1. Learning Technology Standards Status & Direction
Robby Robson
Chair, IEEE LTSC
President & Senior Partner, Eduworks

2. Robby Robson - Standards
Outline
Who wants standards
Types of Learning Technology Standards
The standards process
Who is doing it
Metadata
The Learning Content Program
Other areas of standardization
Testing and certification
How to participate
Questions and Answers
12/16/2001
Robby Robson - Standards

3. What Will NOT Be Covered
Details of the standards and specifications
Best covered in longer workshops
Comparative Analyses and Impact on Academic or Industry Segments
Different topic with different value
Presenter will try to be neutral
All specifications and standards in the world
Specific to learning technology and distance learning
Limited to what presenter knows
Concentrate on areas of most activity
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Robby Robson - Standards

4. Robby Robson - Standards
Who Wants Standards?
Learning Technology Companies
Universities
Training Administrators
Learning Content producers
Consortia
Standards help products work together and enable solutions to scale
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Robby Robson - Standards

5. Robby Robson - Standards
The Value of Standards
Standards mark the spot!
Standards
Emerge
Demonstration
Adoption
Pioneers
Everyone
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Robby Robson - Standards

6. Types of Learning Technology Standards
LEARNING CONTENT STANDARDS
Describe Learning Content
Package Learning Content
Track the results of Learning Content
LEARNER STANDARDS
Store and share learner information
Describe competencies and certifications
Ensure privacy and security
INTEROPERABILITY STANDARDS
Integrate components of learning systems
Integrate multiple systems
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Robby Robson - Standards

7. Types of Learning Technology Standards
Content
Learner
Interoperability
Metadata
Packaging
Sequencing
Competencies
Learner Records
Privacy/Security
Architecture
API’s
Protocols
Learning Information
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Robby Robson - Standards

8. Robby Robson - Standards
The Standards Process
Requirements
Vision
Use Cases
Test
and Use
Define
Refine
and
consolidate
Accredited
Standards
Specifications,
Best Practice
New Products,
Pilot Programs,
Testbeds
Consensus,
Consolidation,
Conformance
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Robby Robson - Standards

9. Robby Robson - Standards
Who is Involved?
Consortia – gathering requirements, producing specifications
Alliance of Remote Instructional and Authoring Distribution Networks for Europe (ARIADNE)
IMS Global Learning Consortium
CEN/ISSS Workshop on Learning Technology
Customized Learning Experiences Online
Aviation Industry CBT Committee
HR-XML Consortium
Energy Industry CBT Alliance
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Robby Robson - Standards

10. Robby Robson - Standards
Who is Involved?
Testbeds and Reference Models
Advanced Distributed Learning initiative
Advanced Learning Infrastructure Consortium
Education Network Australia
European Commission
Chinese Distance Learning Standards Committee !!!
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Robby Robson - Standards

11. Robby Robson - Standards
Who is Involved?
Formal Standards Bodies
IEEE Learning Technology Standards Committee
ISO/IEC Joint Technology Committee Subcommittee on Standards for Learning, Education, and Technology
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Robby Robson - Standards

12. IMS Contributing Members
ADL Co-Lab
Apple
Artesia Technologies
Becta
Blackboard
Boeing
Campus Pipeline
Centra Software
CIC
Cisco Systems
Click 2 Learn
Calif. State Universities
Can Studios
CMU
DETYA
Digital Learning Interactive
Digitalthink
Docent
Educational Testing Service
EDUCAUSE
Eduprise
Epic Group
Fretwell-Downing Group
GIUNTI Interactive Labs
IBM Corporation
Industry Canada
JISC
LON
LUVIT
Miami-Dade Community College
Microsoft
MIT
NIST
NYUOnline
Oracle
OU Netherlands
Pearson Education
PeopleSoft
Prometheus
R5 Vision
Saba Software
SCT
SUFI
Sun
THINQ
Thomson Learning
UFI
Unext
UC - Berkeley
University of Michigan
University of Wisconsin
University System of Maryland
US Department of Labor
Virginia Tech
Virtual Education Space
WebCT
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13. ADL Plugfest Participants
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Robby Robson - Standards

14. IEEE Learning Technology Standards Committee
185 Individual Experts
Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Finland, France, Korea, Germany, Greece, Indonesia, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Hong Kong, Japan, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK, US, the Ukraine, Yugoslavia
Vendors, Government agencies & contractors, Academic institutions, Consulting/solutions firms, other learning technology organizations
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Robby Robson - Standards

