Searching Heterogeneous e-Learning Resources

1
Searching Heterogeneous e-Learning Resources

• Boon Low, EGEE Training, National e-Science
  Centre, UK
• John MacColl, Digital Library Division,
  University of Edinburgh

2
Outline

• e-Learning Framework (ELF) and d project
• Common services and interoperability
• d search services and toolkit
• Interoperability metadata, repository service
  interfaces
• Use scenarios

3
e-Learning framework (ELF)

• A service-oriented approach to provide e-learning
  infrastructure
• A collaborative initiative involving
• Carnegie-Mellon Learning Systems Architecture
  Lab, U.S.A.
• Department of Education, Science and Training,
  Australia
• Industry Canada
• Joint Information Systems Committee, U.K.
• Emerging interests, e.g. EGEE
• Not an architecture blueprint, but a formative
  framework
• providing high level and common abstractions of
  e-learning
• underpins reference model, system design and
  artifacts
• Define common services (behaviour) and data
  (object) models with shared vocabulary, service
  description (WSDL) and interoperability standards

4
e-Learning framework services
.
.

• Sources
• e-Learning Framework (ELF)
• http//www.elframework.org

5
Example d search service
.
Authentication
Authorisation
Content Management
Federated Search
Metadata Management
Resolver
.

• Search / browse, federated search
• Persistent linking mechanism (resolver) - OpenURL

6
Example EGEE DL services
.
Authentication
Authorisation
Content Management
Federated Search
Metadata Management
Resolver
.

• EGEE Digital Library core services
• Content management services based on Fedora
• deposit/update/download materials, versioning,
  metadata management
• Search / browse, federated search
• Persistent linking mechanism (resolver) - OpenURL

7
Example EGEE DL services
.
Resource List
Annotation / Review
Authentication
Authorisation
Content Management
Federated Search
Metadata Management
Resolver
Personalisation
Packaging
.

• EGEE Digital Library personalisation services
• Resources annotation / review services
• Personal (EGEE partners learners) resources
  list services (d phase 2)
• Create, read, update, delete personal resource
  (reading) lists and customised courses
• Export resources to other e-learning environment

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d project

• d discovery brokerage for deep
  distributed e-learning resources discovery
• Funded by JISC e-Learning Programme, Technical
  Framework Tools - 1st phase completed, 2nd
  phase about to begin
• Main objective
• Piloting search services and a toolkit for
  resource discovery among heterogeneous
  repositories, focusing on intra-functional
  interoperability
• Partners
• University of Edinburgh Library and Medical
  College
• University of Southampton, University of Oxford,
  University of Wales Swansea
• Edina, Intrallect, WebCT
• EGEE?

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e-Learning resources plethora

• Presentation materials
• Audio-visual content - SMIL-based
• Software code samples, cook books
• Research and scientific data
• Reference objects including websites, technical
  reports, books, journal, articles
• Resource lists (aggregation), annotation, reviews
• Hands on tutorials
• Assessment objects quiz and exam
• Students portfolios
• Wiki, weblog and forum
• .
• Web-based, i.e. searchable via Google AND
  resources resided in distributed autonomous
  repository systems

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Common search service
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Common service interfaces

• Unifying disparate repositories interfaces with
• LOC Search Retrieve URL (SRU) interface
• OpenURL for persistent linking
• SRU uses Common Query Language (CQL) for
  specifying search strategy
• querytitle exact grid computing (title search)
• querygrid computing and date exact 2004
  (boolean)
• CQL also provides context querying
• Dublin core context, e.g. dc.title exact xxx
• LOM context, e.g. lom.general.title exact xxx

12
Interoperability stacks
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Repositories access interfaces

• Any Z39.50 bibliographic, e.g. ePrints UK, RDN,
  COPAC, Ovid Cochrane Library, Xgrain
• Application programming interface (API) DSpace,
  Google
• Web services - REST (URL) Amazon, PubMed,
  OReilly Safari e-Reference Library, Health Board
  Scotland
• Web services - SOAP IntraLibrary (underlying
  repository for Jorum), National e-Library for
  Health, Health Protection Scotland

14
Metadata interoperability

• Mapping native metadata to a specific schema is
  required so that the search results are
  consistent (for service consumption)
• In addition to reusing native metadata schemas of
  the repositories, mapping services piloted
• MARC, GRS to LOM, DC, RLI
• DC to LOM, RLI
• Amazon, Google, Safari, Xgrain to LOM, DC

15
Mdata container interoperability

• Mapping SRW/U results to different containers
  (wrappers) IMS Content Packaging and Resource
  List Spec.

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Mdata container interoperability

• Action to map SRW/U to IMS CP/RLI
• Using the metadata mapping mechanisms, retrieve
  the appropriate SRU results containing the
  corresponding metadata schema of the container,
  I.e. CP-gtLOM, RLI -gtRLI (metadata)
• Map the SRU(LOM/RLI metadata) results with XSLT
  stylesheets, to IMSCP/LOM, or IMSRLI/RLI
• More elegant action
• Modify SRW/U web services to return different
  containers in addition of the current
  hard-wired SRU response wrapper
• Needs the separation of SRW/U service from its
  data binding
• lom.title query gets IMSCP/LOM records by
  default
• rli.title query gets IMSRLI/RLI records by
  default
• dc.title query gets SRW/DC records by default

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Use scenario - VLE

• Search library and web resources from within
  virtual learning environments (VLE)

18
Use scenario - VLE

• Re-purposing library metadata as reading lists
  with annotations

19
Use scenario - VLE

• Another VLE

20
Use scenario - mobile devices

• Personal digital assistants (PDA) mobile devices

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Scenario - metadata enrichment

• Integrating metadata from multiple sources

bibliographic
graphics
external annotations
holding
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Use scenario - federated search

• As underlying engine for federated searching

d
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Further work

• d evaluation
• JISC ELF demonstrator projects for deploying d
  toolkit and services among institutional settings
• d phase 2
• A toolkit for resource list services based on IMS
  Resource List Interoperability Specification
• Demonstrator application for creating, reading,
  updating and deleting resource list
• Fedora as a platform for d
• Caching
• Annotation services
• Embedded repository (shipped with the toolkit)

24
Thank you

• Further Information
• JISC E-Learning Framework
• http//www.elframework.org/
• d project
• http//devil.lib.ed.ac.uk
• EGEE digital library e-learning
• http//wiki.nesc.ac.uk/read/egee-elearning/
  
• Email
• boon.low_at_ed.ac.uk
• john.maccoll_at_ed.ac.uk