Learning Object Metadata (LOM)
SREB-SCORE Initiative

Learning objects are the specific chunks of information that make up the digital learning content. They can be used and reused endlessly for teaching and learning, like building blocks, and they possess many adaptable characteristics that can extend many learning activities. (See Principles of Effective Learning Objects, SREB, 2005.) There are numerous variations of the definition; for example, IEEE LOM v1.0 defines learning objects as any entity - digital or non-digital - that may be used or reused for learning, education or training.

Learning object metadata (LOM) is the information about a learning object that enables it to be retrieved from a database. (Think in terms of a library electronic catalog.) For example, there are nine metadata elements in the SREB-SCORE initiative that describe a learning object. Metadata may be located separately from the learning object it describes, or it may be embedded within the object. An increasing number of states and their education agencies are now collecting learning content with embedded metadata in large, organized databases, called “repositories.”

A repository is a database located in a central place where data are stored and maintained. Typically, a state will create a specific repository for different education sectors, such as one for K-12 and another for higher education. Although they are located in different places, repositories can be “federated” (connected) and searched through a single transparent database that maintains metadata only for searching them. This enables states to share learning objects.

SREB-SCORE is a good idea for SREB states because the initiative:

establishes school and college relationships to create, license and provide high-quality content;

provides cost-effective learning resources for K-20 by sharing development costs among states;

reduces duplication of effort; and

increases faculty and student productivity.

Metadata is information about an object and can be physical or digital. As the number of objects grows exponentially and our needs for learning expand equally dramatically, the lack of information or metadata about objects places a critical and fundamental constraint on our ability to discover, manage and use objects. Therefore, metadata standards address the problem by defining a structure for interoperable descriptions of learning objects.

SREB-SCORE envisions a future of federated state repositories that enable educators and other users in participating states to create and share vast resources of digital learning content. The quality of the accompanying metadata of the learning objects in these repositories directly relates to the effectiveness of the retrieval and use of the content.

The use of metadata:

• provides controlled and structured descriptions for digital learning objects through searchable attributes such as title, author, keywords, date, location, description and subject;
• facilitates organization and classification of information;
• facilitates discovery of relevant information;
• documents and tracks layers of intellectual property rights for the modification or reproduction of digital objects and their multiple versions, as well as the authenticity of version and provenance, and
• promotes and enables interoperability.

The following metadata standards and guidelines were used as the foundation for developing the SREB-SCORE initiative and are metadata standards for a K-20 environment. Explanations of these components and how they were used in this project are provided below.

The IMS Global Learning Consortium, IMS Meta-data Best Practice Guide for IEEE 1484.12.1- 2002 Standard for Learning Object Metadata

IEEE: WG12: Learning Object Metadata and components of the LOM v1.0 standard.

1484.12.1™ IEEE Standard for Learning Object Metadata (LOM), Draft Standard for Learning Object Metadata (July 2002); (The final version is available for purchase from IEEE.)

Dublin Core Metadata Initiative

Gateway to Educational Materials (GEM)

CanCore Initiative: CanCore Learning Object Metadata

SCORM Sharable Courseware Object Reference Model

The IMS Global Learning Consortium is a nonprofit standards organization that is concerned with establishing interoperability for learning systems and learning content through collaborative support of standards, innovation and best practices.

This is a multi-part standard (with nine elements) that specifies learning object metadata. The longer title is 1484.12.1 IEEE Standard for Learning Object Metadata. IEEE Standards documents are developed by the IEEE Standards Association. Use of an IEEE Standard is wholly voluntary. The purpose of this standard is to facilitate search, evaluation, acquisition and use of learning objects.

Gateway to Educational Materials (GEM) provides access to educational resources on the Web. GEM has developed a set of widely used standards used for describing those resources. These standards are incorporated in the SREB-SCORE initiative.

Originally created for libraries, the Dublin Core is an international standard of 15 elements that facilitates discovery of electronic resources on the Web.

Crosswalks permit searching across multiple databases (interoperability) that use different schemas. LOM v1.0 is one schema, and Gateway to Educational Materials (GEM) and Dublin Core are two others. Metadata elements describe a learning object and are grouped into categories. Particular emphasis is placed on the general description of the learning object, technical requirements, educational and pedagogic characteristics, intellectual property rights, and educational objectives as they relate to both K-12 and postsecondary digital content. This interoperability is accommodated through the crosswalk with GEM and Dublin Core and by utilizing taxonomies specific to SREB member state education agencies.

A very important metadata element is the classification element, which describes the educational objective of the learning object using taxonomies of K-12 state standards and higher education course numbers (or some other classification system used by a higher education agency). This enables users to locate digital content specific to the course they are teaching.

The group of persons who joined together to develop this metadata resource for the SREB-SCORE initiative was composed of metadata librarians, instructional design leaders, digital content specialists, an eLMS/repository developer, a specialist in reusable content and technical standards, a multimedia developer and other key persons in SREB states.

Leaders in this effort are Susan Henderson, associate executive director, Florida Distance Learning Consortium; Cathy Alfano, project manager, The Orange Grove Digital Repository; Liz Glowa, K-12 instructional consultant, SREB-SCORE Initiative; Priscilla Caplan, assistant director for Digital Library Services, Florida Center for Library Automation, University of Florida; Judy Brown, former executive director, Academic ADL Co-Lab; Wil Hawk, specialist, Maryland Virtual Learning Opportunities, Maryland State Department of Education; Marie Lasseter, project manager, Learning Resource Management, University System of Georgia Board of Regents; June Weis, SREB research associate; Rose Flynn, multimedia developer, Georgia Virtual Technical College; John Baker, president, Desire2Learn; and Bill Thomas, director, SREB Educational Technology Cooperative.

A table of contents of SREB-SCORE Learning Object Metadata follows below.

Guidelines for implementing this resource are being developed that will provide directives for incorporating metadata with learning objects that are deposited in a state's repository.

While this resource provides thorough guidelines and support for implementing metadata, and care has been given to address a wide range of possibilities of implementation, there will be unique reasons for modifications of the metadata from time to time in any state.

Yes, it is located on this site: http://www.sreb.org/programs/EdTech/SCORE/index.asp, but it is only available to SREB-SCORE participating members.

For more information, e-mail June Weis at june.weis@sreb.org.