15. Robby Robson - Standards
ISO/IEC JTC1 SC36
Standards for Learning, Education and Training
Membership by National Bodies
Australia, Austria, Canada, China, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Netherlands, Norway, Singapore, Sweden, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States of America
Liaisons with other organizations and subcommittees
Four Working Groups
Vocabulary
Collaborative Technology
Learner Information,
Management and Delivery of Learning, Education and Training,
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Robby Robson - Standards

16. Robby Robson - Standards
Metadata
Data about data:
Description of learning resources
Author, title, subject, etc.
Copyright, Cost
Technical requirements
Educational intent and nature of the content
Metadata enables:
Cataloging
Discovery
Retrieval
Interoperability
Ultimately: match learning & learners
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Robby Robson - Standards

17. Learning Object Metadata
IMS
SCORM EU
AUSTRALIA
ASIA
Learning Object Metadata
Almost an IEEE Standard
Many language versions
Used by virtually all content
specifications
Coordinated with Dublin Core
Standardization Expected early 2002
Ottawa communiqué:
Expected early 2002
IMS
Dublin Core
ARIADNE
Started 1997
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Robby Robson - Standards

18. Robby Robson - Standards
Remarks on Metadata
It’s the Metadata!
No lack of content but it’s hard to find
People pay for metadata, not content
Metadata Mastery
Modular and extensible
Application profiles for communities of practice
Multilingual
Labels are tokens
Multiple records for a single resource
LOM is structured data
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Robby Robson - Standards

19. The Learning Content Program
Existing
Content
Learning Content
Authoring Tools
Chunk
Create
Repurpose
Assemble
Learning
Catalog
LMS
Import
Find
Track
Deliver
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Robby Robson - Standards

20. Learning Content Standards
AICC
file and HTTP communication protocols
Includes pedagogic elements
Many existing implementations
AICC concerned with many other things
IMS
Question & Test
Packaging & Sequencing
Digital Repository Interoperability
LTSC: Taking up AICC/IMS specifications
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Robby Robson - Standards

21. The Driving Force Behind Content
ADL/SCORM
Combination of AICC, IMS, IEEE and other work
Learning objects are shareable content objects
Addresses packaging, assembly, sequencing, communication and metadata
SCORM versus AICC
JavaScript API
Fits into IMS Packaging
Explicit use of LOM
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Robby Robson - Standards

22. OTHER AREAS OF STANDARDIZATION I
System interoperability
IMS Enterprise
XML, SOAP, etc.
Open Knowledge Initiative (IMS/ADL/Open Source)
Learner Information
IMS Learner Information Package
SC36 Personal And Private Information, Identifiers
Competencies (HR-XML), Competency Definitions (LTSC)
Collaboration
SC36 work
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Robby Robson - Standards

23. OTHER AREAS OF STANDARDIZATION II
Architecture, Vocabulary, Platform Profiles, Communication protocols etc. (LTSC & SC36)
Accessibility
Major issue in Europe and North America
Quality (CEN/ISSS)
Learning Design and Architecture
Educational Modeling Languages (CEN/ISSS, IMS)
Digital Repositories
IMS Group
OCLC
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Robby Robson - Standards

24. Testing and Certification
Needed for consumer and industry confidence
AICC has certification program in place
IMS planning to enable testing
ADL has developed test suites
An important IEEE LTSC role is to work with certification and testing labs
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Robby Robson - Standards

25. Invitation to Participate
The IMS Global Learning Consortium
Contributing Members:
specification development, review, approval
leadership
Developers Network Members:
exchange of tools, techniques, and trials
Dissemination and Participation:
workshops, briefings, information, setting up program to enable conformance testing
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Robby Robson - Standards

26. Invitation to Participate
The Advanced Distributed Learning initiative
Co-laboratories
corporate, federal, and academic
Dissemination and Participation
publications,
plugfests,
work with other organizations
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Robby Robson - Standards

27. Invitation to Participate
The IEEE Learning Technology Standards Committee
Working Groups
standards, technical reports, guides
open, consensus-driven process with due process and right to appeal
Dissemination and Participation
publications, liaisons with other organizations
open to all with a material interest
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Robby Robson - Standards

28. Robby Robson - Standards
Questions & Answers
IEEE LTSC:
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Robby Robson - Standards