1 ICS-FORTH & Univ. of Crete SeLene November 2002 Stratakis Miltos Miltos Stratakis E-learning Standards

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ICS-FORTH & Univ. of Crete SeLene November 2002

Stratakis Miltos

Miltos Stratakis

E-learning Standards

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Stratakis Miltos

The Magic of Connecting Two Minds

Instructor describes, explains, questions, guides, poses problems, leads exploration......

Conceptual model in the instructor's mind

or its functional equivalent - is transferred to the student's mind

What happens when we introduce a computer in the middle?

How do we capture the instructor's mind in a computer?

How do we capture other students' minds in a computer?

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Principles for Applying Computers to Learning

Think of learning as involving at least two minds in communicationThe role of the computer is to augment and facilitate this

communication, not to be an intrusive entity that exists for its own sake Center the activity on the student, not the computer: an e-Learning system

must recognize the differences among learning stylesmust adapt to the student, not the other way around is a window into a knowledge space

Some areas are well structured, e.g. by a syllabus the student needs to learn to navigate these structures

Much larger areas are poorly structured the student may get lost or might discover something remarkable

We must also support the instructor or teacherConnecting with the community of practitionersModeling the skills or capability of the studentsRelating the success of his or her overall teaching with the needs of the

organization

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What is a Learning Object ?

A learning object can be any entity, digital or not, that can be used or referenced in technology- supported learning

Can be:Physical, such as

A workbookA CD-ROM

Online, such as A .GIF graphic imageA Java appletA Web page

PHYSICAL

ONLINE

??

?

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Granularity of Learning Objects: CS 252 Example

ProgramProgram

CourseCourse

ModuleModule

LessonLesson

ComponenComponentt

Introduction Java Programming Basics

A first view in OOP Languages OOP

Principles

CS 252

CS 360

CSD Studies

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E-learning End-User Services

Data and referenced material integration On demand accessibility Knowledge validation/assessment Personalized Content Aggregation Sharing information among distributed learning systems

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E-learning Standards May be:

Formal or “de jure” (the designation/certification of a specification's status by an accredited body, like IEEE or ISO)

“de facto” (when a critical mass or majority choose to adopt and use a specification)

Needed for:Durability: No need for modification as versions of system software

changeInteroperability: Operability across a wide variety of hardware,

Operating Systems, Web browsers and Learning Management Systems

Accessibility: Indexing and tracking on demandReusability: Possible modification and use by many different

development tools Address:

Learning Object Structure (i.e. Metadata)Content Sharing (i.e. Interoperable Content Structure Models)

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E-Learning Standards Organizations

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Focus of the Main e-Learning Standards

Metadata Content Structure Models

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Representing e-Learning Objects: Example

LO

Program ComponentCourse Module Lesson

ISA

Part ofPart of Part of Part of

Related to

Person/

Organization

Contributed by Topics

TaxonomyDescribed by

Name RoleTitle Size Format Cost

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Typical e-Learning Standards Process Model

IMS

AICC

ARIADNE

Specifications

ADL

(SCORM)

Reference Models

IEEE

ISO

CEN

Formal Standards

Labs,Testbeds,Markets



StandardsBodiesStandards

Bodies

“de facto”standards

Common,

Voluntary

Use

R & DConcept

s

R & DConcept

s

SpecConsortiaSpec

ConsortiaSpecConsortiaSpec

Consortia

CLEO Lab

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International Metadata: IEEE LOM

LOM (Learning Object Metadata) has been created from a joint proposal of IMS and ARIADNE to the IEEE

Co-operates with Dublin Core Specifies the syntax and semantics of learning object metadata, using

XML DTDsIncludes the attributes required to describe adequately a LO (e.g.,

element name, definition, data type, taxonomy, vocabulary, field length)

RDF/S binding from IMS (version 1.0) Focused on the minimal set of attributes needed to allow learning objects

to be managed, located and evaluated The newest version of IEEE LOM is the 3.8

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IEEE LOM Information Categories (All Optional)

1. General Groups the general information that describes the resource as a whole

2. Life Cycle Describes the history and current state of the resource and those who have affected the resource during its evolution

