From: Roddy Young (press@zotgroup.com)
Date: Wed Dec 06 2000 - 07:23:46 PST
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Roderic Young
ZOT Group
+1.617.542.5335 ext/202
dcmi@zotgroup.com
E-LEARNING TAKES IMPORTANT STEP FORWARD
Metadata Standards Leaders IEEE LTSC LOM and DCMI Begin Designing Future
Metadata Architecture for Web-based Learning, Education and Training
http://purl.org/dc/ -- 6 December 2000 - The Learning Technology Standards
Committee Learning Objects Metadata (LTSC-LOM) Working Group of the IEEE
(Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) and the Dublin Core
Metadata Initiative (DCMI) today announced their joint commitment to
develop interoperable metadata for learning, education and training. The
joint Memorandum of Understanding is signed by officers representing the
LOM Working Group and DCMI. The document, regarding the IEEE standard
P1484.12, is co-signed by representatives of concurring projects: ARIADNE
(Alliance of Remote Instructional Authoring and Distribution Networks for
Europe), EdNA (Education Network Australia), GEM (Gateway to Educational
Materials), and the IMS Global Learning Consortium.
"No matter how many search engines or information retrieval systems we use
today finding a needle in the data-haystack can be a fruitless effort. This
enormous problem will not be solved overnight, but LOM and DCMI are
building the path that will make information retrieval and exchange a much
more rewarding process," said Stuart Weibel, Director of DCMI.
Both LOM and DCMI have been leaders in the formation of metadata
specification for the Web. The overlapping constituency has led to the need
for increased collaboration and a charge to build a single architecture
that promotes creation, interchange and use of metadata. Both organizations
seek to increase the use of metadata or "data about data."
Collaboration will focus on learning, education and training. The principal
goal underpinning the MOU is to establish a coordinated discussion between
the two groups. The agreement sets out to ensure semantic elements meet the
needs of the users and metadata elements can easily work with other
descriptions and be refined for specific encoding standards when necessary.
"This is all about critical mass - and building momentum toward
interoperable metadata," said Prof. Erik Duval, Chair of the CEN ISSS
Learning Technologies Workshop and technical editor of IEEE-LTSC-LOM.
"Having a common approach to educational metadata is crucial to further
speed up adoption of metadata technologies. That in turn is the first,
crucial step on the long road to open learning infrastructures."
"This agreement signals a clear way forward for how education and training
practitioners engaged in developing metadata can best support e-learning.
This milestone positions educational metadata for the long-term and ensures
that it can evolve with the ever-changing landscape of digital and global
information."
-- Jon Mason and Stuart Sutton, co-chairs, DC-Education Working Group.
"ARIADNE's constituents deal with Information and Communication
Technologies (ICT) for education and training and, by nature, will need to
rely on some kind of library services. They have much to gain from using a
common, stable and compatible indexation system, endorsed by recognized
authorities in the field of metadata."
-- Eddy Forte, Chairman of the ARIADNE Foundation for the European
Knowledge Pool
"Ready access to comprehensive repositories of metadata is increasingly
noted as the critical factor at the inflection point of the next generation
of learning and knowledge creation. However, this will require that
metadata be highly interoperable and reusable worldwide. This agreement
marks a major step toward realizing this vision."
-- Wayne Hodgins, Chair of the IEEE LTSC LOM Working Group
"Convergence between Dublin Core and IEEE-LTSC-LOM signifies that a core
set of specifications and accredited standards is emerging to support an
interoperable infrastructure for world-wide e-learning. The IMS Global
Learning Consortium is pleased to have contributed, with ARIADNE, to the
creation of the candidate Learning Objects Metadata standard and to the
collaborative effort which has produced in this agreement."
-- E.C.T. Walker, CEO of IMS Global Learning Consortium, Inc.
The metadata for the press release can be found at:
http://purl.org/dc/news/pr-20001206.htm.rdf
ABOUT IEEE
The IEEE LTSC LOM (Learning Object Metadata) working group will specify the
syntax and semantics of metadata needed to describe technology-supported
learning, including computer-based training systems, interactive learning
environments, intelligent computer-aided instruction systems, distance
learning systems, and collaborative learning environments. More information
is available at: http://ltsc.ieee.org/wg12/
The IEEE LTSC (Learning Technology Standards Committee) develops technical
standards in approximately 20 areas of information technology for learning,
education, and training. Further information can be found at:
http://ltsc.ieee.org/
The IEEE is a leading authority in technical areas ranging from computer
engineering, biomedical technology and telecommunications, to electric
power, aerospace and consumer electronics, among others. Further
information on IEEE can be found at: http://www.ieee.org/
ABOUT THE DUBLIN CORE METADATA INITIATIVE [DCMI]
The Dublin Core Metadata Initiative is an open forum engaged in the
development of interoperable online metadata standards that support a broad
range of purposes and business models. Its primary offering, the Dublin
Core Metadata Element Set, is the de facto worldwide standard for the
description of information resources across disciplines and languages.
DCMI's activities include consensus-driven working groups, global
workshops, conferences, standards liaison, and educational efforts to
promote widespread acceptance of metadata standards and practices. Further
information on DCMI, the Dublin Core family of specifications and various
online metadata solutions can be found at http://purl.org/dc/
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