A Brief Primer on Interactive WhiteBoard/ Common File Format Conformance for End-User Institutions, Faculty, and Buyers of Third-Party Services and Tools for integration into Learning Platforms

 

The IMS Interactive WhiteBoard/Common File Format (IWB/CFF) specification defines a file format to hold content primarily designed to be viewed on a large display. Much of this content is designed to be interactive, so objects can move around the page.

The primary goal of this format is to establish a way to organize files that can be opened, edited, saved and used across many whiteboard applications so that teaching content can be exchanged between establishments. To this goal the format must be simple but extendible in a restricted way to ensure compatibility.

Background

The initial work on the Common File Format was done in 2009 by BECTA in the UK.  When BECTA dissolved, IMS was asked to take over the maintenance and evolution of the Common File Format.

Since IMS would be maintaining the specification, the initial work completed was to make a small number of changes to the original specification. IMS intends to evolve the Interactive WhiteBoard/Common File Format specification based on the requests of its members and the end-user learning community.

As stated, the changes from the original BECTA specification were minor in order to allow organizations who had already made an initial investment in the format to make small changes in order to utilize the new specification.  There were no functional changes to the original specification, no elements were added or removed.

IWB/CFF Conformance
IMS maintains a IWB/CFF conformance validator at http://validator.imsglobal.org/iwb  This tool is available to the public free of charge and may be used to test IWB/CFF files. Conformance to the IWB/CFF specification is granted to IMS Members who participate in a community. IMS only certifies specific named products and specific versions of those products.  IMS certification means that the supplier has committed to working with the IMS community to actively resolve issues that may arise. IMS Conformance makes no representation to the quality of content.

IMS provides a list of the platforms that have achieved conformance. The list is available at http://www.imscert.org/

Support for IWB/CFF Features

IMS also provides a table that indicates the mandatory features that conformant IWB/CFF files / products must support

Table 1. IWB/CFF Features

Item	Attribute	Mandatory
.iwb filename extension		Yes
Content.xml file required		Yes
IWB namespace required		Yes
SVG namespace required		Yes
XLINK namespace required		Yes
Tag
element	background	Yes
	flip	Yes
	locked	Yes
group		Yes
iwb		Yes
	version	Yes
	xmlns	Yes
	xmlns:svg	Yes
	xmlns:xlink	Yes
	xmlns:xsi	Yes
	xsi:schemaLocation	Yes
link		Yes
meta		Yes
tspan		Yes
	Type	Yes
svg:a		Yes
	xlink:href	Yes
	xlink:href=”*.wav”	Yes
	xlink:href=”*.mp3”	Yes
svg:circle		Yes
	fill	Yes
	fill-opacity	Yes
	stroke	Yes
	stroke-width	Yes
	transform	Yes
svg:ellipse		Yes
	fill	Yes
	fill-opacity	Yes
	stroke	Yes
	stroke-width	Yes
	transform	Yes
svg:g		Yes
	fill	Yes
	fill-opacity	Yes
	stroke	Yes
	stroke-width	Yes
	transform	Yes
svg:image		Yes
	xlink:href=”*.jpg”	Yes
	xlink:href=”*.bmp”	Yes
	xlink:href=”*.gif”	Yes
	xlink:href=”*.png”	Yes
	requiredExtension	Yes
	transform	Yes
svg:line		Yes
	stroke	Yes
	stroke-width	Yes
	transform	Yes
svg:video		Yes
	xlink:href=”*.mpeg”	Yes
	requiredExtension	Yes
	transform	Yes
svg:page		Yes
svg:pageset		Yes
svg:polygon		Yes
	fill	Yes
	fill-opacity	Yes
	stroke	Yes
	stroke-width	Yes
	transform	Yes
svg:polyline		Yes
	Stroke	Yes
	stroke-width	Yes
	transform	Yes
svg:rect		Yes
	fill	Yes
	fill-opacity	Yes
	stroke	Yes
	stroke-width	Yes
	transform	Yes
svg:svg		Yes
	viewbox	Yes
svg:switch		Yes
svg:tbreak		Yes
svg:text		Yes
	fill	Yes
	font-family	Yes
	font-size	Yes
	font-style	Yes
	font-weight	Yes
	transform	Yes
svg:textarea		Yes
	fill	Yes
	font-family	Yes
	font-size	Yes
	font-style	Yes
	font-weight	Yes
	text-align	Yes
	transform	Yes
svg:tspan		Yes
	fill	Yes
	font-family	Yes
	font-size	Yes
	font-style	Yes
	font-weight	Yes
	text-align	Yes

A conformant whiteboard application that supports features that goes beyond what is specified in the table above may generate an IWB/CFF file from content that makes use of these additional features. However, since it may not be possible to represent these features in the IWB/CFF file format, it is not guaranteed that these features will be rendered correctly when the IWB/CFF file is opened by a different application or even the same application.
 
Requiring Interactive WhiteBoard/ Common File Format Support in Requests for Proposals (RFPs)

When issuing an RFP for tools or a platform that you wish to IWB/CFF support, you simply designate the version of IWB/CFF that you wish to have supported, along with the features. You do need to consider both content and platform acquisition requirements – as these need to support the IWB/CFF features you desire.

Procuring content:

1. If you already have a conformant whiteboard platform, determine what version your conformant whiteboard platform supports by looking it up in the IMS conformance table or by verifying its conformance registration number.
2. Click on the product name in the listing to see if your conformant learning platform has any approved exceptions.
3. Ask your supplier(s) to provide IWB/CFF conformant  content in the same version that your platform supports. Only IWB/CFF Content and Platforms with verifiable conformance registration numbers are IMS conformant.
4. You may also wish to require specific features of the IWB/CFF are used in content you procure. If so, specify which features from the table 1 above you desire.

Procuring a whiteboard platform:

1. Include in the RFP a requirement for an IMS Interactive WhiteBoard/Common File Format Compliant platform.
2. Indicate that a Conformance Registration Number must be provided in the proposal (Check the registration numbers online when you receive the proposals) .