IEEE 1484.12.1 – 2002 Standard for Learning Object Metadata
The IEEE working group that developed the standard defined learning objects, ''for the purposes of the standard,'' as being "any entity, digital or non-digital, that may be used for learning, education or training." This definition has struck many commentators as being rather broad in its scope, but the definition was intended to provide a broad class of objects to which LOM metadata might usefully be associated rather than to give an instructional or pedagogic definition of a learning object. ''IEEE 1484.12.1'' is the first part of a multipart standard, and describes the LOM data model. The LOM data model specifies which aspects of a learning object should be described and what vocabularies may be used for these descriptions; it also defines how this data model can be amended by additions or constraints. Other parts of the standard are being drafted to define bindings of the LOM data model, i.e. define how LOM records should be represented inTechnical details
How the data model works
The LOM comprises a hierarchy of elements. At the first level, there are nine categories, each of which contains sub-elements; these sub-elements may be simple elements that hold data, or may themselves be aggregate elements, which contain further sub-elements. The semantics of an element are determined by its context: they are affected by the parent or container element in the hierarchy and by other elements in the same container. For example, the various ''Description'' elements (1.4, 5.10, 6.3, 7.2.2, 8.3 and 9.3) each derive their context from their parent element. In addition, description element 9.3 also takes its context from the value of element 9.1 ''Purpose'' in the same instance of ''Classification''. The data model specifies that some elements may be repeated either individually or as a group; for example, although the elements 9.2 (''Description'') and 9.1 (''Purpose'') can only occur once within each instance of the ''Classification'' container element, the ''Classification'' element may be repeated - thus allowing many descriptions for different purposes. The data model also specifies the value space and datatype for each of the simple data elements. The value space defines the restrictions, if any, on the data that can be entered for that element. For many elements, the value space allows any string of Unicode character to be entered, whereas other elements entries must be drawn from a declared list (i.e. aRequirements
The key requirements for exploiting the LOM as a data or service provider are to: * Understand user/community needs and to express these as an application profile * Have a strategy for creating high quality metadata * Store this metadata in a form which can be exported as LOM records * Agree a binding for LOM instances when they are exchanged * Be able to exchange records with other systems either as single instances or ''en masse''.Related specifications
There are many metadata specifications; of particular interest is the Dublin Core Metadata Element Set (commonly known as Simple Dublin Core, standardised as ''ANSI/NISO Z39.85 – 2001''). Simple Dublin Core (DC) provides a non-complex, loosely defined set of elements which is useful for sharing metadata across a wide range of disparate services. Since the LOM standard used Dublin Core as a starting point, refining the Simple DC schema with qualifiers relevant to learning objects, there is some overlap between the LOM and DC standards. The Dublin Core Metadata Initiative is also working on a set of terms which allow the Dublin Core Element Set to be used with greater semantic precision (Qualified Dublin Core). The Dublin Education Working Group aims to provide refinements of Dublin Core for the specific needs of the education community. Many other education-related specifications allow for LO metadata to be embedded within XML instances, such as: describing the resources in an IMS Content Package or Resource List; describing the vocabularies and terms in an IMS VDEX (Vocabulary Definition and Exchange) file; and describing the question items in an IMS QTI (Question and Test Interoperability) file. The IMS Vocabulary Definition and Exchange (VDEX) specification has a double relation with the LOM, since not only can the LOM provide metadata on the vocabularies in a VDEX instance, but VDEX can be used to describe the controlled vocabularies which are the value space for many LOM elements. LOM records can be transported between systems using a variety of protocols, perhaps the most widely used being OAI-PMH.Application profiles
UK LOM Core
For UK Further and Higher Education, the most relevant family of application profiles are those based around the ''UK LOM Core''. The UK LOM Core is currently a draft schema researched by a community of practitioners to identify common UK practice in learning object content, by comparing 12 metadata schemas. UK LOM is currently legacy work, it is not in active development.CanCore
''CanCore'' provides detailed guidance for the interpretation and implementation of each data element in the LOM standard. These guidelines (2004) constitute a 250-page document, and have been developed over three years under the leadership of Norm Friesen, and through consultation with experts across Canada and throughout the world. These guidelines are also available at no charge from the CanCore Website.ANZ-LOM
ANZ-LOM is a metadata profile developed for the education sector in Australia and New Zealand. The profile sets obligations for elements and illustrates how to apply controlled vocabularies, including example regional vocabularies used in the "classification" element. The ANZ-LOM profile was first published by The Le@rning Federation (TLF) in January, 2008.Vetadata
The Australian Vocational Training and Education (VET) sector uses an application profile of the IEEE LOM called Vetadata. The profile contains five mandatory elements, and makes use of a number of vocabularies specific to the Australian VET sector. This application profile was first published in 2005. The Vetadata and ANZ-LOM profiles are closely aligned.NORLOM
NORLOM is the Norwegian LOM profile. The profile is managed by NSSL (The Norwegian Secretariat for Standardization of Learning Technologies)ISRACore
ISRACORE is the Israeli LOM profile. The Israel Internet Association (ISOC-IL) and Inter University Computational Center (IUCC) have teamed up to manage and establish an e-learning objects database.SWE-LOM
SWE-LOM is the Swedish LOM profile that is managed by IML at Umeå University as a part of the work with the national standardization group TK450 atTWLOM
TWLOM is the Taiwanese LOM profile that is managed by Industrial Development and Promotion of Archives and e-Learning ProjectLOM-FR
LOM-FR is a metadata profile developed for the education sector in France. This application profile was first published in 2006.NL LOM
NL LOM is the Dutch metadata profile for educational resources in the Netherlands. This application profile was the result of merging the Dutch higher education LOM profile with the one used in primary and secondary Dutch education. The final version was released in 2011.LOM-CH
LOM-CH is a metadata profile developed for the education sector in Switzerland. It is currently available in French and German. This application profile was published in July 2014.LOM-ES
LOM-ES is a metadata profile developed for the education sector in Spain. It is available in Spanish.LOM-GR
LOM-GR, also known as "LOM-GR ''Photodentro''" is the Greek LOM application profile for educational resources, currently being used for resources related to school education. It was published in 2012 and is currently available in Greek and English. It is maintained by CTI DIOPHANTUS as part of the " Photodentro Federated Architecture for Educational Content for Schools" that includes a number of educational content repositories (for Learning Objects, Educational Video, and User Generated Content) and the Greek National Aggregator of Educational Content accumulating metadata from collections stored in repositories of other organizations. LOM-GR is a working specification of the TC48/WG3 working group of theOthers
Other application profiles are those developed by the Celebrate project and the metadata profile that is part of the SCORM reference model.ADLSee also
* Application profile *References
External links