Exploring Learning Technology Standards: Current Trends and Emerging Issues

1. Trends & Issues: Breakout Session Robby Robson Standards Evangelist

2. Breakout Session Topics Trends and Issues • Learning Objects & Learning Technology Standards (The vision and the status) • Learning Management (mini demo) • IPR (Discussion – I am NOT an attorney) • E-commerce (business models of eLearning) • Rewards (Promotion? Tenure? Royalties?) • Other (The most popular discussion topic) Content & Learning Managemet

3. Learning Objects & Standards • The Vision: • Portable and Re-usable Content. • Adaptive and Situated Learning. • Performance and Learning Management. • Standards • Descriptions of content (metadata) • Descriptions of the learner (profiles) • System level interoperability Content & Learning Managemet

4. Who’s Doing What In the US? • IMS Global Learning Consortium • Early Specifications (based on practice) • Consortium serves its members • AICC (Aviation Industry CBT Consortium) • Only widespread working framework • Web strategy turned over to ADL/IEEE • ADL (Advanced Distributed Learning Initiative) • Implementation and testing. • Currently in the driver’s seat • IEEE Learning Technology Standards Committee • Formal standards body • Coordinated with ISO Content & Learning Managemet

5. How this works together Standards Bodies IMS Coordination AICC SCORM Content & Learning Managemet

6. What is Being Developed • Metadata • Furthest in terms of implementation and standardization. • Still needs to be built out into communities • Learner Information • Lots of it from many sources • PAPI (example of sole source spec) • IMS LIP • Content and Architecture • SCORM: API’s and IMS Packaging (HACP from AICC) • Play Rules, sequencing under consideration • ADL looking to the future • Rights management, other issues – not yet. Content & Learning Managemet

7. The Learning Content Life Cycle Things delivered to the learner Re-usable Learning Objects Metadata LMS & Learning Catalog Learning Object = Learning Asset + Metadata Packaging LMS & ERP Content Repositories LMS & Profile Servers Content Servers Content & Learning Managemet

8. Issues Raised by the Vision • Tension between content designers and content assemblers – both want control • Are pedagogic models built in? • Need to support “ad hoc” learning – recognized but difficult. • Academia is being left (far) behind. • Tension between dreams and (economic) reality. Content & Learning Managemet

9. Learning Management Systems LMS are scalable enterprise systems offering services that address learning, performance, and knowledge. There is a tension between distributed systems and “end to end” solutions. LMS enables learner as well as external control. That must be managed as well! • Maintaining individual profiles of learning plans, learner progress, and learner history • Forecasting demand, establishing and managing budgets, and scheduling resources • Matching content to learners, groups of learners, and global requirements • Registration, tracking, billing, and delivery of all forms of content to learners • Enabling adaptive content and learning services • Central administration and management of users, resources, learning catalog Content & Learning Managemet

10. Intellectual Property Rights (and Lefts) • First decide what are rights. Then manage them. • Technology is easy. Policy is hard. Enforcing policy with technology is almost impossible. • Data is worthless. Metadata is precious. • Understanding value propositions is the first step in understanding value. Content & Learning Managemet

11. E-Commerce • Business models for content attach value to data. • Business models for services fail to understand value propositions. • Learning is a multi-billion dollar industry. But it is not a .com industry. • Academia can no longer remain a cottage industry. But what should it do? Content & Learning Managemet

12. Rewards (Academic) • Accountability collides with tradition • Learning doesn’t fit into any department! • Universities see $tars in their eyes. • Tenure decisions take 6 years. Internet generations are 6 months. • Risk is not rewarded. • Academics are demanding the quantification of quality for online learning but not for learning in general. Content & Learning Managemet

13. The Ever Popular “Other” Content & Learning Managemet

14. References For references please see the minicourse Web site at http://www.eduworks.com/webnet2000 Robby’s email: rrobson@saba.com or robby@eduworks.com. Content & Learning Managemet