Griff Richards

The interoperability of learning object repositories and services: standards, implementations and lessons learned

Interoperability is one of the main issues in creating a networked system of repositories. The eduSource project in its holisticapproach to building a network of learning object repositories in Canada is implementing an open network for learning services. Itsopenness is supported by a communication protocol called theeduSource Communications Layer (ECL) which closely implements the IMS Digital Repository Interoperability (DRI)specification and architecture. The ECL in conjunction withconnection middleware enables any service providers to join thenetwork. EduSource is open to external initiatives as it explicitlysupports an extensible bridging mechanism between eduSource and other major initiatives. This paper discusses interoperability in general and then focuses on the design of ECL as animplementation of IMS DRI with supporting infrastructure andmiddleware. The eduSource implementation is in the mature stateof its development as being deployed in different settings withdifferent partners. Two applications used in evaluating ourapproach are described: a gateway for connecting betweeneduSource and the NSDL initiative, and a federated searchconnecting eduSource, EdNA and SMETE.

Using Semantic Web Technologies to Analyze Learning Content

The authors demonstrate how to use semantic Web technologies to improve the state-of-the-art in online learning environments and bridge the gap between students on the one hand, and authors or teachers on the other. The ontological framework presented here helps formalize learning object context as a complex interplay of different learning-related elements and shows how we can use semantic annotation to interrelate diverse learning artifacts. On top of this framework, the authors implemented several feedback channels for educators to improve the delivery of future Web-based courses.

Ontologies to integrate learning design and learning content

Commentary on: Chapter 8: Basic Design Procedures for E-learning Courses (Sloep, Hummel & Manderveld, 2005) Abstract: The paper presents an ontology based approach to integrate learning designs and learning object content. The main goal is to increase the level of reusability of learning designs by enabling the use of a given learning design with different content. We first define a three-part conceptual model that introduces an intermediary level between learning design and learning objects called the learning object context. We then use ontologies to facilitate the representation of these concepts: LOCO is a new ontology for IMS-LD, ALOCoM is an existing ontology for learning objects, and LOCO-Cite is a new ontology for the contextual model. Building the LOCO ontology required correcting some inconsistencies in the present IMS LD Information Model. Finally, we illustrate the usefulness of the proposed approach on three use cases: finding a teaching method based on domain-related competencies, searching for learning designs based on domain-independent competencies, and creating user recommendations for both learning objects and learning designs. Editors: Colin Tattersall and Rob Koper.

Global vs. Community Metadata Standards: Empowering Users for Knowledge Exchange

The idea of knowledge sharing has strong roots in the education process. With the current development of the technology and moving learning material into the web environment it acquired a new dimension. Learning objects are the chunks of knowledge shared by e-learning community. Organizations and individuals are building repositories of learning objects and annotate them with metadata to describe their educational values and standardization efforts are on the way to provide a franca lingua for the educators. In this paper we describe the peer-to-peer infrastructure for sharing learning object we are building in Canada. The POOL projects builds on the three types of nodes: SPLASH is an freely downloadable application which allows individuals to create metadata and maintain their collection of learning objects, PONDs are bigger repositories of learning objects connected to the peer-to-peer network and POOL centrals increase the speed and breadth of the searches in the peer-to-peer network. The POOL project uses CanCore - a subset of the IMS metadata protocol - to describe learning objects. In the second part of the paper we discuss the future direction of this initiative based on the maturing learning objects community and lessons learned in the deployment of POOL network. We argue that the standardization effort, although very important, currently provides solutions that are too complex. We see the communities where the knowledge is shared to be the main force in the creation of the metadata standards which would support the growth of semantic web. The implications of moving the responsibility for schemas and metadata creation on communities poses new requirements on interoperability and tools. We describe those requirements and we outline approach we are developing to address them.

LOCO-Analyst : semantic web technologies in learning content usage analysis

This paper demonstrates how we use semantic web technologies to improve the state-of-the-art in e-learning environments and bridge the gap between students and learning-content authors/teachers. In particular, we use our Learning Object Context Ontology (LOCO) framework to formalise the notion of learning object context as a complex interplay of learning activities, learning objects and learners. In addition, we rely on semantic annotation for establishing semantic relations among diverse learning artefacts (e.g. lessons and chat messages). These technologies enabled us to implement a number of feedback types (identified by interviewing several web-oriented professional educators) for content authors and teachers to help them improve their online courses. The implemented feedback is integrated in a tool named LOCO-Analyst, which actually extends the well-known learning content packing tool Reload Editor. LOCO-Analyst is tested on the real data obtained from the iHelp Courses Learning Content Management System and is evaluated by several educational practitioners.

