Searching Heterogeneous e-Learning Resources

1. Searching Heterogeneous e-Learning Resources Boon Low, EGEE Training, National e-Science Centre, UK John MacColl, Digital Library Division, University of Edinburgh

2. Outline • e-Learning Framework (ELF) and d+ project • Common services and interoperability • d+ search services and toolkit • Interoperability: metadata, repository & service interfaces • Use scenarios Searching heterogeneous e-learning resources 9th DELOS workshop 2005, Crete

3. e-Learning framework (ELF) • A service-oriented approach to provide e-learning infrastructure • A collaborative initiative involving: • Carnegie-Mellon Learning Systems Architecture Lab, U.S.A. • Department of Education, Science and Training, Australia • Industry Canada • Joint Information Systems Committee, U.K. • Emerging interests, e.g. EGEE • Not an architecture blueprint, but a formative framework • providing high level and common abstractions of e-learning • underpins reference model, system design and artifacts • Define common services (behaviour) and data (object) models with shared vocabulary, service description (WSDL) and interoperability standards Searching heterogeneous e-learning resources 9th DELOS workshop 2005, Crete

4. Email Learning Flow Tracking Marking Activity Authoring Assessment Resource List AV Conferencing Course Management Sequencing Quality Assurance Reporting Chat Authentication Annotation / Review Content Management Archiving Curriculum Learner Management Course Validation Calendaring Personal Developm’t Authorisation Federated Search Filing Alert / Notification Content Adaptation Resolver Forum Mapping Metadata Management Format Conversion Messaging Identifier Packaging Whiteboard Tracking Service Registry User Management Scheduling Search / Browse Personalisation Harvesting e-Learning framework services …. Sources: • e-Learning Framework (ELF) http://www.elframework.org …. Searching heterogeneous e-learning resources 9th DELOS workshop 2005, Crete

5. AV Conferencing Calendaring Reporting Personal Developm’t Learning Flow Tracking Chat Marking Activity Authoring Learner Management Assessment Resource List Course Management Curriculum Quality Assurance Course Validation Annotation / Review Archiving Sequencing User Management Identifier Format Conversion Scheduling Filing Alert / Notification Content Adaptation Forum Mapping Email Personalisation Harvesting Packaging Messaging Whiteboard Tracking Service Registry Search / Browse Example: d+ search service …. Authentication Authorisation Content Management Federated Search Metadata Management Resolver • Search / browse, federated search • Persistent linking mechanism (resolver) - OpenURL …. Searching heterogeneous e-learning resources 9th DELOS workshop 2005, Crete

6. AV Conferencing Calendaring Reporting Personal Developm’t Learning Flow Tracking Chat Marking Activity Authoring Learner Management Assessment Resource List Course Management Curriculum Quality Assurance Course Validation Annotation / Review Archiving Sequencing User Management Identifier Format Conversion Scheduling Filing Alert / Notification Content Adaptation Forum Mapping Email Personalisation Harvesting Packaging Messaging Whiteboard Tracking Service Registry Search / Browse Example: EGEE DL services …. Authentication Authorisation Content Management Federated Search Metadata Management Resolver EGEE Digital Library core services: • Content management services based on Fedora • deposit/update/download materials, versioning, metadata management • Search / browse, federated search • Persistent linking mechanism (resolver) - OpenURL …. Searching heterogeneous e-learning resources 9th DELOS workshop 2005, Crete

7. AV Conferencing Activity Authoring Curriculum Course Management Assessment Learner Management Marking Tracking Learning Flow Course Validation Personal Developm’t Quality Assurance Calendaring Reporting Mapping Scheduling Sequencing Service Registry Tracking Whiteboard Harvesting Messaging Forum User Management Chat Content Adaptation Alert / Notification Filing Email Format Conversion Identifier Archiving Search / Browse Example: EGEE DL services …. Resource List Annotation / Review Authentication Authorisation Content Management Federated Search Metadata Management Packaging Personalisation Resolver EGEE Digital Library personalisation services: • Resources annotation / review services • Personal (EGEE partners & learners) resources list services (d+ phase 2) • Create, read, update, delete personal resource (reading) lists and customised courses • Export resources to other e-learning environment …. Searching heterogeneous e-learning resources 9th DELOS workshop 2005, Crete

8. d+ project • d+ = “discovery+: brokerage for deep & distributed e-learning resources discovery” • Funded by JISC e-Learning Programme, Technical Framework & Tools - 1st phase completed, 2nd phase about to begin • Main objective: • Piloting search services and a toolkit for resource discovery among heterogeneous repositories, focusing on “intra-functional” interoperability • Partners: • University of Edinburgh: Library and Medical College • University of Southampton, University of Oxford, University of Wales Swansea • Edina, Intrallect, WebCT • EGEE? Searching heterogeneous e-learning resources 9th DELOS workshop 2005, Crete

9. e-Learning resources plethora • Presentation materials • Audio-visual content - SMIL-based • Software code samples, “cook books” • Research and scientific data • Reference objects including websites, technical reports, books, journal, articles • Resource lists (aggregation), annotation, reviews • Hands on tutorials • Assessment objects quiz and exam • Students portfolios • Wiki, weblog and forum • …. • Web-based, i.e. searchable via Google AND resources resided in distributed & autonomous repository systems Searching heterogeneous e-learning resources 9th DELOS workshop 2005, Crete

