IEEE Learning Object Metadata Schema Paper

7/30/2019 IEEE Learning Object Metadata Schema Paper

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Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

Learning Object Metadata (IEEE LOM)

By

Christina Magnifico

Learning Object Metadata (LOM), developed and published by the Institute of Electrical and

Electronics Engineers Standards Association, is the most widely used solution for classifying and

describing digital resources intended specifically for learning and education (Friesen, 2004). The IEEE

published LOM to support the reusability of learning objects, to aid discoverability and to facilitate

interoperability, usually in the context of online learning management systems (Library Technology

Reports, 2002). As stated on the IEEE LTSC (2005) website, the purpose of LOM is:

To enable learners or instructors to search, evaluate, acquire, and utilize Learning Objects

To enable the sharing and exchange of Learning Objects across any technology supported

learning systems

To enable the development of learning objects in units that can be combined and decomposed in

meaningful ways.

To enable computer agents to automatically and dynamically compose personalized lessons for

an individual learner.

The IEEE (2005) defines a learning object as, [A]ny entity, digital or non-digital, that may be used for

learning, education or training. Learning objects, considered a new way of thinking about learning

content,(WORC, 2012) are much smaller units of learning or shorter lessons that an instructor can use

for education purposes. The IEEE LTSC website gives several examples of learning objects, specifically

technology supported learning. They give computer-based training systems, interactive learning


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environments, intelligent computer-aided instruction systems, distance learning systems, and

collaborative learning environments as examples of learning objects (IEEE LTSC, 2005). A more specific

example of a learning object could be a web-based game about the types of infectious diseases. This

object would be an educational supplement to a health instructors lesson on epidemiology and infectious

diseases. LOM uses a combination of structural, administrative and descriptive metadata. Though it has

many elements, it does not require the cataloger to use each element and allows for a great degree of

flexibility when adding information within the schema.

Learning Object Metadata uses similar elements to Dublin Core, though Dublin Core uses 16

elements and the LOM standard includes 76 data elements (Friesen, 2004). Friesen also states that:

The LOM defines all of its data elements in interrelationships that are both hierarchical and

iterative. At the top of the hierarchy of LOM elements are nine broad category elements: General,

Lifecycle, Meta-metadata, Technical, Educational, Rights, Relation, Annotation and

Classification. The category elements each contain sub-elements, which, in turn, often contain

further sub-elements. Many of the category elements, sub-elements, and subordinate elements can

be repeated. This results in complex hierarchical and iterative structures, allowing for a total of

over 16,000 possible, concatenated element repetitions.

LOM, which is encoded in extensible markup language, or XML format to increase interoperability

(IEEE LTSC, 2005), does not have a rigid structure and thus provides some flexibility in the way it is

used. The LOM schema is broken down into a hierarchical structure with the first element category being

General. UnderGeneralthere are nine elements and two sub-elements. The first element is theIdentifier,

which is a unique string of letters, numbers, or a combination of both, used to identify a unique object.

The second element is the Title; this is where the objects name is entered. UnderTitle is CatalogEntry,

which contains the two sub-elements the first of which is Catalog, the physical or digital location of the

object. The second sub-elementEntry is the field where the catalog specific identifier is located.


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Following the sub-elements, the next header elementLanguage identifies the human language the object

uses to communicate.Description, the fifth header element, is the field where the object is textually

described. This field is similar to an abstract within a paper. TheKeywords element contains a phrase or

keyword that described the topic of the object.Keywords denote a controlled vocabulary within a

database, and will often link to a thesaurus. Within the metadata schema, Coverage is time place,

geography or region to which [the] learning object applies (IEEE, 2005). Continuing under the General

category, Structure refers to the underlying organizational structure of the object (IEEE, 2005). The last

element under the Generalcategory isAggregation Level, which represents the functional granularity of

the object (IEEE, 2005).

The second category under the schema isLife Cycle, which contains three main elements and

three sub-elements. The first of the three main elements is the Version element that identifies the edition

or numerical version of the object. Following Version is Status. The Status element allows the user to see

the condition of the learning object, for example if the link is broken the Status field may show

unavailable or unknown. The last element is Contribute which heads three sub-elements:Role,Entity

andDate. These sub-elements identify the kind of contribution, such as the publisher or editor; the people

or organizations associated with the object; the date the contribution was made. The next important

category is the Technicalcategory, which contains the technical specifications of the object being

described. These specifications include theFormator data type, the Size of the object represented in

bytes, theLocation of the device which is a string that one can use to access the object, the Technical

Requirements the user must know in order to use the object, and any furtherInstallation Remarks that

would be useful in operating or using the object.