3. Meta-Metadata Describes the specific information about this metadata record itself (e.g. who created this record, how and when). This is not the information that describes the resource

4. Technical Describes the technical requirements and characteristics of the resource

5. Educational Describes the key educational or pedagogic characteristics of the resource

6. Rights Describes the intellectual property rights and conditions of use for the resource

7. Relation Defines the relationship between the resource and other targeted resources, if any

8. Annotation Provides comments on the educational use of the resource, who created this annotation and when

9. Classification Describes where the resource is placed within a particular classification system

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IEEE LOM Granularity Levels

Similarly with the general granularity levels of LOs, LOM granularity levels of LOs are from higher to lower:

Curriculum Course Unit Topic Lesson Fragment

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IEEE LOM : CS252 Example

1.2. General.Title:Language “en”String “CS252:Object Oriented Programming”

1.4. General.Language “en”, “gr”1.6. General.Keywords:

Language “en”String “Object Oriented Programming”Language “gr”String “Οντοκεντρικός Προγραμματισμός”

1.7. General.CoverageLanguage “en”String “University of Crete, Spring 2002 Heraklion, Greece”Language “gr”String “Πανεπιστήμιο Κρήτης, Άνοιξη 2002 Ηράκλειο,Ελλάδα”

1.9. General.Aggregation Level “3” (Level 3: course)Different values w.r.t. the granularity level of the resource

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2.2. LifeCycle.Status (“Final”,null)2.3.1. LifeCycle.Contribute.Role (“Author”, “Vassilis Christophides”)2.3.2. LifeCycle.Contribute.Entity vCard-christophides2.3.3. LifeCycle.Contribute.Date:

DateTime 2002-02-10Description:

Language “en”String “Spring Semester 2002”Language “gr”String “Εαρινό Εξάμηνο 2002”

3.4. MetaMetadata.Metadata Schema LOM Schema4.3. Technical.Location “http://www.csd.uoc.gr/~hy252”4.4.1. Technical.Requirements.Type (“Browser”,null)4.4.2. Technical.Requirements.Name (“Microsoft Internet

Explorer”,null)4.4.2. Technical.Requirements.Name (“Netscape Communicator”,null)5.1. Educational.Interactivity Type (“Expositive”,null)

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5.2. Educational.Learning Resource Type (“Index”, null)5.4. Educational.Semantic Density “3” (3: High)5.5. Educational.Intended End User Role (“Learner”,null)5.6. Educational.Context (“University First Cycle”,null)6.1. Rights.Cost (“no”,null)7.1. Relation.Kind (“IsPartOf”,null)7.2.1. Relation.Resource.Identifier CSD-Undergraduate-Courses-id7.2.2. Relation.Resource.Description:

Language “en”String “CS 252 is a second-year course of CSD Studies”Language “gr”String “Το ΗΥ-252 είναι μάθημα 2ου έτους του T.E.Y.”

7.1. Relation.Kind . . . . . . 7.2.1 Relation.Resource.Identifier . . . . . . 7.2.2. Relation.Resource.Description: . . . . . .

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IEEE LOM Relation Kinds

Best practice list: IsPartOf HasPart IsVersionOf HasVersion IsFormatOf HasFormat References IsReferencedBy IsBasedOn IsBasisFor Requires IsRequiredBy

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Specification Development: ARIADNE

Initiative of European Community: Computer networks of education and learning Methodologies for the development, management and reuse of

educational contents Syllabus definition for Computer Based Training Educational metadata

Metadata specification on two practical problems: Indexing of learning objects (i.e. metadata creation by humans)

should be as easy as possible Exploitation of the metadata by users looking for relevant

pedagogical material should be as easy and efficient as possible

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ARIADNE Metadata Specification

The newest version of ARIADNE Metadata Specification is the 3.2 In ARIADNE Metadata Specification v3.2, Metadata are grouped in

the following seven categories:1. General information of the resource2. Semantics of the resource3. Pedagogical attributes4. Technical characteristics5. Conditions of use6. Meta-metadata information7. Annotations (Optional Category)

