The IMS Project Technology for supporting learning Oleg Liber, UK IMS Centre

Introduction n Drivers for online learning n Comparison with business n Why standards are important

Education and Business n Education u How to address peoples learning needs u More students u Less resource n Industrial Problem u How to provide increased consumer demand at lower cost

Traditional Business Model n Fordism - any colour as long as its black n Hierarchical production departments n Assembly lines n Benefit: High volumes n Costs: Low creativity n No-learning organisation

Traditional Education n Keep it simple - ignore complexity n Hierarchical structure u National HE system into Universities u Universities into Departments u Departments into lecturers u Knowledge into Subjects n Costs u Interdisciplinarity u Collaborative learning

New Industrial Models n Mass customisation u Put customer at the centre u Autonomous but cohesive departments u Flexible team working u Exploit employee creativity n Information Systems u Groupware & intranets u Workflow systems

New Educational Models? n Customised courses u Driven by learner needs u Autonomous but cohesive course structure u Flexible, active & collaborative learning n Information Systems u Groupware and online learning u Learning management systems

What wont work n Centralisation n Protectionism n National Curriculum Approach n Business as usual

Strategies for success n What might work: break down barriers u...between institutions share courses u...between subjects encourage interdisciplinarity u...between lecturers Share resources and manage learning u...between students Students are workers AND customers Learning happens through conversations

Technologys role n Wide access to online and interactive materials u Metadata and content interoperability n Better student information u Profile, performance and portfolios n Learning management and groupware n Administrative systems n Ecommerce? n …but these require standards.

The IMS Project n Created to address challenges in on-line learning n Partnership of universities and companies (e.g. California State University, UNC, U. Michigan, Miami-Dade, Microsoft, Sun, IBM, Apple, KPMG, International Thomson Publishing, NIST, DOD)

IMS Standards Metadata Data Exchange Object LM Server PermissionsCommerce Back-end Systems Profile

Project Outputs n Specifications for: u Metadata: U. North Carolina u Content interoperability: IBM u Profiles: Farance Inc. u Learning Management: Blackboard Inc. u Back Office: PeopleSoft Inc. u Ecommerce: George Mason U. n Examples & prototypes

Timings n Release 1.0 at Easter n Main aspects of u Metadata u Content u Profiles u Back Office n Subsequent 6 monthly releases

UK IMS Centre n Bangor and OU n Funded by JTAP n 2 year project n Represent UK View n Disseminate results

Current Actions n University User Groups u Face to face and online discussions n Identify UK requirements n Advisory board meetings n Technical board meetings n Maintain information flow u Website, events

Contact information n n Paul Lefrere (OU) n Oleg Liber (Bangor) n Bill Olivier (Bangor) n Lisa Rowlands (Bangor