------------------

* This is a maintenance release fixing the last bugs communicated by our user community

NEW FEATURES IN CLAROLINE 1.5.2 SINCE CLAROLINE 1.5.1
-----------------------------------------------------

* This is a minor bugs fixing release. Every tools have been widely tested, stablilized and securised.

NEW FEATURES IN CLAROLINE 1.5.1 SINCE CLAROLINE 1.5.0
-----------------------------------------------------

* PHP 5 compliancy


NEW FEATURES IN CLAROLINE 1.5 SINCE CLAROLINE 1.4
-------------------------------------------------

* LEARNING PATH. A completely new tool has been created allowing course manager 
to easily organize course resources for student in a framed learning path.

* WYSIWYG EDITOR. User are now able to create and edit their content on the fly 
and store it into documents, posts, announcements, messages, and quizzes.

* SCORM & IMS. Claroline is now compatible with IMS 1.1.2, SCORM 1.2 (minimal 
conformance level + optionnal Data Model Element) and SCORM 2004 (basic 
conformance). It means the platform is now able to import Content Package 
allowing exchange between various Learning Management Systems.

* LDAP AND EXTERNAL AUTHENTICATION. Claroline is now able to connect itself 
simultaneously to several external authentication systems, allowing to retrieve 
user settings from the outside. An LDAP example based on this technique is 
provided.

* LANGUAGES. New languages added. Claroline is now translated in 28 languages 
(Arabic, Brazilian, Bulgarian, Catalan, Croatian, Danish, Dutch, English, 
French, Galician, German, Greek, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Malay, Polish, 
Portugese, Russian, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Turkce, Vietnamese).

* SECURITY IMPROVEMENT. In Claroline 1.4, the init kernel was checking 
permission until the course level. The new claroline is more fine grained 
checking permission one step further : at tool level.

* COURSE HOME PAGE. New layout, leaving most of the display area to course 
manager, allowing him to fill it with his own content.

* COURSE BANNER. Navigation improvement allowing user to jump in a single click 
from one tool to another.

* AGENDA. Additional cross course calendar displaying synthetic monthly view of 
all the events related to a user.

* DOCUMENT. You can now create and edit HTML document on line. You can also 
create hyperlinks among documents. It means the Claroline 'Links' tool is 
deprecated. This feature is no taken in charge more completely by the 'document' 
tool renamed 'document and links' for the occasion.

* TRACKING AND STATISTICS. Performance and display optimization.

* FORUMS. Email notification of new post in a thread - Forum category categories 
are now movable.

* ANNOUNCEMENT. Possibility to send Messages to selected course members and 
groups. 

* USER HOME PAGE. Once logged users are now directly informs about new course 
events since last login.

* GROUP. Chat room for each group has been added.

* COURSE CATEGORIES. The course categories are not limited anymore to a single 
level. You can now create subcategory tree as deep as you want to arrange courses.

* PLATFORM ADMINISTRATION. Completely revamped user interface of the 
administration section. The phpMyadmin database manager isn't needed anymore. 
All the administration is handled through this interface.

* COURSE ENROLLMENT. After long usability tests, the course enrollment device 
has been completely changed to make it easier.


NEW FEATURES IN CLAROLINE 1.4 SINCE CLAROLINE 1.3
-------------------------------------------------

The main Claroline improvements are hidden behind the screen. We have totally 
recoded the Claroline Kernel to be more stable and more modular.

* SINGLE DB. Claroline is able now to work on a single DB.   The single DB 
feature is an option to choose at install step.

* LANGUAGE. New languages added. Claroline is now in 20 languages :   Arab, 
Catalan, Crotian, Chinese, Dutch, English, Finnish, French,   German, Galician, 
Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Polish,   Portugese, Spanish , Swedish, 
Tha, Turkish.

* LAYOUT. New 'liquid layout' spreading on all the window.   Introduction of CSS 
system.

* MAIN PAGE. New courses list display in a 'dynamic tree' system.   It allows 
the main page to display faster, especially on servers with important number 
of course.