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ARIADNE Semantics Example of CS252

2.1. Semantics.Discipline Type “Natural, Exact or Engineering Sciences”

2.2. Semantics.Discipline “Computer Science”

2.3. Semantics.Subdiscipline “Software Programming”

2.4. Semantics.Main Concept “Object Oriented Programming”

2.6. Semantics.Other Concepts “JAVA PL”

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ARIADNE Pedagogical Attributes: Example of CS252

3.1. PA.End User Type “Learner”

3.2. PA.Document Type “Expositive”

3.3. PA.Document Format “Hypertext”

3.4.1. PA.Didactical Context.Country “gr”

3.4.2. PA.Didactical Context.Context “University degree”

3.4.3. PA.Didactical Context.Level “2” (2nd year course)

3.6. PA.Interactivity Level “Very low”

3.7. PA.Semantic Density “High”

3.8. PA.Pedagogical Duration 3 months in minutes ????

3.9. PA.Granularity “Course or Course Template”

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Specification Development: IMS

Defines and delivers specifications for exchanging learning content and information about learners among learning system components

These specifications are all XML-based

IMS provides the following released specifications so far:1.IMS Metadata specification2.IMS Question & Test Interoperability specification3.IMS Content Packaging specification4.IMS Learner Information Package specification5.IMS Enterprise specification6.IMS Reusable Competencies Definition Information Model Public Draft

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IMS Metadata specification

Comprises, with ARIADNE Metadata Specification, the basis of IEEE LOM standard

Has the same granularity levels with IEEE LOM The number of LOM elements too big, so IMS distinguishes two

different specifications:1.IMS Core (20 LOM elements, describes a reduced set of

fundamental metadata)2.IMS Standard Extension Library or IMS-SEL (the remaining LOM

metadata elements) Provides XML/RDF (Schema) bindings for implementation

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IMS Content Packaging (CP) specification Defines an information model based on a set of data structures to provide

content interoperability in an Internet environment (newest version 1.1.2)Co-operates with ADL SCORM when we deal with test cases (i.e. prerequisites of a lesson)The key element of this model is the packageEncapsulates a complete course (with its related metadata) in a single file

IMS Package Manifest:Has flexible scopeFacilitates aggregation/unfolding: A package always contains a top-level

manifest that can include sub-manifests associated to a part of the contents encapsulated into this package

Example: A content developer who wants to move multiple courses could create a manifest for each course and then aggregate all of them in a single package, with a top-level manifest describing the collection of courses as a curriculum

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IMS CP Information Model v1.1.2

PACKAGEManifest

Metadata

Organizations

ResourcesSub-Manifest(s) Usually LOM, other

could be ADL SCORM Metadata

Could be Table Of Contents (TOC), ADL SCORM CSF or AICC

CMI

Package

Interchange File

(e.g. .zip)

PHYSICAL FILES(The actual Content, Media,Assessment, Collaboration

and other files)

Manifest File

(imsmanifest.xml)

…External Packages…

Base resource type is

webcontent

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IMS CP Manifest: Example of CS252(Using IMS CP Schema 1.0)

0.1. Manifest.Identifier The unique ID of this manifest(e.g. MANIFEST-CS252)

1.1. Metadata.Schema “IMS Content”1.2. Metadata.SchemaVersion “1.0”1.3. Metadata.{IMS Metadata} The IMS Metadata describing CS252

(e.g. LOM)2.2.1. Organizations.Organization.Identifier The unique ID of this organization

element (e.g. TOC1)2.2.3. Organizations.Organization.Title “Lectures”2.2.4.1. Organizations.Organization.Item.Identifier The unique ID of this item

(e.g. TOC1_ITEM1)2.2.4.2. Organizations.Organization.Item.IdentifierRef The reference to the ID of

this item in the Resources section

(e.g. TOC1_RESOURCE1)2.2.4.3. Organizations.Organization.Item.Title “Introduction: Programming

Languages and Paradigms”

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2.2.4.1. Organizations.Organization.Item.Identifier TOC1_ITEM2

