E-Learning and the Digital Library

A Report on Collaboration between IMS and OKI

2002 CNI Fall Task Force Meeting

Steve Griffin, COO & co-founder IMSJeff Merriman, OKI Project Leader

sgriffin@imsglobal.orgmerriman@mit.edu

2

Presentation Overview

IMS Update OKI Update Collaboration Digital Repository Efforts Q&A

3

About IMS

• Non-profit worldwide consortium– 54 contributing members– 75 developers network members– Sectors represented: Standards bodies, Domain consortia,

Learning providers, Government agencies, Content providers, Technology vendors, Researchers, Labs & Test beds

• Creates e-learning specifications• Fosters adoption and best practice• Fosters collaboration between e-learning constituencies

focused on specific segments of the market (K-12, HE, Training)

4

IMS Contributing Members(a partial list)

ADL, UKeUniversities, Ufi, U-Cal Berkeley Industry Canada, MIT, Giunti Interactive Labs,

Fretwell-Downing, Thomson Learning Apple, Microsoft, Oracle, Cisco, IBM, Sun Saba, NetG, Can Studios, Question-Mark Blackboard, WebCT, CIC SCT, Eduprise, EDUCAUSE, PeopleSoft BECTa, JISC, DEST, Open University, ETS Texas Instruments, Boeing… and more.

5

IMS Specifications

Content Packaging

Metadata

Enterprise

Learner Information

Question and Test

Simple Sequencing

Digital Repositories

Learning Design

Accessibility

6

Content Packaging (v1.1.2)

• Provides a way to package learning information and metadata:– Packaged Learning Objects– Bundled Question and Test Objects– Learning Information Packages– Sequencing Information– Learning Design Support– Adopted by US DOD for SCORM

7

Metadata (v1.2.1)

• A structured way to add information to content to facilitate search and delivery:– Organized into 13 types of information– Extensible to include new elements– Now standardized by the IEEE’s Learning

Object Metadata standard– Adopted by US DOD for SCORM

8

Enterprise (v1.1)

• Facilitates the transfer of organizational information about students and groups:– Support for record synchronization

– Defines a person and group membership

– Demographics

– Growing international support

– Supported by all major HE ERP and CMS vendors

9

Learner Information (v1.0)

• Used to manage a learner’s profile (and as such it complements the IMS Enterprise specification).

• Provides a means to describe a person and collect information about them:– Can also describe content developers, etc.

– Specify affiliations and groups

– Manage identity and identifiers

– Future support for accessibility-based preferences

10

Question and Test (v1.2)

• Comprehensive support for the description and delivery of online tests:– Support for question banks and random tests– Strong multimedia support– Selection and ordering– Scoring calculations– Result reporting

11

Simple Sequencing (v1.0)

• A means to specify the sequencing of learning content:– Support for flow and choice

– Limited support for adaptive learning

– Score rollups

– Integrates with content packaging

– Final Release due January 2003

– Adopted by US DOD for SCORM 1.3

12

Digital Repositories Interoperability (DRI) (v1.0)

• Provides a basic interface recommendation to allow the following operations:– Federated data-base architecture– Search / Retrieve / Update– Based on XQuery and Z39.50– Final specification due by end of 2002

13

RDCEO (v1.0)

• The ‘Reusable Definitions for Competency and Education Objectives (RDCEO)’ specification was issued in October 2002. It supports:– A package for competencies– Portable competency definitions– Relationships to taxonomies– Prerequisites and conditionals– Separating completion from evaluation

14

Learning Design (v1.0)

• Provides a means to specify:– Roles and participants– Resources needed– Instructional design approach– Integrates with content packaging– Final specification due by end of 2002

15

Projects

• Accessibility

• Abstract Framework

• Web Services

• International Conformance Program

16

Accessibility

• “Guidelines to Developing Accessible Learning Applications” - see IMS websitehttp://www.imsglobal.org/accessibility/index.cfm

• Currently working on Accessibility issues in the IMS Learner Information specification.

• Investigating new work on Accessibility Meta-data.

17

About OKI

• Open Knowledge Initiative - Project of MIT; started with Mellon funding

• Goal: Increase flexibility, functionality, and scalability of e-learning tools for Higher Ed.

• Deliverables (Open Source)– Architecture (I.e. Java-based APIs)– Learning Management System Components

18

OKICore Institutional Partners

• Cambridge University• Dartmouth College• Indiana University• MIT• North Carolina State University• Stanford University• University of Michigan• University of Pennsylvania• University of Wisconsin

19

IMS and OKI

US & International E-learning Community

Higher Education

CommunityHEVendors

CollaborativeImplementations

Implementation Feedback and APIs

Requirements

ApprovedSpecifications

APIs and Reference examples

20

IMS and OKI Collaboration

• IMS hosting OKI Developers Network

• OKI participating in IMS Abstract Framework Team

• Founding members of global e-learning coalition

Jeff MerrimanOKI Project Lead

22

Phase 2Phase 1

OKI Overall TimeLine

Jan 01 Jan 02 Jan 03 Jan 04 Jan 05 Jan 06

Initial Core Service Development Further Spec. Development

Ref. Implementation

Applications

Developer Community

Core Service Maint/Evolution

Adopter Community

Vendor Engagement

Web and Client Tool Coordination

Further Implementations

23

OKICommon Service Spec Status

• Authentication• Authorization• DBC• Logging• LocalID• Shared• Filing• Hierarchy• User Messaging• Scheduling• Workflow

0.9 – Public0.9 – Public0.9 – Public0.9 – Public0.9 – Public0.9 – Public0.9 – Public0.90.50.50.5

24

OKI CS Implementation Activity

Current Activity:• Authentication• Authorization• Filing• DBC• LocalID• Logging• Hierarchy

Required Activity:• User Messaging• Workflow• Scheduling

25

OKIEducational Service Spec

Activity• Class Admin

– Student Information Systems Community

• Content Management/Digital Repository– Digital Library Community– Learning Assets

• Assessment

26

OKI Application Activity

• LMS’s– Stellar – MIT– CourseWork – Stanford University– CHEF – University of Michigan– Indiana University

• Demo Apps– Filing Demo– Hierarchy Demo

• Digital Library– DSpace– Fedora

• Various Educational Tool Development

IMS & OKIDigital Repository Efforts

28

IMS Digital Repositories Interoperability Specification

• Provides a basic interface recommendation to allow the following operations:– Federated data-base architecture– Search / Retrieve / Update– Based on XQuery and Z39.50– Final specification due by end of 2002

29

Functional Architecture

30

Phase 1 Scope

31

OKI Digital Repository Service API

• Insulates Educational Application Developers from Details of DR Implementations

• Separates Functional Spec from Data Spec

• Supports Both Client and Web-based Applications

32

Many Repositories

IDC

iMac

IBM

Remote

Local

IDC

Institutional

33

Key Elements of OKI DR Spec

• Digital Repository

• Learning Asset– Asset ID– AssetType– InfoType

• InfoPart

– InfoRecord

Q & A