Learning Object
Repositories in Canadian
Post-Secondary Education
Norm Friesen
norm@netera.ca
National Library of Canada
November, 2002
Outline - What are:
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Learning Objects
Learning Object Repositories
LOR projects underway internationally
LOR projects underway in Canada: the
EduSource Project
What are Learning Objects?
• Any digital resource that can be reused for
the purposes of teaching and learning.
• Why learning objects?
"stand-alone applications are incompatible
with typical production, distribution, and usage
patterns for educational software."
J. Roschelle, et.al.
What are Learning Objects?
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Reusable
Modular
Free and at cost
Flexible
Portable
Interoperable
Annotation, adding value
What are Learning Object
Repositories?
A collection of digital assets and/or metadata accessible without prior knowledge of
the repository’s structure through a
interoperable functions via a network.
•Adapted from IMS Digital Repositories
Interoperability Specification
– Assets and metadata can be separate
– To prevent "silos" or "stovepipes"
What are Learning Object
Repositories?
What are Learning Object
Repositories?
• Separate resources and metadata allow
for multiple and disparate resource
collections to appear as one
• Metadata must be freely available
• Combined in a single search set for singleclick access
• Provides a personalized, “portal” solution
for the data access problems of the
Internet
What are Learning Object
Repositories?
Educational Portal
Search Results:
Educational Portal:
SHARED & AGGREGATED
METADATA
public repository
metadata
oMovie
oAnimation
oWebsite
commercial repository
metadata
objects
object
object
World Wide Web
object
Figure 2: Repository Types and their interrelation
What are Learning Object Repositories?
What are Digital Repositories
• Gather/Expose: OAI Metadata Harvesting
• Search/Expose: SOAP with XQuery,
Z39.50 (SRW/SRU)
• Request/Deliver, Submit/Store: FTP,
Content Packaging
LOR's underway Internationally
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COLIS project in Australia
JISC Information Environment (UK)
MERLOT
Universal Brokerage Platform
LOR's Internationally: COLIS
LOM Metadata
CP
OAI
Server
Z39.50
OAI
Harvest
SRW
Server
LOM Metadata
OAI
Server
SRU
OAI
Harvest
Z39.50
Library
Catalogues
E-Reserve
DC+ext
Metadata
XML
Z39.50
Web
Content
Search Intermediary
LOM Metadata
XML
InfoSeefer
JISC Info. Environment
Content providers
Provision
layer
Shared services
Authentication
Authorisation
Broker/Aggregator
Broker/Aggregator
Fusion
layer
Collect’n Desc
Service Desc
Portal
Portal
Portal
Presentation
layer
Resolver
Inst’n Profile
End-user
Universal Brokerage Platform
LOR's underway Internationally
LOR projects underway in
Canada: POOL Project
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Portal for Online Objects in Learning
P2P and RDF – cooperating with Edutella
Based on the JXTA P2P protocol
Splash, Pond, Pool repository “nodes”
www.edusplash.net
POOL: Peer-to-Peer
Splash Interface
LOR projects underway in
Canada: BELLE-CAREO
• Broadband-Enabled Lifelong Learning
Environment
• Campus Alberta Repository of Educational
Objects
• Repository with a client-server architecture
• Metadata store; objects store is both central and
distributed
• Using content packaging to provide a way of
exchanging and accessing parts of aggregate
objects
• +2500 objects
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LOR projects underway in
Canada:
CAREO/ALOHA
CAREO: Web portal
of repositories
• ALOHA: Java client
for metadata creation
and cross-repository
searching
• 3000 learning objects
www.careo.org
aloha.netera.ca
Presented by: Norm Friesen
norm@netera.ca
National Library of Canada
November 20, 2002
What is eduSource?
 eduSource will:
 Create a testbed of linked and interoperable
learning object repositories across Canada
 Provide a forum for the ongoing development
of the associated tools, systems, protocols
and practices that will support such an
infrastructure
The Facts
 Start Date: July 1, 2002
 Completion Date: March 31,2004
 Total Budget: $9.4 million
 CANARIE Contribution: $4.25 million
What will eduSource do?
 Be based on national and international
standards
 Be fully bilingual
 Be accessible to all Canadian including those
with disabilities through its work with the TILE
(The Inclusive Learning Exchange) project
 Share and disseminate its findings with all of
Canada
What won’t eduSource do?
 NOT a 24/7 production-quality network - it’s a
research project about designing, building and
evaluating prototypes
 NOT about developing content - it’s about linking
and repurposing existing content
 NOT restricted to broadband networks - most of its
content is accessible over all networks
Primary Partners
Athabasca
Univ.
Netera
NewMIC
Univ. of
Waterloo
Technologies
Cogigraph
Tele
Education
NB
Academic Partners
Univ. of
British
Columbia
Univ. of
Alberta
Athabasca
Univ.
Univ. de
Montréal
Brock
Univ.
NAIT
Sheridan
College
BCIT
Univ. de
Laval
Univ. de
Moncton
Netera
NewMIC
C2T2
Univ. of
Calgary
Technologies
Cogigraph
Univ. of
Waterloo
TENB
ETI
Simon
Fraser
Univ.
Univ. of
Lethbridge
Seneca
College
Ecole
Polytechnique
APCCC
NBDEN
Industrial & Government
Partners
Athabasca
Univ.
TeleSat
Téléuniversité
Alberta
Learning
Antarcti.ca
CANARIE
NRC
Netera
NewMIC
Rights
Market
Teles
Training
Univ. of
Waterloo
Callisto
Technologies
Cogigraph
Bell
Technomedia
TENB
e-com
eduSource Work Packages
 Repository Content Development Facilitation
 Digital Rights Management
 Testing and Evaluation
 Metadata Development
 Software Development
 Hardware Integration
 Business and Management Models
 Community Building
 Project Management, Co-ordination and
Communications
Technical Group
Repository
Content
Development
Facilitation
Metadata
Development
Software
Development
(Learning
Commons,
U of C;
Athabasca)
Digital
Rights
Management
Hardware
Integration
Communications Group
Evaluation
and Testing
(ATL, U of A)
Project
Management,
Coordination,
Communications
Business &
Management
Models
Community
Building
Overall Structure
Management Committee
Repository
Content
Development
Facilitation
Metadata
Development
Software
Development
Digital
Rights
Management
Vision
Group
Hardware
Integration
Evaluation
and Testing
Project
Management,
Coordination,
Communications
Business &
Management
Models
Community
Building
Repository in a Box
Rights
Mgmt.
3rd Party
Add-ons
Tagging
Tools
Modular Software
Components
Search
Engines
User
Interfaces
National/International
Standards and
Open Systems
Specifications
The eduSource Team
 Close to 100 individuals including:
 1 software architect
 2 software analysts
 4 information architects
 5 designers
 17 researchers
 22 programmers
 22 faculty development coordinators
eduSource Guiding
Principles
 Open systems
 Common standards
 Interoperability
 Stakeholder input and community
building are essential
Thank You
 For further information please visit:
www.edusource. ca
Or contact: Douglas MacLeod,
Director of Projects
Netera Alliance
(403) 609-3642
dmacleod@netera.ca