2.2.4.2. Organizations.Organization.Item.IdentifierRef TOC1_RESOURCE2

2.2.4.3. Organizations.Organization.Item.Title “Java Programming Basics: Types, Variables, Operators”

2.2.4.1. Organizations.Organization.Item.Identifier …

2.2.4.2. Organizations.Organization.Item.IdentifierRef …

2.2.4.3. Organizations.Organization.Item.Title …

2.2.4.1. Organizations.Organization.Item.Identifier …

2.2.4.2. Organizations.Organization.Item.IdentifierRef …

2.2.4.3. Organizations.Organization.Item.Title …

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2.2.1. Organizations.Org.Identifier The unique ID of this TOC element (e.g. TOC2)

2.2.3. Organizations.Org.Title “Assisting Lectures”2.2.4.1. Organizations.Org.Item.Identifier TOC2_ITEM12.2.4.2. Organizations.Org.Item.IdentifierRef TOC2_RESOURCE12.2.4.3. Organizations.Org.Item.Title “The Java Programming

Environment” 2.2.4.1. Organizations.Org.Item.Identifier TOC2_ITEM22.2.4.2. Organizations.Org.Item.IdentifierRef TOC2_RESOURCE22.2.4.3. Organizations.Org.Item.Title “Files, Streams, Filters and

Strings”2.2.4.1. Organizations.Org.Item.Identifier …2.2.4.2. Organizations.Org.Item.IdentifierRef …2.2.4.3. Organizations.Org.Item.Title …

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3.1.1. Resources.Resource.Identifier TOC1_RESOURCE1

3.1.2. Resources.Resource.Type “webcontent”

3.1.3. Resources.Resource.HRef

“www.csd.uoc.gr/~hy252/lectures/CS252Intro.pdf”




“www.csd.uoc.gr/~hy252/lectures/CS252Basics.pdf”




“www.csd.uoc.gr/~hy252/assist/CS252JavaProgrammingEnvironment.pdf”

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“www.csd.uoc.gr/~hy252/assist/streams_files.pdf”

3.1.1. Resources.Resource.Identifier …

3.1.2. Resources.Resource.Type …

3.1.3. Resources.Resource.HRef …

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Specification Development: AICC

Has a close relationship with ADL initiative Develops technical specifications for the management of CBT

(Computer-Based Training) course modules Its specifications cover 9 major areas, including:

Computer-Managed Instruction (CMI) Systems, like Learning Management Systems (LMS)

Assignable Units (AU), like Learning Objects (LOs) CBT courses, like learning tracks or program

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AICC CMI Guidelines for Interoperability

This specification is neutral with respect to LO granularityIt is possible to nest as many LOs as desired

For avoiding inconsistency, it has established a ten-level reference hierarchy (AICC granularity levels)

Defines the format of a set of files that store the course structure of a course moved from a particular e-learning system to another

AICC’s structure elements : two types of course parts

1.Assignable Units (AU)

2.Blocks There are also another building blocks, the objectives, which are not

structure elementsAUs, blocks and objectives are all AICC’s course elements

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AICC CMI Course Example

Course is a collection of Assignable Units, Blocks and Objectives

AU Simple Objective

Complex Objective

CourseCourse

BlockNested Block

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AICC Granularity Levels

1. Curriculum2. Course3. Chapter4. Subchapter5. Module6. AU/Lesson7. Topic8. Sequence9. Frame/Screen10. Object

1. Graphic Object2. Text Object3. Logic Object

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AICC vs. IEEE LOM LO Granularity

Function AICC IEEE LOM

Outer Container Course Course

Nesting Container Block Unit

Content Aggregate AU Lesson

Reusable Media Element Object ? -

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Testing/Piloting: ADL/SCORM

ADL: Provides the mandatory input for the IMS specifications Uses IMS specifications

SCORM: Result of collaborative work of ADL, AICC, IMS and IEEE Comprises three major elements:

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SCORM Elements

1. Metadata : When describing the IEEE LOM elements in XML, SCORM refers to the IMS Metadata specification

2. Course Structure Format (CSF): An XML-based representation of a course element’s structure and external references needed to exchange a course from one LMS to another

