1. Welcome to MDexpLORe.us Module 4: Publishing to the LOR

2. Overview and Navigation Tips placeholder

3. Overview In Module 4, you will review the LOR workflow process which involves three main stages: development or discovery of learning objects and assets, meta-tagging, and the approval process. Next, you will examine many facets of metadata including: – uses of metadata – Library of Congress Subject Headings – Proposed tagging scheme for the Common Core – use of views. templates, and tools to aid with the tagging process Finally, you will complete each stage in the workflow process in order to publish a learning object or asset to the LOR.

4. LOR Workflow Process Four main stages: – development or discovery – meta-tagging – approval of the LO or digital learning content – publication to the LOR Stage 2: Meta-tagging the Learning Object or Asset Stage 3: Approval of the LO or asset and its metadata Stage 4: Publication to Maryland’s LOR Stage 1: Discovery or Development

5. Discovery or Development Module 3 covered how to search for or discover learning objects and assets. While the topic of “Developing Learning Objects” is beyond the scope of Module 4, there are many excellent resources including these from the Southern Regional Education Board which can help you design and develop learning objects: – Designing Learning Objects Designing Learning Objects – Developing Learning Objects: Presentation Developing Learning Objects: Presentation – Developing Learning Objects: Practice Developing Learning Objects: Practice – Developing Learning Objects: Proof Developing Learning Objects: Proof Another option for creating learning objects is MERLOT’s content builder at http://taste.merlot.org/Programs_and_Projects/ContentBuild er.html http://taste.merlot.org/Programs_and_Projects/ContentBuild er.html

6. Adding metadata: LOR views & templates

7. Dublin Core The Dublin Core Metadata Element Set delineates the elements used by meta- taggers worldwide to meta-tag digital resources and tools: – title, subject, description and date – creator, publisher and contributor – type and format – identifier – source – language – relation and coverage – rights

8. Dublin Core The name "Dublin" is due to its origin at a 1995 invitational workshop in Dublin, Ohio. The "core" denotation was given because its elements are broad and generic, and the elements are considered usable for describing a wide range of resources. The Open Archives Initiative (OAI) mandates the use of Dublin Core for lowest common denominator interoperability.

9. Dublin Core The Dublin Core Metadata Element Set is the metadata set being used by MDk12expLORe.us; it has been modified in the following ways:. MDk12expLORe.us – Instead of the term, “creator,” MDk12expLORe.us uses the term, “author.” – We are using the Library of Congress Subject Headings to identify the subject(s) and sub- heading(s). – Meta-taggers are not creating the unique identifier; instead, the URL for the resource will serve as its unique identifier.

10. History of Dublin Core To understand why the Dublin Core Metadata Element Set was modified, you need to know that the Dublin Core Metadata Initiative was not developed to describe educational resources. Instead, it traces its roots to a hallway conversation held in Chicago at the 2nd International World Wide Web Conference, October 1994. “This discussion on semantics and the Web revolved around the difficulty of finding resources (difficult even then, with only about 500,000 addressable objects on the Web).”

11. Purpose for Metadata Because our purpose for meta-tagging is to facilitate efficient and effective searching for learning objects and assets by subject, state standards, keywords, date, and grade level, we needed to modify and expand the Dublin Core Metadata Element Set to include fields for: – Standards – Grade level – Instructional Purpose Additional modifications were made to make the metadata more precise so that it is easier to find learning objects and assets.

12. Mdk12expLORe’s Metadata Element Set 1.Title 2.Author 3.Contributor 4.Date 5.Publisher 6.Summary 7.Keywords 8.Digital Rights 9.Subject 10. Grade level 11.Media type 12.Language 13.Learning Style and Preference 14. Instructional Purpose 15. Common Core Alignment

13. Metadata Collection Form The Metadata Collection Form at https://spreadsheets.g oogle.com/viewform?f ormkey=dDRiWG1W WEYxUE9TZ0phbG1TZ GE1bkE6MQ makes the process of collecting the data easy. https://spreadsheets.g oogle.com/viewform?f ormkey=dDRiWG1W WEYxUE9TZ0phbG1TZ GE1bkE6MQ

14. The 15 Metadata Collection Points 1.The Title element stands for the name given to the resource. 2.The Author field identifies the person who created the learning object or asset. 3.The Contributor element recognizes any other individual or team responsible for making a contribution to the development of the resource. 4.The Date field describes when the object was created or last updated. 5.The Publisher element defines the organization or entity that published the learning object or asset.