Value-added metatagging: ontology and rule based methods for smarter metadata

In this paper we describe an ontology and rule based system that significantly increases the productivity of those who create metadata, and the quality of the metadata they produce. The system suggests values for metadata elements using a combination of four methods: inheritance, aggregation, content based similarity and ontology-based similarity. Instead of aiming for automated metadata generation we have developed a mechanism for suggesting the most relevant values for a particular metadata field. In addition to generating metadata from standard sources such as object content and user profiles, the system benefits from considering metadata record assemblies, metadata repositories, explicit domain ontologies and inference rules as prime sources for metadata generations. In this paper we first introduce the basic features of metadata systems and provide a typology of metadata records and metadata elements. Next we analyze the source of suggested values for metadata elements and discuss four methods of metadata generation. We discuss how the operations on objects the metadata are describing affect suggested metadata values and we present decision tables for the metadata generation scheduling algorithm. Finally, we discuss the use of our system in tools developed for creating e-learning material conformant with the SCORM reference model and the IEEE LTSC LOM standard.

Evaluating Learning Objects Across Boundaries: The Semantics of Localization

ABSTRACT Learning object repositories and evaluation tools have the potential to serve as sites for interaction among different cultures and communities of practice. This paper outlines web-based learning object evaluation tools we have developed, describes our current efforts to extend those tools to a wider range of user communities, and considers methods for fostering interaction among user communities. We discuss the recommendation of objects across community boundaries, and approaches to mapping between languages, ontologies and work practices. Keywords. e-learning, reviews, quality, repositories, communities, eLera, LORI, convergent participation, collaboration, professional development THE NEED FOR EVALUATION ACROSS COMMUNITIES Perhaps the main feature distinguishing learning objects from other educational software is their ready availability through web-based repositories, collections that can be searched with standardized metadata. Because user communities such as elementary school teachers and university instructors have different requirements and expectations, specialized repositories are emerging that are interlinked by metadata and interoperability standards. Within the next five years, the U.S. National Science Digital Library (NSDL) is predicted to grow to include as many as 100,000 collections representing over a million learning objects (Saylor, 2002). We believe that the effectiveness of most online learning resources is severely limited because they do not conform to design principles established by research, and have not been subjected to formative user testing. Better education of instructional designers, teachers and other e-learning professionals is part of the solution. And there is an immediate need for methods and tools to facilitate the development, dissemination and retrieval of high quality resources. The scope of the quality problem is such that a variety of specialized evaluation methods is required. For example, teachers and learners may only be induced to evaluate if the instruments are uncomplicated and demand very little additional time and effort. In

The eduSource Communication Language: implementing open network for learning repositories and services

Interoperability is one of the main issues in creating a networked system of repositories The approaches range from simply forcing one metadata standard on all participating repositories to highly sophisticated semantic web based architectures with full semantic mapping capabilities between different schemas. The eduSource project in its holistic approach to building a network of learning object repositories in Canada is implementing an open network for learning services. Its openness is supported by an eduSource Communication Protocol (ECL) which closely implements the IMS Digital Repository Interoperability (DRI) specification and architecture, and by connection middleware that enables any service providers to join the network. EduSource is open to external initiatives as it explicitly supports an extensible bridging mechanism between eduSource and other major initiatives. This paper focuses on the design of ECL as an implementation of IMS DRI and supporting infrastructure and middleware. We also present two applications used in evaluating our approach: a gateway for connecting between eduSource and the NSDL initiative, and a federated search connecting eduSource, EdNA and SMETE.

Learning object repository technologies for telelearning: The evolution of POOL and CanCore

Repositories provide mechanisms to encourage the discovery, exchange and re-use of learning objects. This paper describes Portals for On-line Objects in Learning (POOL), a consortium project of the TeleLearning NCE to build a learning object repository scalable to the national level. Funded in part by the Canarie Learning Program, POOL contributes to the development of two focal technologies: “POOL POND and SPLASH” a distributed architecture for a peer-to-peer network of learning object repositories, and CanCore, a practical metadata protocol for cataloguing learning objects.

Linking learning object repositories

Learning object repositories hold the digital media resources for online learning. Success in the distribution and re-use of learning objects depends on how well the objects can be found, screened, and retrieved for use in a new instructional context. The eduSource Communications Layer (ECL) was developed as the interoperability component for eduSource Canada, a Canadian consortium for a national learning objects infrastructure. The ECL application enables searching across both peer-to-peer and web services architectures. Mechanisms for interoperability at the transactional and semantic levels are described in some detail. Key to the ECL is an open protocol to enable search, gather and retrieval within the eduSource community and gateways to extend this functionality to other learning object repository networks and digital libraries. Within six months of its release the ECL demonstrated federated searches with various learning object repositories in Canada, Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European SchoolNet.