# TIM - The Interactive Material

TIM (The Interactive Material) is an open-source cloud-based platform for creating interactive learning documents such as:

• lecture notes
• eBooks
• exercises
• exams
• learning analytics dashboards
• manuals
• workbooks
• discussions

TIM can be used for:

• teaching:
  • normal lectures
  • peer instruction
  • self studying
  • group work
  • MOOC
  • Flipped Classroom
• documentation

For more information about TIM, please see our "About TIM" page.

Installing and running TIM

TIM can be run on systems that support Docker. To install and run TIM, refer to the following guides:

• Installing TIM
• TIM quick install scripts

Building and development

Currently, most development documentation is in Finnish only.

The most important documents are the following:

• Introduction to TIM development: Getting familiar with the basics of TIM
• Coding conventions: Guidelines on how to write new code
• PyCharm: How to set up PyCharm for TIM development
• Autogenerated API docs

More documentation can be found in the TIM development folder.

TIM and research

TIM is a diverse platform with support for learning analytics, general educational research and practice. If you use TIM as a part of your work, please consider adding the following citation:

@inproceedings{TIMLessIsMore2019,
  title={Less is More! Preliminary Evaluation of Multi-Functional Document-Based Online Learning Environment},
  author={Isom{\"o}tt{\"o}nen, Ville and Lakanen, Antti-Jussi and Lappalainen, Vesa},
  booktitle={2019 IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE)},
  pages={1--5},
  year={2019},
  doi={10.1109/FIE43999.2019.9028353}
}