15. The 15 Metadata Collection Points 6.The Summary is your brief description of the learning object. 7.The Keywords are other terms used to describe the learning object or asset. 8.The Subject is the topic of the content of the resource; use Library of Congress Subjects Headings as the authoritative source for subjects. 9.The Rights element contains information about rights held in and over the resource. 10.The Grade Level is the most appropriate grade level for the learning object or asset.

16. The 15 Metadata Collection Points 11.The Media Type is used to define the type of resource: application, audio, text, or video. 12.The Language matches the learning intent of the target audience. 13.Learning Styles and Preferences describes the learning style that is most appropriate to the learning object. 14.The Instructional Purpose explains the purpose for using the learning object. 15.The Common Core field is where you align the learning object or asset with the Common Core Standards in English Language Arts and Mathematics. More standards will be added as they are approved.

17. Controlled Vocabulary As you can tell looking at the metadata collection points, many of the fields require the use of a controlled vocabulary. For example, let’s suppose you were searching for resources for your kindergarten classroom; if the grade level entered by the meta-tagger is an upper case “K,” but you are searching for “KG” which is how your county designates kindergarten, the searcher would not be able to locate resources.

18. Why use controlled vocabulary? Controlled vocabularies: – identify a preferred way of expressing a concept – allow for multiple entry points through cross references leading to the preferred term – identify a term’s relationship to broader, narrower, and related terms

19. Controlled vocabulary for Mdk12expLORe.us The following fields use controlled vocabulary: Subject Grade Level Media Type Language Learning Style and Preference Instructional Purpose

20. Where do you find the data? As you may remember from Module 3, the other purpose served by using the more comprehensive SREB checklist to evaluate learning objects or assets is that you begin to collect the meta-data you will need to catalog the digital resource before uploading it to the LOR. Also helpful are online tools like the Dublin Core Metadata Editor-Converter at http://www.library.kr.ua/dc/dceditunie.html. http://www.library.kr.ua/dc/dceditunie.html

21. How long does it take to meta-tag? The more often a person tags, the easier it becomes. As a rule of thumb, a careful technical reading and tagging of an object by someone other than the creator of the object may take five to thirty minutes depending upon what metadata already exists for the object, the meta-tagger’s relationship to the object and prior knowledge of the object, and the complexity of the object.

22. Purpose of Meta-tagging As you may remember from Modules 1 and 2, the purpose for meta-tagging is to facilitate efficient and effective searching for LOs and assets by subject, state standards, keywords, date, and grade level. The more precise the metadata, the easier it is to find learning objects.

23. Let’s imagine that you just finished evaluating a learning object about slavery using the SREB Checklist for Learning Objects and Assets.SREB Checklist for Learning Objects and Assets

24. Rights

25. Subject Analysis Subject analysis is the determination and summarization of an item’s conceptual content. It is a two step process which involves: – ascertaining the subject and – translating the subject into controlled vocabulary. Important considerations include using a controlled, and well-known set of subject headings; we are using the Library of Congress – Subject Headings as our authoritative source.

26. Let’s try using the Library of Congress Authorities and Vocabularies service at http://id.loc.gov/ to search for the term, slavery. http://id.loc.gov/

27. Broaden by, Narrow to and Related Terms You can also use Library of Congress Authorities and Vocabularies services to narrow, broaden, or make the keywords more precise. Review the terms and select those that are appropriate. Copy and paste the terms into the Keywords field. Remember to separate each term by a comma.

28. Meta-tagging the Remaining Data The remaining controlled metadata can be selected from pull-down menus. Use the pull-down menus to select the most appropriate grade level, media type, language, learner style and preference, and instructional purpose.

