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Supporting learning at the library. Towards integrating LMS and digital library technology at Penn John Mark Ockerbloom CNI Task Force Meeting December 6, 2002. The goal: Bring together opportunities for learning. Universities are all about learning, and teaching
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Supporting learning at the library Towards integrating LMS and digital library technology at Penn John Mark Ockerbloom CNI Task Force Meeting December 6, 2002
The goal: Bring together opportunities for learning • Universities are all about learning, and teaching • through individual research and publication • through class study and teaching • The library is a commons for bringing together knowledge, and learners themselves • Both class teaching and library resources increasingly use digital resources • and often from the same source (e.g. electronic library reserves for courses) • Common technology and tools should help both
What we’d like to do • Make it easy for scholars to find digital library resources and include them in their teaching • open Web, licensed resources, ereserves, original material • not just static documents, but dynamic services, local and remote • Let them retain, preserve, and share material • personal and course portfolios • shared course materials workspaces for teachers • public dissemination • Institutional repository deposit? • Support new ways of teaching and learning more effectively • including targeted techniques for specialized applications
Penn’s strategy • Bring LMS support into the library • And work on integrating reserves, digital library services • Support LMS architectures that can improve learning outcomes • Open architectures (e.g. OKI) supporting best-of-breed integration • System interfaces that integrate LMS, digital library capabilities • Develop and test new content tools • for smoother workflow for instructors, students, librarians • for better integration of content and services • for reuse of materials in new contexts • (may involve conversion of data, domain-specific metadata) • Reshape library space and services • to better support learning in a digitally rich environment
The Open Knowledge Initiative • Multi-year open development project • Funded by the Mellon Foundation • MIT and Stanford are lead universities • Other universities, including Penn, are development partners. • Deliverables: • Open, layered architecture and APIs for educational SW • Open source example implementations of the APIs • Exemplar tools using the APIs • Why we like it: • Designed by and for its users (universities) • Encourages integration and cooperation, for both commercial and academic efforts, including our own • Expands choices and raises standards in software
We can build better course content management… • Easy drag-and-drop functionality • Automatic inferences to avoid unnecessary forms • Flexible metadata and access control • Organizing diverse resources in workspaces • which may or may not be associated with a particular course • Smart modules for: • Defining dynamic services (e.g. search, channels) • Classifying and converting content, metadata, references • Interacting with digital library repositories and collections • Compatible with OKI-compliant LMS • So we can concentrate on where we have interests and skills, while leaving the other stuff we need to others
…though some things are easier said than done: • Finding common data models and APIs • SCORM learning object vs. OAIS AIP with METS • What are appropriate APIs for search, repository fns? • Finding usable software to implement them • (multi-source simultaneous search, for instance) • Lightweight protocols, collaboration, helpful here • Keeping hassle factor low • Inferring correct URLs for library resources • Dealing with data format incompatibilities • Maintaining ease of use in complex systems • Enabling appropriate access control
Access control • Challenge: Make it easy to share material while protecting rights • (of publishers, instructors, students) • Gets trickier beyond course limits; c.f. Clifford Lynch’s paper • Lockdowns, policy hard-coding not acceptable • Institutions, groups need to determine appropriate policies • May be different for active courses vs. repositories • Useful tools to uphold policies: • Clear documentation of policies • including LMS-processable form if possible • Portable access and provenance metadata • Created automatically where appropriate • Clear visibility for access rights (and hooks for change) • Make common practices simple, uncommon ones possible • Trusted people better than “trusted systems”
The library evolves • From shelving reserves to supporting courses • Providing new digital points of service • Integrating courseware with DL tools like searching, resolution, collection and repository control • Cooperating with other divisions (campus IT, schools) • Making the most of our nondigital assets • Not just physical volumes, but also space, and expertise • Example: Collaboratory for Learning and Teaching • In diffuse environments (like Penn), libraries are vital focal points for learning