WILD Wiring the Learning Infrastructure: Connecting Digital Learning Resources to the Curriculum – A Semantic Web Service for Curriculum Mapping

Fredrik Paulsson Background

Fredrik Paulsson The Swedish Curriculum (The National Steering Documents) National Steering Documents Schools curriculum* Local Steering Documents School-level Steering Documents Lesson Plans Assessment Criteria Learning Objectives Local Course Plans (syllabus) Course Plans (syllabus) School Curriculum Legal Documents * Called “ Steering documents” In Sweden School Curriculum Course Plans (syllabus) Legal Documents

Fredrik Paulsson The WILD-project Continues the Annofolio-project in (we developed a first prototype) New national Steering Documents for Schools take effect in 2011 The WILD -project is an R&D project that will be carried out in 2010–2013

Fredrik Paulsson Main objective(s) of the WILD-project - Providing the curriculum as a “Cloud” service Enabling the curriculum for a digital world by: – making it machine-readable and machine-processable by the use of Semantic Web technologies – Providing meaning for humans (i.e. students and teachers) as well as for machines (i.e. software and services). Teachers should be able to actually use the steering documents when teaching by connecting pedagogical activities and resources to the steering documents. Provide tools to visualize the curriculum (for students, parents etc.)

Fredrik Paulsson Deliverables Digitized Steering/Curriculum Documents. Preferably in a standardized data format. We are exploring the Curriculum Exchange Format, CEF as the basis (but this is still a fairly open issue...) –Semantic Web technology: An RDF-binding to CEF for machine Processable Semantics*. A methodology* for analyzing and adding metadata and annotations to the Curriculum. Tools* for markup and annotation (for contributing to the metadata ecology). A basic structural and descriptive markup* of the curriculum documents. For others to use and improve. A set of API:s for interacting with the curriculum service. I.e. an interface for other services to use. A couple of example services that builds upon those API:s and the curriculum service. *Currently ongoing work

Fredrik Paulsson We want others to create added value by integrating and using our Curriculum service in new digital (mashed-up?) services for schools!

Fredrik Paulsson WILD: actions taken 1.Analyze the curriculum 2.Add structural markup using a standardized data format (i.e. CEF) Add additional “semantic” markup using metadata and annotations. It is essential so separate syntax (XML) and semantics (RDF) Add an Web Service and “cloud friendly” interface (API) to the steering documents service Build services that utilizes the curriculum

Fredrik Paulsson WILD will evolve over the next years In conclusion, the idea and aim of WILD is to: provide a digital curriculum service that is open for use by third party make the curriculum a part of schools “information ecology” make the curriculum/steering Documents ”usable” by wiring other digital services to the curriculum.

Fredrik Paulsson QUESTIONS ?

Fredrik Paulsson Contact information Fredrik Paulsson Umeå University Screencast: