Activity Plan: Learning Content Discovery & Exchange

This paper provides a description and project plan for the Learning Content Discovery & Exchange activity within the Technical Standards for Digital Education project.

This document is a work in progress: it will be updated in collaboration with the focus group for this activity.


Table of Contents


© Copyright 2009 University of Southern Queensland

1.Activity summary

Curriculum content comes from multiple sources (the web, publishers, jurisdiction content development projects, cultural agencies), is hosted in multiple places (the web, jurisdiction repositories, classroom file systems) and exchanged both within jurisdictions and between jurisdictions.

The challenge is to produce repositories and other mechanisms that allow teachers to discover content using the language of the classroom, to use that content in their learning environments, and access content across jurisdiction and learning system boundaries.

This activity will identify schools sector requirements for discovery and exchange of content and provide standards advice based on those requirements.

2.Expected outcomes

Advice to the schools sector on standards for discovery and exchange of content

This activity will identify priority technical requirements for discovering and exchanging across school repositories and portals and provide advice on how standards can support those requirements. Technical requirements will be identified through consultation with the focus group. Advice on standards supporting the requirements will be based on analysis of existing and planned national and international solutions.

Provide an opportunity for school sector input into standards for discovery and exchange of content

Where appropriate, the technical requirements and possible solutions identified by the project will be contributed to relevant discovery & exchange standards currently under development.

Support implementation projects based on focus group advice

Depending on advice from the focus group, this activity could provide standards support to selected Australian discovery and exchange implementation projects. For example, the activity could profile existing discovery and exchange standards for use in an Australian context.

3.Deliverables and timeframes

Deliverable

Due date

Background brief

Jun 2009

Progress Report

Dec 2009

Closure Report

Jun 2010

4.Methodology

  • Identify sector requirements through consultation with key stakeholders and focus group.
  • Analyse standards for learning content discovery & exchange
  • Analyse current practice on learning content discovery & exchange
  • Write progress report, capturing key findings (Deliverable 2)
  • Provide input and feedback to relevant standards activities, representing Australian requirements and informed by sector consultation
  • Communicate findings on benefits of standards approaches to learning content discovery & exchange
  • As advised by the focus group, provide support to selected Australian content & discovery projects (limited by available resources)
  • Write closure report (Deliverable 3)


Sector consultation plan

  • Establish focus group through sector contacts, with at least three meetings, including one face-to-face. Focus group to stay in communication through EDNA Groups.
  • Approval of nominees for focus group.
  • Circulate background brief to focus group and key stakeholders. Integrate feedback.
  • Ongoing consultation on requirements and current developments in machine readable curriculum.

5.Related standards activities

Standards activity

Expected interaction

IMS Learning Object Discovery & Exchange

Gather intelligence on emerging practice in learning content discovery & exchange

OASIS Search Web Services

Gather intelligence on emerging search service

IEEE Learning Object Metadata

Gather intelligence on possible updates to the LOM specification

ISO SC36 Metadata for Learning Resources

Gather intelligence on emerging practice in resource description

NISO Discovery to Delivery

Gather intelligence on existing and emerging practice in general content discovery & exchange

6.Related projects

Project name/contact details

Expected interaction

FLAG Learning Object Discovery Network, Owen Oneill, e-works

Gather intelligence on current practice for federated content discovery and exchange in VET sector

ASPECT, David Massart, European SchoolNet

Gather intelligence on emerging practice for federated content discovery and exchange in European schools

GLOBE, Jerry Leeson, education.au limited

Gather intelligence on current practice for federated content discovery and exchange from a global project

7.Communication and dissemination plan

It is critical for this activity to achieve its goals that the information it gathers and produces is disseminated effectively to the appropriate audiences. The focus group will define the communication strategies it will employ, taking advantage of existing channels relevant to each member's organisation and jurisdiction. Communication to the sector generally may take advantage of wider dissemination methods such as web site postings, blog posts and sector-wide mailing lists and events.

8.Further information

Activity lead: Nigel Ward

Project team members: Dennis Macnamara, Nick Nicholas

Focus Group: TBA

Link Affiliates: http://www.linkaffiliates.net.au/


The Technical Standards for Digital Education project is funded by the Australian Government's Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR)

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