10. Common search services d+ is based on: OCLC Reference System for SRW/U d+ toolkit d+ framework JAFER Toolkit for accessing Z39.50 repositories reference services consumer OpenURL Resolver VLE ELF LD services Tools /Apps Portal Common search service Searching heterogeneous e-learning resources 9th DELOS workshop 2005, Crete

11. Common service interfaces • Unifying disparate repositories interfaces with: • LOC Search & Retrieve URL (SRU) interface: • OpenURL for persistent linking • SRU uses Common Query Language (CQL) for specifying search strategy • query=title exact “grid computing” (title search) • query=“grid computing” and date exact 2004 (boolean) • CQL also provides context querying • Dublin core context, e.g. dc.title exact xxx • LOM context, e.g. lom.general.title exact xxx Searching heterogeneous e-learning resources 9th DELOS workshop 2005, Crete

12. Interoperability stack d+ toolkit Metadata container d+ framework Metadata reference services consumer OpenURL Resolver VLE ELF LD services Tools /Apps Portal Repository access Interfaces Interoperability stacks Searching heterogeneous e-learning resources 9th DELOS workshop 2005, Crete

13. Repositories access interfaces • Any Z39.50 bibliographic, e.g. ePrints UK, RDN, COPAC, Ovid Cochrane Library, Xgrain • Application programming interface (API): DSpace, Google • Web services - REST (URL): Amazon, PubMed, O’Reilly Safari e-Reference Library, Health Board Scotland • Web services - SOAP: IntraLibrary (underlying repository for Jorum), National e-Library for Health, Health Protection Scotland Searching heterogeneous e-learning resources 9th DELOS workshop 2005, Crete

14. searchRetrieveResponse XML records recordData recordData recordData Map native metadata to LOM, DC, RLI resource metadata resource metadata resource metadata Metadata interoperability • Mapping native metadata to a specific schema is required so that the search results are consistent (for service consumption) • In addition to reusing native metadata schemas of the repositories, mapping services piloted: • MARC, GRS to LOM, DC, RLI • DC to LOM, RLI • Amazon, Google, Safari, Xgrain to LOM, DC Searching heterogeneous e-learning resources 9th DELOS workshop 2005, Crete

15. searchRetrieveResponse XML IMS Content Package XML IMS Resource List XML records recordData recordData recordData resource metadata resource metadata resource metadata resources resourceList resource resource resourceMetadata metadata/lom resource resource resourceMetadata metadata/lom resource resource resourceMetadata metadata/lom M’data container interoperability • Mapping SRW/U results to different containers (“wrappers”): IMS Content Packaging and Resource List Spec. Searching heterogeneous e-learning resources 9th DELOS workshop 2005, Crete

16. M’data container interoperability • Action: to map SRW/U to IMS CP/RLI: • Using the metadata mapping mechanisms, retrieve the appropriate SRU results containing the corresponding metadata schema of the container, I.e. CP->LOM, RLI ->RLI (metadata) • Map the SRU(LOM/RLI metadata) results with XSLT stylesheets, to IMSCP/LOM, or IMSRLI/RLI • More elegant action: • Modify SRW/U web services to return different containers in addition of the current “hard-wired” SRU response wrapper • Needs the separation of SRW/U service from its data binding • “lom.title” query gets IMSCP/LOM records by default • “rli.title” query gets IMSRLI/RLI records by default • “dc.title” query gets SRW/DC records by default Searching heterogeneous e-learning resources 9th DELOS workshop 2005, Crete

17. Use scenario - VLE • Search library and web resources from within virtual learning environments (VLE) Searching heterogeneous e-learning resources 9th DELOS workshop 2005, Crete

18. Use scenario - VLE • Re-purposing library metadata as reading lists with annotations Searching heterogeneous e-learning resources 9th DELOS workshop 2005, Crete

19. Use scenario - VLE • Another VLE Searching heterogeneous e-learning resources 9th DELOS workshop 2005, Crete

20. Use scenario - mobile devices • Personal digital assistants (PDA) & mobile devices Searching heterogeneous e-learning resources 9th DELOS workshop 2005, Crete

21. Scenario - metadata enrichment • Integrating metadata from multiple sources bibliographic graphics external annotations holding Searching heterogeneous e-learning resources 9th DELOS workshop 2005, Crete

22. Use scenario - federated search • As underlying engine for federated searching d+ Searching heterogeneous e-learning resources 9th DELOS workshop 2005, Crete

23. Further work • d+ evaluation • JISC ELF demonstrator projects for deploying d+ toolkit and services among institutional settings • d+ phase 2 • A toolkit for resource list services based on IMS Resource List Interoperability Specification • Demonstrator application for creating, reading, updating and deleting resource list • Fedora as a platform for d+ • Caching • Annotation services • Embedded repository (shipped with the toolkit) Searching heterogeneous e-learning resources 9th DELOS workshop 2005, Crete

24. Thank you • Further Information: • JISC E-Learning Framework http://www.elframework.org/ • d+ project http://devil.lib.ed.ac.uk • EGEE digital library & e-learning: http://wiki.nesc.ac.uk/read/egee-elearning/ • Email • boon.low@ed.ac.uk • john.maccoll@ed.ac.uk Searching heterogeneous e-learning resources 9th DELOS workshop 2005, Crete