Voila

VOILA is a web-based authoring application which allows users to create video-oriented lessons that can be accessed online. By following a simple step-by-step process, authors can create dynamic presentations using text, images, video, audio, commentary, and supplemental materials. Lessons can also be aligned with system-defined standards to indicate which standards each lesson fulfills, a feature used by the School of Education to track CSTE standards. VOILA allows for peer or editorial review using designated authors and editors to manage the submission of lessons before publishing.

Once a lesson is finalized, VOILA will create a zip file that can either be placed on a web server of the author's choice, or navigated directly using a web browser. VOILA lesson templates currently use a combination of HTML, Javascript, and Cascading Style Sheets that can be modified to customize the presentation's look and feel.

There are two ways to access VOILA:

An author can request an account to access the online version hosted by the CDL. The online version allows for limited publishing capabilities.
An institution within the CSU can request an installable version from the CDL for use on a local server. The CSU installable version is a php-based application hosted on a server at the institution wishing to use Voila. The license for use and modification of the code base is for members of the CSU only.

Voila Core Team Members

Joshua Archer – Software Engineer, Project Manager
Susan Baur – Systems Administrator
Eric Cheng – Sr. Web Applications Designer
Lasse Christiansen – Software Engineer, PHP developer
Michelle LaMar – Software Engineering Manager
Matthew Roberts – Student Assistant Programmer
Jason Skinner – Student Assistant Documentation
Rachel Smith – Graphics Designer
Kathleen Willbanks – Marketing
Lou Zweier – Director

James Fouche, Ph.D. – Director
Brett Christie, Ph.D. – Co-Director
Janet Hardcastle – Co-Director
Mark Niemann – Co-Director

Related Info

The support documentation below is meant to assist users, installers and developers of VOILA. Any questions not addressed in the documentation can be directed to the Center for Distributed Learning.

Getting involved in the development of VOILA allows you to customize the application to serve your own needs and the needs of your users, create new templates, and extend the peer/editorial review publishing model. The application is built in php and based on open source technologies. Access to the source can be requested from the Center for Distributed Learning.

All of the above documentation can also be downloaded with this ZIP file:

voila_admin_docs.zip