Progress Towards a Business Plan

1
NERCOMP Workshop Learning Objects Emerging
Standards and Commercial Marketplace
John Purcell Learning Objects Network www.Learning
ObjectsNetwork.com Phone [phone]
2
Learning Objects Network

• Registry Agency for Digital Object Identifiers
  (DOI) and Handle System
• Commercial Handle developer and operator
• Designer, installer and manager of enterprise
  learning management, performance support and
  knowledge management systems for Office of the
  Secretary of Defense, Joint Chiefs of Staff,
  White House
• GRID computing (virtual computing resource)
  developer
• Consultant
• Standards
• Metadata including crosswalks, taxonomies,
  dictionaries
• eLearning standards
• Repositories and networks

3
Why Standards?

• Dept. of Defense and demographics
• Transition from classroom to blended and online
  instruction
• New emphasis on performance support which
  requires interoperability and granularity
• Knowledge Economy Economics--
• elimination information silos
• provide information faster and cheaper, anytime,
  anyplace and just for you

4
The DoD Need to Change
The two truly transforming things, conceivably,
might be in information technology and
information operation and networking and
connecting things in ways that they function
totally differently than they had previously.
And if that's possible. . . possibly the
single-most transforming thing in our force will
not be a weapon system, but a set of
interconnections and a substantially enhanced
capability because of that awareness.
Secretary Rumsfeld - Aug 9, 2001
Net-Centric Information Advantage
Information Quality
Net-Centric OperationsThe Way Ahead

• Content
• Accuracy
• Completeness
• Timeliness
• Relevance

Platform-Centric Information Advantage

• Local

• Global

• Regional

Source Margaret Myers, Principal Deputy OSD DCIO
5
Net-Centric Operations-- A Fundamental Shift
Net-Centric
Platform-Centric
Traditional stove-pipe approach v. Fused
information available on the Net
Source Margaret Myers, Principal Deputy OSD DCIO
5
6
Initial Projections

• Implementing Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL)
  strategy
• Reduce classroom time 30
• Reduce development cost 50
• Reduce development time 30
• Reduce travel and per diem costs
• Shift performance 1 to 2 standard deviations
• Goal to have 50 of training available online
  within 5 years
• Plan to spend 6 billion total over 3-5 years
• Content represents approximately 20 or 1.2
  billion
• Prefer to outsource rather than develop
  internally

Sources Mike Parmentier, Former Undersecretary
of Defense, Training Readiness William S.
Cohen, Former Secretary of Defense
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Learning Technology Potential
Average tutored students achievement is better
than 98 of classroom students
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A Special Partnership
Business, Government, Military, Academia
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Standards Development--The Key Pieces

1. Objects
2. Questions and Tests
3. Object Identification
4. Metadata
5. Repositories
6. Search and Discovery, Accessibility
7. Exchanges or Registries
8. Registry of Registries

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The Objects

• SCORM--Sharable Content Object Reference Model
• Content aggregation model
• Run-Time Environment
• Application Programming Interface for
  communicating information about a learners
  activities
• Data model for recording the information
• Content packaging model
• Metadata elements
• Standard sequencing and navigation rules
• www.adlnet.org
• http//www.academiccolab.org/

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SCORM
Meta-data XML Binding Best Practice From IMS
RUN-TIME ENVIRONMENT
Content to LMS API From AICC
Course Structure Format - Derived from AICC
Meta-data dictionary From IEEE
Content to LMS data model From AICC
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Learning Object Communities
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Question and Test Interoperability

• Specification for . . .
• Interactive assessment
• Placing questions and tests into content packages
• Using questions and tests with learning design
  and simple sequencing
• http//www.imsglobal.org/question/index.cfm

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Object Identification

• How do you uniquely identify an object, make the
  web identification persistent over time for
  library purposes, provide resolution (delivery)
  functionality, and add search and discovery?
• One answer from . . .
• The Stationary Office of the United Kingdom (TSO)
• Office of Publication of the European Community
• European Library Community
• Advanced Distributed Learning initiative
• CENDI, the working group of senior Scientific and
  Technical Information (STI) Managers from 12 U.S.
  federal agencies
• http//www.dtic.mil/cendi/proj_persistent_id.html

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Digital Object Identifier (DOI)and Handle
10.1000/123
Doigt
URL
Web Browser

• Both the DOI and Handle use re-direction so that
  the unique identification of the digital object
  remains persistent for research, bibliographic
  data, etc. even though the location of the object
  might change.
• www.doi.org
• www.cnri.reston.va.us/

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Metadata

• http//www.dublincore.org/
• http//www.niso.org/standards/resources/Understand
  ingMetadata.pdf
• http//standards.ieee.org/announcements/1484121app
  .html
• http//www.cetis.ac.uk/profiles/uklomcore
• Exchange of structure metadata for resources
  http//www.imsproject.org/rli/index.cfm
• Information about the users (IMS
  http//www.imsproject.org/es/index.cfm
• Market-ready metadata (see www.Merlot.org)
• Date, rights, price, peer review,
  security/authorization

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The Key Role of Content Metadata

• Data describing digital resources in a consistent
  fashion
• Enables creation of online registries or card
  catalogs
• Enables physical location of content in
  distributed (locally controlled) repositories
• Facilitates search, retrieval, reuse and
  personalization
• Makes digital resources shareable across
  different technology environments
• IEEE Learning Object Model (LOM) standard widely
  recognized

Metadata
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Metadata references