Out of all the categories, one of the most important is theEducationalcategory. This category

contains eleven elements, which are core elements educators use when searching for learning objects.

The first element under the education category is theInteractivity Type, which is defined by the IEEE

(2005) as being the predominant mode of learning supported by this learning object. The IEEE (2005)


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also specifies that the field should contain one of three words: active, expositive, or mixed. The second

element is theLearning Resource Type. This element describes the type of learning object, and follows

the vocabulary terms as defined in the OED: 1989 (IEEE, 2005). Examples of aLearning Resource Type

that would be entered into the value field would be lecture, self-assessment or graph.Interactivity Level,

valued from very low to very high, denotes the degree of interactivity associated with the learning object.

The fourthEducationalelement is Semantic Density, which is assessed using the same scale as the

Interactivity Level. Semantic Density is defined by the IEEE (2005) as, the degree of conciseness of a

learning object. Another important element located within the LOM schema, especially for educators, is

theIntended End User Role. TheIntended End User Role allows the educator to discern if the learning

object would be useful for their purpose. When an instructor or educator is browsing a LO repository or

database, they can check this particular value for the type of user this learning object was created for. The

elements that describe theLearning Context, Typical Age Range, andDifficulty all have to do with the

learning objects intended audience. These elements show which environment, age and educational level

the learning object was intended for. The final element that is specific to theEducationalcategory is the

Typical Learning Time and is the approximate or typical time it takes to work with or through the

learning object for the typical intended audience (IEEE, 2005).

Rights, the final category, only contains two elements. TheRights category is the header element

for the Costand Copyright and Other Restrictions. This category allows for the description of the

property rights whether there are any other restrictions that apply to the learning object. These are some

of the elements that make up the Learning Object Metadata (LOM), and I will use the majority of the

elements associated with the schema on the following page.


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LOM Element Name Data

General

Identifier 00905cam a2200289 4504

Title Chapter 1: The history and scope of epidemiology

CatalogEntry -

Catalog publichealth.jbpub.com

Entry publichealth.jbpub.com/friis/flashcards.cfm

Language English

Description Animated public health flash card sets

Keywords Public health, epidemiology, health practice

Coverage 20th century-21st century

Structure Atomic

Aggregation Level 3

LIFECYCLE -

Version 3.0

Status Final

Contribute -

ContributeRole Author

ContributeEntity *CharacterString* ContributeDate 2013

METAMETADATA -

Metadata Scheme LOMv1.0

Language en

TECHNICAL -

Format flash/html

Size Unspecified

Location publichealth.jbpub.com/friis/flashcards.cfm

Requirements -

RequirementType Adobe

RequirementName Flash Player RequirementMinimumVersion 11.5

RequirementMaximumVersion 11.7.700.225

Installation Remarks Install newest version of flash to use flashcards

EDUCATIONAL -

Interactivity Type Active

Learning Resource Type Flashcards

Interactivity Level High

Semantic Density High

Intended End User Role Teacher, Learner

Learning Context Higher education, Training

Typical Age Range 15-30

Difficulty Difficult

Typical Learning Time Unspecified

Description Use as a supplement to public health texts

Language en

RIGHTS -

Cost Free

Copyright and Other Restrictions Jones and Bartlett Publishers


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References

Friesen, N. (November 01, 2004). The International Learning Object Metadata Survey.International

Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 5, 3.) Retrieved from

http://www.eric.ed.gov/PDFS/EJ853887.pdf
http://www.eric.ed.gov/PDFS/EJ853887.pdfhttp://www.eric.ed.gov/PDFS/EJ853887.pdf


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Metadata standards. (2002).Library Technology Reports, 38(5), 19. Retrieved from

http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=tfh&AN=7478856&site=ehost-live

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Learning Technology Standards Committee. (2005).

WG12: Learning Object Metadata. Retrieved from http://ltsc.ieee.org/wg12/

Wisconsin Online Resource Center. (2012). Why Learning Objects? Retrieved

http://www.wisc-online.com/listobjects.aspx
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=tfh&AN=7478856&site=ehost-livehttp://ltsc.ieee.org/wg12/http://www.wisc-online.com/listobjects.aspxhttp://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=tfh&AN=7478856&site=ehost-livehttp://ltsc.ieee.org/wg12/http://www.wisc-online.com/listobjects.aspx

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IEEE Learning Object Metadata Schema Paper