Learning Object Discovery and Exchange Project Group

The Goal
The Project Group Learning Object Discovery & Exchange (LODE) aims to facilitate the discovery and retrieval of learning content stored in repositories. It will examine, select, and adapt specifications that are being applied to digital libraries, generic repositories, and learning repositories.

Participants

The Current Situation

Currently, there are no agreed profiles that address the needs of the learning domain, and no established practices for combining existing specifications into complete solutions. Individual organizations are creating their own solutions, and an opportunity to establish broader interoperability is being missed. There is also no way of measuring or testing the compatibility and conformance of specific solutions.

The project group will define a small number of scenarios for the discovery and exchange of learning resources (e.g., federated searching, harvesting, etc.). The final outcome of this activity will consist of:

• A set of specification profiles to support the scenarios
• Sample implementation(s)
• A conformance domain-profile

• Search protocol, search query, and search results (i.e., meta-data)
• Meta-data harvesting
• Exchange of structured content (e.g., content packages, ePortfolios)
• Application of identifiers
• Collection and service description

The Rationale

Most stakeholders should benefit from agreed profiles and established practices that combine existing specifications into complete solutions that address the needs of the learning domain in terms of learning object discovery and exchange.

• Educators will have an easy way to discover learning content that addresses the needs of their students, making their jobs easier, and maximizing re-use and minimizing the cost of re-invention of materials.
• Students will have the benefit of access to the highest-quality learning resources available, making a significant impact on the quality of their learning experience and their learning outcomes.
• Content providers will be able to advertise their products by making them globally discoverable.
• System vendors will have a limited set of specifications to support to make their systems compliant with major federations of learning resources.
• Finally, federation builders will secure their investment by developing infrastructures based on standard specifications.

The Charter
The IMS Technical Advisory Board approved the Learning Object Discovery and Exchange Charter in September 2007. Public Community participants may download a copy of the charter.