We are very pleased to announce that ATutor has received a Gold IMS Learning Impact Award for 2008. These awards recognize high impact use of technology to improve learning across all industry segments and in all regions of world. ATutor also received three best in show awards for best personalized learning solution, best open source learning platform, and top vote getter from attendees at the conference. Congratulations goes to everyone who has contributed over the years, once again. We're on a roll! Keep up the good work.

*IMS Press Release (pdf)*
http://www.imsglobal.org/pressreleases/IMSPR-LIAWinners2008.pdf

*ATutor 1.6.1 Beta Released*
ATutor 1.6.1 Beta is now available for review and testing. ATutor users should take this opportunity to test the system, reporting any bugs they may come across to the Bug Reports Forum, or suggesting feature adjustments if they come across functionality that might be tweaked. Over the coming few weeks a number of pre-release versions of ATutor 1.6.1 will be made available, leading up the the final release of ATutor 1.6.1 some time near the end of June.

*New Features in This Release*

*Patcher*: Available as an addon module for version 1.6, the Patcher module has been integrated into ATutor as a standard module. Patcher allows administrators to update their systems with new features and patches issued at update.atutor.ca in between releases. It also allows developers to create patches for new features etc. that can easily be merged into ATutor to become a permanent part of the public source code.

*WCAG 2.0 Conformance*: The default theme has been updated to conform with the recently released WCAG 2.0 accessibility guidelines. Primary adjustments include the addition of fieldsets to group related form fields, and focus highlighting to make it easier to see where the cursor is located when navigating through ATutor using a keyboard.

*TinyMCE Editor Update*: TinyMCE has been updated to version 3.0.8, and that annoying conversion of saved content to a blob of text has now been resolved. TinyMCE also now preloads when the content editor is opened, so it is possible to switch between the text editor and visual editor without having to reload the page.

*Custom HEAD for Content Pages*: Content authors can now include custom HTML HEAD information with content pages, so custom styles or scripts, or references to styles or scripts, can be included to control the look and or functionality of content. Includes added support for eXe created content, maintaining styles and scripting in content packages generated by the content authoring tool.

*Fluid Theme*: A new experimental version of the default theme has been added that integrates the Fluid libraries, allowing users to drag-and-drop interface components to a new location on the screen to suit their preferences (e.g. drag the menu from the left to right side)

*Password Encryption*: In addition to administrator password encryption added in 1.6, all users' passwords are now encrypted

*Media Tag Parameters*: the [media] tag can now take height and width parameters to customize the size in which media displays. It also allows YouTube videos in languages other than English.

*Pretty URLs*: Administrators can enable Pretty URL to replace various URL variables with a more readable form, which Google can now index so course content can be searched using Google. Instructors can also define a course directory which gets added to the URL while in a course. Apache mod_rewrite can also be turned on to pretty URLs further.

*Auto Login and Enroll*: After registering, new users are automatically logged into My Start Page. Administrators can set an enrolment trigger. When a new user follows the trigger link, they are automatically enrolled in the courses associated with the trigger when they register.

*Test Pass/Fail Feedback*: Define a pass score for a test, and feedback for passed and failed attempts, and have the appropriate feedback displayed automatically when a student views their test results.

*New Modules*

*Google Talk*: Adds instant messaging to ATutor for live chats

*Google Calendar Module*: Users can integrate their personal Google Calendar into ATutor.

*Resume Test Feature*: Students can return to a test they started previously, and continue from where they left off.

*Certificate Module*: Based on a pass score on a test, automatically issue students a certificate.

*Forum Archive Module*: Instructors can export forums from finished courses as an HTML archive.

*Translation*
There are approximately 70 new language items added in this version of ATutor. Translators should login to MyATutor to update the languages they are maintaining.

*MyATutor Translation*
http://www.atutor.ca/my/

Source: Got from aTutor via eMail

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