1. Standards and Technology for Bringing Mathematics into the Information Age Robby Robson Eduworks Corporation and Department of Computer Science Oregon State University

2. August 30, 2002EICM Satellite Conference2 Introduction “It would appear that we have reached the limits of what it is possible to achieve with computer technology, although one should be careful with such statements, as they tend to sound pretty silly in 5 years.” - John Von Neumann (ca. 1949) “I think we are about to find out that mathematics is the flea on the elephant” - Keith Dennis, January 2002

3. August 30, 2002EICM Satellite Conference3 What Has Changed? The cost of transporting information is now low The ability to store and retrieve data is now high Barriers that have been exposed as artifacts: –Symbols must be created with a type ball –People must meet in order to communicate –You must go to a building to get a book –You must meet with a mentor to get advice –Your knowledge is all in your head

4. August 30, 2002EICM Satellite Conference4 What to Expect Division of labor Changes in production practices Amusing anachronisms Surprises that shouldn’t have surprised us Poor predictions But, we digress...

5. August 30, 2002EICM Satellite Conference5 Concrete Projects & Goals Make “all of mathematics” available to researchers Create “digital libraries” of learning objects Make available to a global community –What you want and what you need –When you want it and when you need it –How you want it and how you need it –Where you want it and where you need it

6. August 30, 2002EICM Satellite Conference6 Good Questions to Ask How does our work relate to that of others? What is already available to help us meet our demands? How will we pay for all of this? (Not the topic today)

7. August 30, 2002EICM Satellite Conference7 Pictures to be Painted Enterprise Computing Content Management Learning Management Knowledge Management Enterprise Scale Architecture Standards

8. August 30, 2002EICM Satellite Conference8 Enterprise Computing Automation of Tasks & Processes –Financials –Human Resources –Enterprise Resource Planning –Customer Relationships –E-business –Content, Learning & Knowledge Management Co-management and Conflation of data about People, Places, and Things Deriving value from the ability to see and manage data and information

9. August 30, 2002EICM Satellite Conference9 Academic Enterprise Environment Student Administration Human Resources Financial Information Course Development Library Information Classroom Management File Servers, Databases, etc. Internet, Intranet & Internet II Sales & Services Alumni Relationships Campus Portal Registrar & Catalog Learning Management Fundraising Institutional Data Physical Plant University Press Budget Process

10. August 30, 2002EICM Satellite Conference10 Content Management Authoring Transformation Aggregation Metadata Roles & Workflow Library Services Internationalization & Localization Search & Discovery Personalization Rights & Roles Management, Caching & Replication Page generation, formatting Sales & Services Creation & Acquisition Processing & Storage Delivery & Feedback Access & Publication

11. August 30, 2002EICM Satellite Conference11 E-Learning CONTENT CREATIONCONTENT MANAGEMENT INTERACTIONLEARNING MANAGEMENT Author Create Tests & Test Banks Create E- labs & simulations Define and Assign Metadata Assemble & Package Store Serve Manage a Catalog Search & Discover Express & Enforce Digital Rights Integrate with Library Services Deliver to a browser Communicate & collaborate Use Whiteboards & share apps Test & Run Simulations Take Polls and Surveys Track Interactions Enroll students & assign faculty Manage resources Authenticate & authorize Record grades and credit Recommend courses

12. August 30, 2002EICM Satellite Conference12 E-Learning & E-Research CONTENT CREATIONCONTENT MANAGEMENT INTERACTIONLEARNING MANAGEMENT Author Create Tests & Test Banks Create E- labs & simulations Define and Assign Metadata Assemble & Package Store Serve Manage a Catalog Search & Discover Express & Enforce Digital Rights Integrate with Library Services Deliver to a browser Communicate & collaborate Use Whiteboards & share apps Test & Run Simulations Take Polls and Surveys Track Interactions Enroll students & assign faculty Manage resources Authenticate & authorize Record grades and credit Recommend courses

13. August 30, 2002EICM Satellite Conference13 E-Research?

14. August 30, 2002EICM Satellite Conference14 Factors of Scale Number of students at largest US higher education institutions: About 100,000 Open University in the UK: 185,000 UFI: 280,000 with goal of 1,000,000. Becta (post 16 non-HE in UK): goal of 6,000,000 Global Enterprises on the scale of hundreds of thousands. (USPS has 750,000 employees, Wal-Mart has 1.2 million) China has projects targeting 40 million students

