Participation in Specification/Standardization
Activities• EduSpecs: Provide an opportunity for
Canada to influence the creation of common specifications and standards, and thereby enable sales of Canadian online learning materials around the world.
• Standards Council of Canada
Participation in Specification/Standardization
Activities• Participating membership in:
– IMS: Accessibility, Learning Design, etc.– ISO/IEC JTC1 SC36: Information Technology
for Learning Education and Training
• Sponsored membership in:– IEEE Learning Technology Standards
Committee
Featured Implementers
• Learn Alberta.ca• eduSource• CanCore
• A sample of the community in Canada using IMS specifications
LearnAlberta.ca portal
"allow efficient repurposing of learning objects to support curriculum development and management.“
-Alberta Learning
LearnAlberta.ca portal/repository
• audience-specific: students, teachers, parents, administrators, content providers, curriculum developers and other education stakeholders
• The learning objects will support Alberta Programs of Study, i.e. curriculum outcomes.
• Designed to support lifelong learning in Alberta
Content Packaging
• "defines a standardized set of structures that can be used to exchange content"
• Proof of concept implementation• Makes use of the "organizations"
section of the manifest: "describing zero, one, or multiple organizations of the content within a manifest"
Done in conjunction with license agreement with National Geographic Soc.
Currently under development; available Fall 2003
CA*Net 4 Connected Primary Partners
NewMICSFU Surrey
Netera
AthabascaUniv.
Univ. ofWaterloo
TechnologiesCogigraph
Téléuniversitédu Québec
TeleEducation
NB
Goals:
• Create a testbed of linked and interoperable learning object repositories across Canada
• Provide a forum for the ongoing development of the associated tools, systems, protocols and practices that will support such an infrastructure
Goals:
• Develop and promote national and international standards
• Be fully bilingual• Develop a community of practice• Be accessible to all Canadians
Work Package Teams
• Repository Content Development - Package Managers: NBDEN and NewMIC Foundation - Key Participating Partners: University of Waterloo; Cogigraph (Tele-universite)
• Digital Rights Management - Package Managers: NBDEN with NRC
• Testing and Evaluation - Package Managers: Netera and Cogigraph (Tele-universite)
• Metadata Development - Package Managers: Athabasca University and NBDEN - Key Participating Partners: Cogigraph (Tele-universite)
Work Package Teams
• Software Development - Package Manager: Cogigraph (Tele-universite ) Key Participating Partners: Athabasca University; NBDEN; NewMIC Foundation; Learning Commons, University of Calgary (in association with Netera)
• Hardware Integration - Package Managers: Netera and NewMIC Foundation
• Business and Management Models - Package Manager: Netera Key Participating Partners: NBDEN; Cogigraph (Tele-universite; University of Waterloo
• Community Building - Package Manager: University of Waterloo Key Participating Partner: Netera
• Project Management, Co-ordination and Communications Package Manager: Netera
Specifications:
Digital Repositories Interoperability:– OAI Metadata harvesting (Athabasca
University as lead)– Gateways to other recommended
protocols, including Z39.50
Learning Design for resource description and structure
Content packaging
DigitizedResourceRepository
MetadataRepository
MetadataRepository
Services
eLearningMiddleware
Services
ResourceManagement
Services
uses
1..* 0..*
1..*0..*
eduSourceServiceRegistry
«system»SPLASH
«system»ALOHA
«system»EXPLORA
2..*
1..*
2..*
1..*
1..*2..*
1..4
1..4
1..4
1..4
*
*
DRMservices
2..*
1..*
«uses»
«uses»
«uses»
0..*
1..*
«call»
ask service
«system»CAREO
IMS DRI: harvesting ECL: Edusource
Communication Language
Learning Designfor identification
of services
Content Packaging
«system»AD LIB
design by Gilbert Paquette, Technologies Cogigraph (Tele-universite)
ECL: eduSource Communication Protocol
• "a meta-protocol to prevent code duplication for protocol access and to simplify maintenance when protocols evolve"
• "built inside a SOAP XML envelop on top of HTTP to provide communication between protocols such as OAI and Z39.50"
Goals:eduSource Communication Protocol
design by Mike Mattson, Learning Commons, University of Calgary
CanCore
Application profile: "customization of a standard to meet the needs particular communities of implementers with common applications requirements."
Subset of LOM elements: 77 down to 56; 39 are active: ALL COVERED
Guidelines document: best practice recommendations, 175 pp.
CanCore E-learning specifications & standards
communities are largely concerned with syntax and technical interoperation
Effective metadata requires semantic specification and consensus
Incorporate best practice from library and heritage communities
Incorporate common practice from implemenations
No other body is doing this across e-learning projects
CanCore
LOMInformation Model: appx. 80 elements, little interpre-tation
Complexity decreases
Specificity and Interoperability increases
ImplementationCanCore
CanCore: what LOM metadata is NOT
Is not information to be directly exposed to end-users
Is not for version or rights management
Is not a content model
Vocabulary Definitions
Best Practice Recommendations
CanCore Guidelines
Survey of use
Technical Implementation Notes
Clarification
Guidelines revisions
• EduSource: primary partners– AU, Netera Alliance, Téléuniversité du Québec,
University of Waterloo, New Media Innovation Centre, TeleEducation New Brunswick.
• Alberta Learning• Centre recherche LICEF• Larger repository community:
– Eisenhower National Clearinghouse– CETIS; SESDL– ARIADNE– National Library
• Your input is welcome!
Element Subsets
• Different elements are important in different contexts
• Need to see what consensus arises around element implementation
• Many element values set through system development or system customization
Patterns of use inapplication profiles • Adapted from CETIS • Some consistency, some divergence
LegendRequired/Recommended
Optional/Conditional
Excluded/Not Supported