* QUIZZ. Totally new quizz tool with 4 different question forms   (multiple 
choices / mutiple answers / fill inn / matching). The quizz tool  also allows : 
image attachment to questions, questions retrieval from another quizz, random 
question list generation.

* DOCUMENT. It automatically detects IMG tag inside HTML file offering  to 
upload the corresponding image.

* WEB CHAT. simple chat with archive function,

* FORUMS. Better protection for private forums

* COURSE ENROLLEMENT. Much simplified enrollment interface.

* LOST PASSWORD. Allowing user recover to recover his/her personnal   password

* ASSIGNMENT. New features allowing Course manager to remove,   edit, or hide 
assignements send by course students.

* USER. New interface and new features allowing each course manager   to insert 
additional information headings inside its own course.   Each course attendee 
can then fill these headings to provide the   information.

* ADMIN SECTION. Restore sytem to insert previously backed up courses.  Most 
admin tools have been consedirably simplified. Bulk user subribe,  possibility 
to deactivate self registration.

* IMPORT / EXPORT : backup and restore for Claroline to Claroline   import, to 
prepare IMS and WebCT to Claroline import,

* TRACKING. The ezBoo statistics tool has been removed.  and a complete tracking 
system is implemented recording   every user's action on the platform.


NEW FEATURES IN CLAROLINE 1.3 SINCE CLAROLINE 1.2
-------------------------------------------------

* LANGUAGE. New languages added. Claroline is now in 12 languages : Chinese, 
English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Polish,   Portugese, 
Spanish, Swedish and Tha.

* GROUPS. A new comprehensive group tool has been added. It allows to easily 
organise student groups, attribute them a tutor and create private forum and 
document area for each of them.

* ANNOUNCEMENTS. New annoucements can be sent by mail to students registered 
to the course.

* DOCUMENTS. You can now upload several files in one go by compressing them in 
a single zip file. Once uploaded the file is automatically uncompressed and 
the files structure accurately reproduced.

* COURSE INFO SECTION. An archive function has been added. It allows teacher 
to keep an archive copy of its course (useful when one needs   to modify the 
course for a new session but wants to keep tracks of the   previous session).

* WEB INSTALL. New functions allowing to upgrade from 1.2 and 1.1 versions to 
1.3 has been added. 

* ADMIN SECTION. The new PHPMyAdmin 2.3 has been included and admin tools   
completely rewritten.


NEW FEATURES IN CLAROLINE 1.2 SINCE CLAROLINE 1.1
-------------------------------------------------

* Claroline can be installed in a server sub-directory.

* UCL local settings have been removed (Faculties, IPM link, Course Program...).

* LANGUAGES. Claroline is now in 7 languages: English, Finnish, French, German,   
Italian, Japanese, Spanish. New language adding has been automated. You just   
need to add new language directory into claroline/lang dir. It is then available   
at Course creation as long as 'Modify Course Info' tool.

* WEB INSTALL. Open browser and go to (...)claroline/install to install new 
package.   WATCH OUT! The web install does not manage claroline1.1.1 upgrade to 
1.2.0 yet.

* TEXT EDITING. In almost all tools, URLs and emails are converted into links 
and new   lines into HTML new lines (tags <br>).

* AGENDA. New layout, clearer view (Month separation and mention of current 
day). Language date formatting automated.

* ANNOUNCEMENTS. Can be moved up and down the list through blue arrow.

* DOCUMENTS. '.php' files uploads are renamed '.phps ' (increase security).   
Renaming a directory doesn't remove its content comments anymore. Directories   
size calculation works with PHP 4.1+ (no problem with previous versions).

* STATS. Install bug fixed (no manual stats settings editing required). Users   
registered only once per session per course.

* ADMINISTRATION. Basic administration tool at claroline/admin/ protected   by 
'.htaccess' (protection only functional if Apache server). Contains   phpSysInfo 
(only functional in Linux servers) and phpMyAdmin 2.2.6.

* TODO. Improved from Admin point of view. You can clasify todos, attribute 
them to a developper, check state of progress and inform users that their todo 
is taken into account, at what stage and by who.


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                Europe, Belgium, Louvain-la-Neuve - July 7 2004
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