• Application Profiles
• ARIADNE Elements and vocabulary that maps to the
  LOM. http//www.ariadne-eu.org/3_MD/ .
• CanCore A subset of elements from the LOM only.
  Documentation for element definitions, vocabulary
  and XML binding. http//www.cancore.org .
• Heal (Health Education Assets Library) LOM
  elements and element extensions of health
  education, XML schema and XML documentation.
  http//www.healcentral.org/documents.htm .
• The Le_at_rning Federation/SOCCI LOM, Dublin Core
  and ODRL (Open Digital Rights Language) elements.
  Vocabulary for Australian curriculum. Not yet
  publicly available. http//socci.edna.edu.au/conte
  nt/index.asp .
• SCORM A subset of LOM elements (identified as
  either "mandatory" and "optional"), integrated
  with an runtime environment and aggregation
  model for learning content. Provides a
  "conformance testing tool" that validates XML
  bindings, and inclusion of mandatory elements.
  http//www.adlnet.org/index.cfm?fuseactionscormab
  t .
• MERLOT Elements and vocabulary that maps to the
  LOM. http//www.merlot.org .
• SingCORE A subset of elements from the LOM only.
  Documentation available at a cost.
  http//www.cite.nie.edu.sg/ecc/ecc_sitemap.htm .
• White Paper http//www.academiccolab.org/resources
  /FinalSummitReport.pdf

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• Metadata Tools
• ALOHA "A tool for metatagging and
  inter-repository communications."
  http//aloha.netera.ca/
• DC-dot A metadata editor designed for Dublin
  Core, but will crosswalk the metadata into IMS.
  http//www.ukoln.ac.uk/metadata/dcdot/
• IMSE/VIMSE A graphical Java program for editing
  IMS metadata XML files. Created by Mikael
  Nilsson. Available at http//imsevimse.sourceforg
  e.net .
• LOM Editor Developed as a part of the Multibook
  (Personal Multimedia book) project specifically
  for the LOM information model. http//www.multiboo
  k.de/lom/
• Microsoft LRN 3.0 Part of a small suite of tools
  for e-learning specifications-related tools
  released by Microsoft. http//www.microsoft.com/el
  earn/
• MetaBrowser (Australia) Metabrowser is a
  cataloguing tool for Windows using customizable
  implementations of any number of metadata
  schemas. Uses IE engine. http//metabrowser.spirit
  .net.au/
• Reggie Metadata Editor "Enables the easy
  creation of various forms of metadata with the
  one flexible program." http//www.metadata.net/dst
  c/
• Splash A metadata editor integrated into P2P
  repository software. http//www.edusplash.net
• Sun Developer's Toolkit Toolkit for Creating IMS
  Learning Resource-Compatible Meta-data.
  http//www.imsproject.org/tools/sun.html

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Repositories

• Repositories provide key elements for the
  development, storage, management, discovery and
  delivery of content. They provide the following
  core functions
• Search/find the ability to locate an
  appropriate learning object.  This can include
  the ability to browse
• Request a learning object that has been located
  
• Retrieve receive an object that has been
  requested
• Submit provide an object to a repository for
  storage
• Store place a submitted object into a data
  store with a unique, registered identifier that
  allows it to be located
• Gather (push/pull) obtain meta-data about
  objects in other repositories for federated
  searches and information clearinghouse
• Publish provide meta-data to other repositories
• Also must handle DRM, obtain globally unique
  identifier for each object, provide
  authentication
• http//www.canto.com/
• White paper at http//www.academiccolab.org/init
  iatives/repositories.html

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Search and Discovery

• http//www.imsproject.org/accessibility/index.cfm
• ACCESSIBILITY
• IMS AccessForAll Meta-data Specification
• The AccessForAll Meta-data specification is
  intended to make it possible to identify
  resources that match a user's stated preferences
  or needs. These preferences or needs would be
  declared using the IMS Learner Information
  Package Accessibility for LIP specification.
  The needs and preferences addressed include the
  need or preference for alternative presentations
  of resources, alternative methods of controlling
  resources, alternative equivalents to the
  resources themselves and enhancements or supports
  required by the user. The specification provides
  a common language for identifying and describing
  the primary or default resource and equivalent
  alternatives for that resource.

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Semantic Search
Demo
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Semantic Search
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Registries Tie It All Together
Ensuring Valuable Content will be Found
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2. Creating an Efficient Marketplace for Digital
Content
Metadata Registry
Content Provider A
Content User
Content Provider B
Content User
Network Services
Content User
Content Provider C
Content Provider D
Content User

• Distributed Network Technology . . .
• Increases providers control over content
• Greatly expands the availability and
  accessibility of quality content
• Removes critical barriers to the growth of online
  content markets

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CORDRA--the Final Step?(Content Object
Repository Discovery and Registration/Resolution
Architecture)

• On Contact John.Purcell_at_LONinc.com

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Registries of Registries
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Evolving Registries

• Library exchange systems (Europe)
• Government document systems (EU, UK, Australia,
  US and Japan)
• European Union learning exchange
• UK National Grid for Learning
• Australian learning exchange
• US National object eXchange (connects to UK,
  Australia and others now under development,
  standards-based, free to not-for-profit academic
  institutions--contact John.Purcell_at_LONinc.com or
  Judy Brown jcbrown3_at_facstaff.wisc.edu )

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Thank You

• John Purcell
• Learning Objects Network
• www.loninc.com
• John.Purcell_at_loninc.com