15. August 30, 2002EICM Satellite Conference15 The E-learning Content Lifecycle Existing Content Learning Content Authoring Tools Learning Content Authoring Tools Repurpose Chunk Create Assemble LMS Import Find Learnin g Catalog Learnin g Catalog Track Deliver

16. August 30, 2002EICM Satellite Conference16 Learning Technology Standards Learning Object Metadata Packaging Run Time Communication Learner Information Enrollment Management Competencies Question & Test Interoperability Schools Interoperability Framework Sequencing Higher level design DREL Quality Accessibility Architecture OKI

17. August 30, 2002EICM Satellite Conference17 EXAMPLE 1: SCORM RUNTIME COMMUNICATION LMS API Object supplied by LMS instantiates functions HTML with JavaScript functions in a frameset Frame climbing code finds API Object LMSInitialize() LMSGetValue() LMSSetValue() LMSFinalize() + error handling

18. August 30, 2002EICM Satellite Conference18 Package Interchange File (Zip Archive) Example 2: Content Packaging Manifest File

19. August 30, 2002EICM Satellite Conference19 Knowledge Management Explicit knowledge –Documents, Educational Materials, Presentations, Journals, etc. Tacit knowledge –Perspectives, Experiences, Practices KM seeks to capture, combine, distill, catalog, and publish both explicit and tacit knowledge TOOLS: CMS, LMS, Knowledge Mapping, Recommender Systems, Portals, Taxonomies, Search Engines, etc.

20. August 30, 2002EICM Satellite Conference20 Enterprise Scale Architecture Scalable and Durable –Modular –Well understood and standardized interfaces –Redundant –Distributed Flexible and Extensible –Modular –Well understood and standardized interfaces –Well understood and clearly separated layers –Distributed

21. August 30, 2002EICM Satellite Conference21 OKI Example OKI = Open Knowledge Initiative Architecture + APIs + Reference Models Design Partners –Cambridge University –Dartmouth College –MIT –North Carolina State University –Stanford University –University of Michigan –University of Pennsylvania –University of Wisconsin Coordinating with standards organizations

22. August 30, 2002EICM Satellite Conference22 Example: OKI Service Framework Course MgmtContent MgmtAssessment AuthN Etc… GUIDFileDBMSAuthZRules User Messaging LoggingEtc… Educational Component APIs Common Service APIs Educational Service Implementations Common Service Implementations Common Objects Institutional Infrastructure

23. August 30, 2002EICM Satellite Conference23 Multiple OKI Servers Serving Different Content But Sharing Some Enterprise Services SIS Data Authentication/ Authorization Digital Repository SIS Data Digital Repository

24. August 30, 2002EICM Satellite Conference24 Standards Interoperability –Semantic interoperability –Syntactic/System interoperability –Human-Computer Interoperability Standards go hand-in-hand with architecture International in scope and nature

25. August 30, 2002EICM Satellite Conference25 Standards Development Process R&D Concept s Technica l Trends User Needs Approved Standards Spec Consortia Programs, Test beds, Markets Standards Bodies Specifications, Best Practice Consensus, Consolidation, Conformance New products, Pilot Programs, Test beds

26. August 30, 2002EICM Satellite Conference26 Comments On Relevant Consensus Standards Efforts MathML Metadata Digital Rights

27. August 30, 2002EICM Satellite Conference27 What Can Mathematics Projects Use? Commercial Enterprise Software Knowledge and expertise from other areas Standards for metadata, interoperability, content management, service layers, personal information, etc.

28. August 30, 2002EICM Satellite Conference28 What Can Mathematics Contribute? Everything associated with a “community of practice” –Requirements –Taxonomies –Metadata application profiles –MathML –Appropriate business models –Specialized software Knowledge Gained from Implementations and lessons learned

29. August 30, 2002EICM Satellite Conference29 Observations & Recommendations 1.Think Research Management System 2.Start with an architecture (and stick to it) 3.Don’t separate research and education 4.Think in terms of services, not goods 5.Keep the end-user in mind, always 6.Metadata, metadata, metadata 7.Think in terms of re-usable objects 8.Recognize that roles will change 9.Spend your time on what you can influence 10.If you’re lost, ask for directions

30. DISCUSSION rrobson@eduworks.com