Learning Technology StandardsStatus & Direction

Robby Robson

Chair, IEEE LTSC

President & Senior Partner, Eduworks

rrobson@eduworks.com

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Outline Who wants standards Types of Learning Technology Standards The standards process Who is doing it Metadata The Learning Content Program Other areas of standardization Testing and certification How to participate Questions and Answers

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What Will NOT Be Covered Details of the standards and specifications

– Best covered in longer workshops Comparative Analyses and Impact on Academic

or Industry Segments– Different topic with different value– Presenter will try to be neutral

All specifications and standards in the world– Specific to learning technology and distance

learning – Limited to what presenter knows– Concentrate on areas of most activity

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Who Wants Standards?

Learning Technology Companies Universities Training Administrators Learning Content producers Consortia

Standards help products work together and enable solutions to scaleStandards help products work together and enable solutions to scale

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The Value of Standards

Standards mark the spot!

StandardsEmerge

Demonstration Adoption

Pioneers

Everyone

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1. LEARNING CONTENT STANDARDS– Describe Learning Content – Package Learning Content – Track the results of Learning Content

2. LEARNER STANDARDS– Store and share learner information– Describe competencies and certifications– Ensure privacy and security

3. INTEROPERABILITY STANDARDS– Integrate components of learning systems– Integrate multiple systems

Types of Learning Technology Standards

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Types of Learning Technology Standards

LearningContent

Learner

Interoperability

Metadata

Packaging

Sequencing

Competencies

Learner Records

Privacy/Security

Architecture

API’s

Protocols

Learning Information

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The Standards Process

RequirementsVision

Use Cases

Testand Use

DefineRefine

and consolidate

AccreditedStandards

Specifications,Best Practice

New Products,Pilot Programs,Testbeds

Consensus,Consolidation,Conformance

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Who is Involved? Consortia – gathering requirements,

producing specifications– Alliance of Remote Instructional and Authoring

Distribution Networks for Europe (ARIADNE)– IMS Global Learning Consortium– CEN/ISSS Workshop on Learning Technology– Customized Learning Experiences Online– Aviation Industry CBT Committee– HR-XML Consortium– Energy Industry CBT Alliance

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Who is Involved?

Testbeds and Reference Models– Advanced Distributed Learning initiative– Advanced Learning Infrastructure Consortium– Education Network Australia– European Commission– Chinese Distance Learning Standards

Committee !!!

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Who is Involved?

Formal Standards Bodies– IEEE Learning Technology Standards

Committee– ISO/IEC Joint Technology Committee

Subcommittee on Standards for Learning, Education, and Technology

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IMS Contributing Members ADL Co-Lab Apple Artesia Technologies Becta Blackboard Boeing Campus Pipeline Centra Software CIC Cisco Systems Click 2 Learn Calif. State Universities Can Studios CMU DETYA Digital Learning Interactive Digitalthink Docent Educational Testing Service

EDUCAUSE Eduprise Epic Group Fretwell-Downing Group GIUNTI Interactive Labs IBM Corporation Industry Canada JISC LON LUVIT Miami-Dade Community

College Microsoft MIT NIST NYUOnline Oracle OU Netherlands Pearson Education

PeopleSoft Prometheus R5 Vision Saba Software SCT SUFI Sun THINQ Thomson Learning UFI Unext UC - Berkeley University of Michigan University of Wisconsin University System of Maryland US Department of Labor Virginia Tech Virtual Education Space WebCT

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ADL Plugfest Participants

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IEEE Learning Technology Standards Committee

185 Individual Experts Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada,

China, Finland, France, Korea, Germany, Greece, Indonesia, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Hong Kong, Japan, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK, US, the Ukraine, Yugoslavia

Vendors, Government agencies & contractors, Academic institutions, Consulting/solutions firms, other learning technology organizations

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ISO/IEC JTC1 SC36 Standards for Learning, Education and Training Membership by National Bodies

– Australia, Austria, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, Sweden, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States of America

Liaisons with other organizations and subcommittees Four Working Groups

– Vocabulary– Collaborative Technology– Learner Information,– Management and Delivery of Learning, Education

and Training,

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Metadata Data about data:

– Description of learning resources– Author, title, subject, etc.– Copyright, Cost– Technical requirements– Educational intent and nature of the content

Metadata enables: – Cataloging– Discovery– Retrieval– Interoperability

Ultimately: match learning & learners

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Learning Object Metadata

IMSDublin CoreARIADNE Started 1997

Learning Object Metadata• Almost an IEEE Standard• Many language versions• Used by virtually all content specifications• Coordinated with Dublin Core

Standardization Expected early 2002

Ottawa communiqué:Expected early 2002

EUAUSTRALIAASIA 2000 - 2002IMSSCORM

2001 - 2002

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Remarks on Metadata

It’s the Metadata!– No lack of content but it’s hard to find– People pay for metadata, not content

Metadata Mastery– Modular and extensible– Application profiles for communities of practice– Multilingual– Labels are tokens– Multiple records for a single resource– LOM is structured data

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The Learning Content Program

Existing Content

Learning Content Authoring Tools

Learning Content Authoring Tools

Chunk

Create

Repurpose

Assemble

LearningCatalog

LearningCatalog

LMS

Import

Find

Track

Deliver

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Learning Content Standards

AICC – file and HTTP communication protocols– Includes pedagogic elements– Many existing implementations– AICC concerned with many other things

IMS– Question & Test– Packaging & Sequencing– Digital Repository Interoperability

LTSC: Taking up AICC/IMS specifications

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The Driving Force Behind Content

ADL/SCORM– Combination of AICC, IMS, IEEE and other work– Learning objects are shareable content objects– Addresses packaging, assembly, sequencing,

communication and metadata

SCORM versus AICC– JavaScript API– Fits into IMS Packaging– Explicit use of LOM

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OTHER AREAS OF STANDARDIZATION I

System interoperability– IMS Enterprise– XML, SOAP, etc.– Open Knowledge Initiative (IMS/ADL/Open Source)

Learner Information– IMS Learner Information Package– SC36 Personal And Private Information, Identifiers– Competencies (HR-XML), Competency Definitions (LTSC)

Collaboration– SC36 work

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OTHER AREAS OF STANDARDIZATION II

Architecture, Vocabulary, Platform Profiles, Communication protocols etc. (LTSC & SC36)

Accessibility– Major issue in Europe and North America

Quality (CEN/ISSS) Learning Design and Architecture

– Educational Modeling Languages (CEN/ISSS, IMS)

Digital Repositories– IMS Group– OCLC

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Testing and Certification

Needed for consumer and industry confidence

AICC has certification program in place IMS planning to enable testing ADL has developed test suites An important IEEE LTSC role is to work with

certification and testing labs

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Invitation to Participate

The IMS Global Learning Consortium Contributing Members:

specification development, review, approval leadership

Developers Network Members: exchange of tools, techniques, and trials

Dissemination and Participation: workshops, briefings, information, setting up

program to enable conformance testing

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Invitation to Participate

The Advanced Distributed Learning initiative

Co-laboratories corporate, federal, and academic

Dissemination and Participation publications, plugfests, work with other organizations

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Invitation to Participate

The IEEE Learning Technology Standards Committee

Working Groups standards, technical reports, guides open, consensus-driven process with due

process and right to appeal

Dissemination and Participation publications, liaisons with other

organizations open to all with a material interest

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Questions & Answers

Email: rrobson@eduworks.com

IEEE LTSC: http://ltsc.ieee.org