User Contribution
Unlike libraries, repositories permit users to take part in creating and contributing resources, commenting on resources, and determining whether resources are to be included in a collection. Users share resources, have access to tools to assist in resource repurposing and repositories invite peer input on resources through peer reviews, to ensure resource accuracy, instructional quality, and adherence to metadata standards.
Metadata
Like a library’s card catalog, a repository provides descriptions of each resource within the collection. This is the resource’s metadata. Sometimes called data about data, metadata describes the nature and location of the resource, and usually includes resource title, author, resource description, relevant keywords, copyright statements and any additional relevant information.
Robust metadata is key to finding an item within a repository warehouse through a targeted search function within what can be an extremely large collection. Metadata makes discoverability more likely by making it possible for users to locate the resource that exactly matches their specific need.
Because metadata serves such an important function, there is an international metadata standard, IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers standard), as a means to allow different repositories to communicate with one another. Tagging items according to this standard allows searches conducted in one repository to find an item housed in another repository altogether.
The LOM (learning object metadata) data model specifies which aspects of a learning object should be described and what vocabularies may be used for these descriptions. It is this standard that also defines how LOM should be represented in XML. There are many standard specifications based on this model. A few of them follow: UK LOM Core, CanCore, Dublin Core, Vetadata, and SCORM.
When writing content metadata for your learning objects, be sure to take into consideration not only your primary audience, but the secondary audiences who will be searching later on for your objects in a repository.
Another tip to keep in mind is that from the client’s perspective, the three most important bits of metadata are: keywords, learning objectives, and SCO (sharable content object) owner.
A problematic issue regarding metadata is the amount of time it takes to generate it. In compliance with SCORM standards, each media file must be individually tagged in addition to each individual SCO. That means each picture and each video clip used in the project must have its own personal tag in addition to the tag of the complete module. This makes for a considerable amount of tagging; a very time consuming and therefore costly practice. The question becomes is it cost-effective to be paying for something that doesn’t affect the learners experience of the course?
Metadata guidelines:
IEEE LOM
IMS metadata
SCORM
CanCore
vocabulary in metadata
- This content comes from Learning Objects for Instruction:Design and Evaluation by Pamela T. Northrup.