Overlaps significantly with IMS Content Packaging specification3. Runtime Environment : It includes

1. A specific launch protocol to run executable Web-based content2. A common content-LMS API3. A data model defining the data that is exchanged between an

LMS environment and executable content at runtime

IMS Content Packaging supports fully the description and interchange of content that implement SCORM runtime features

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Meta-datadictionaryFrom IEEE

CONTENT AGGREGATION MODEL

RUN-TIMEENVIRONMENT

Content StructureFormat

Derived fromAICC

Meta-dataXML BindingBest Practice

From IMS

Content toLMS API

From AICC

Content toLMS data

modelFrom AICC

The Components of the ADL SCORM

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SCORM Metadata

SCORM has adopted the set of metadata elements based on IEEE LOM

Metadata usage: Recommends XML binding developed by IMS and ARIADNE for

validating SCORM implementations Maps LOM elements into three learning content elements for

providing the missing link between general metadata specifications and specific content models (SCORM granularity levels):

1. Course

2. Content

3. Raw media

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SCORM Course Structure Format (CSF)

It is derived from AICC CMI but there are incurred changes It is not only applicable to complete courses, like AICC CMI, but

also to course subsets or to groups of courses It has renamed the term Assignable Unit to Sharable Content

Object (SCO), keeping its meaning

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CSF’s DTD (Main Elements)

Course

globalProperties?

block

1

blockAlias

externalMetadata+

curricularTaxonomy?

externalMetadata*

identification

prerequisites?

+

sco

block

1

scoAlias

externalMetadata*

prerequisites?

launch?

masteryScore?

timeLimit?

identification

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SCORM Runtime Communication (AICC API)

HTML “wrapper” from LMS

Content

Content in Browser LMS/Server

APIAdaptor

FromLMS

ProcessingAPI

Calls

Internet

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Main Standards Overview (IMS CP centered)

IEEE LOM

DC

ARIADNE

IMS

Metadata

Specification

Metadata

Content Structure

IMS

IMS CP

Metadata

Metadata

Metadata

ADL

SCORM

AICC

LOM Metadata

SCORM Metadata

CMI

CSF

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E-learning Standards: What They do not Provide?

E-learning Standards have been developed to describe LOs and their relationships

IEEE LOM specifies a variety of bibliographic and technical properties of LOs, different relationships among LOs and enables metadata-based exchange, reuse and search of LOs

But, even though IEEE LOM standard includes an educational category, no information is included to specify which instructional roles are or can be played by a LO within a course

IEEE LOM concentrates on what should be taught and when, rather than how to teach

A standard for learning objects metadata should not tell how to teach, but it should be able to provide information on how to specify pedagogical aspects of LOs

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E-learning Standards: What They do not Provide?

Students cannot choose courses or lessons in a meaningful way on the basis of standards like AICC, ADL SCORM and IMS, since instructional principles are not addressed so far by these standards

WHY ?????LOM specify properties only at a very basic abstraction levelLOM does not support instructional design

Metadata about instructional models and theoryInformation about the use of LOs in learning processes

Specifying author and title: EASIER! Specifying instructional metadata, models and theory: BETTER!

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Recommendations for SeLene

Metadata Recommendation: IEEE LOM (RDF/S binding v. 3.8)Till now the most adequate metadata standard for a LO

Content Structure Recommendation: IMS CP (no RDF/S binding)Very flexible for the representation of the contentAll content structure metadata in one single file !!!

References: www.ics.forth.gr/~mstratak Survey:

Virtual Learning and Computer Based Training Standardization. Issues and Trends, by Luis E. Anido-Rifon, Manuel J. Fernandez-Iglesias, Manuel Caeiro-Rodriguez, Juan M. Santos-Gago, Judith S. Rodriguez-Estevez and Martin Llamas-Nistal

Documents

1 ICS-FORTH & Univ. of Crete SeLene November 2002 Stratakis Miltos Miltos Stratakis E-learning Standards