29. Instructional Purpose Wiley (2002) argues that one additional piece of information needs to be included in the meta-data: the instructional purpose of the learning object or asset.

30. Instructional purposes for using learning objects and assets are included in the table below. StepAchieved by Gain attentionAnimation, question State objectivesRationale, expectation Stimulate recallMetaphor, narrative Present contentExplanation, then demonstration Provide guidanceExamples, contexts Elicit performancePractice Provide feedbackAssessment, results

31. Common Core Standards To align the learning object or asset to the Common Core Standards, use the proposed tagging scheme at http://www.k12opened.com/ccstd/. http://www.k12opened.com/ccstd/

32. Description Field The Description Field is also an excellent place to enter suggestions about how to introduce the LO or asset, as well as, how to: – Set the purpose for learning – Activate prior knowledge – Scaffold instruction, like suggesting the use of guided questions – Synthesize learning – Transfer knowledge, like suggesting the use of journals or blogs

33. Guided Practice Use the following digital resource from the Biology project, http://www.biology.arizona.edu/cell_bio/cell_ bio.html, to practice meta-tagging a learning object. http://www.biology.arizona.edu/cell_bio/cell_ bio.html Use the Google spreadsheet to collect the metadata. When you have finished, click the Submit button.

34. Approval Process The approval process generally involves several different experts who conduct the following reviews: – content review, in which the content specialist reviews the resource for relevance, quality, standards and accuracy – instructional design review, in which the instructional designer reviews resource for instructional design, ease of use and engagement – copyright review, in which the copyright information submitted is reviewed along with the resource and confirmed to be in compliance with current copyright laws – technical review, in which the technical specialist reviews the resource for software requirements and any limitations, licensing and subscription issues, and standards compliance – accessibility review, in which the resource is reviewed for accessibility compliance and any accessibility concerns or limitations are clearly noted in the metadata, and – meta-tagging review, in which the metadata accompanying the resource is reviewed and edited as needed.

35. Application Choose a learning object or asset to upload to Mdk12expLORe.us. Complete the SREB Checklist for Learning Objects and Assets.SREB Checklist for Learning Objects and Assets If the learning object or asset meets the criteria in the checklist, use the Google spreadsheet at https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey =dDRiWG1WWEYxUE9TZ0phbG1TZGE1bkE6MQ to meta-tag the digital resource. https://spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?formkey =dDRiWG1WWEYxUE9TZ0phbG1TZGE1bkE6MQ

36. Check for understanding Prior to ending Module 4, it is important to assess what you have learned about meta-tagging. 1.How would you rate the ease of meta-tagging LOs and assets? Very difficult DifficultNeutralEasyVery easy 12345

37. Check for understanding 2.How would you rate the ease of using the Library of Congress Subject Headings to define the subject? 3. How would you rate the ease of using the proposed tagging scheme for the Comon Core Standards? Very difficult DifficultNeutralEasyVery easy 12345 Very difficult DifficultNeutralEasyVery easy 12345

38. Check for understanding 4. Briefly explain in the box below why it is important to include as much meta-data as possible when uploading a learning object or asset to Mdk12expLORe.us.

39. Check for understanding 5. Do you agree with Wiley that it is just as important to record data about the instructional purpose of the learning object or asset? Why or why not?

40. Check your Understanding Final Reflection – Think about how learning objects and assets can be used to enhance teaching and learning; then, explain why it is or is not important to contribute to the LOR by evaluating and meta-tagging digital resources.

41. References Dublin Core Metadata Initiative. (2009). Dublin Core Standards. Retrieved from http://dublincore.org.http://dublincore.org Southern Regional Education Board. (2005). Learning Objects. Retrieved from http://www.evalutech.sreb.org.http://www.evalutech.sreb.org Wiley, D. A. (2000). Connecting learning objects to instructional design theory: A definition, a metaphor, and a taxonomy. In D. A. Wiley (Ed.), The Instructional Use of Learning Objects: Online Version. Retrieved from http://reusability.org/read/chapters/wiley.doc http://reusability.org/read/chapters/wiley.doc