• Learning Objects and eLearning • Celebrate • Brokerage + federated services • Federated search eLearning Learning that takes place through exchange between a combination of learning resources, tasks, and support-systems (human or otherwise)
The exchange is mediated through information and communication technologies (from BS 8426) "modular digital resources, uniquely identified and meta-tagged, that can be (re-)used to support learning." • Learning Content Management (LCM) • LO Repositories (LOR) • Metadata repositories (MR) • Learning Management (LM) • eLearning Systems can offer any combination of these services
(Context eLearning with Broadband Technologies) • 30 months / € 7 M. project • Supported by the European Commission's
IST Program • Involves 500 schools across Europe • 22 partners (European Ministries of Education, universities, leading educational publishers and technology suppliers) Aim to create: • New content (LOs) • An innovative pedagogical approach based on LOs • A European learning network - to exchange
LOs • A new business model • A network of eLearning Systems • Capable of interoperability by searching and exchanging the LOs contained in their repositories
ELN = Brokerage + Federated Services
Federation of Services • Ability to add new services • Currently supports: – Metadata Search – LO Exchange • Designed to be extensible • Through a secure and controlled environment
Brokerage • Supports – the mediation of services – Rights, contract and collaboration management • Safely integrates new (commercial) service providers • Reports usage • Tracks statistics Consists of a client end-user (e.g. a teacher or pupil using an ELN LMS or LCMS) in querying all the metadata repositories currently available on the ELN for references to LOs matching his/her search criteria.
Metadata • Metadata: IEEE LOM • Application profile: customization of a standard to a particular community of implementers with common application requirements (see http://celebrate.eun.org/docs/) • Binding document: machine-readable description of a specification • Based on comparisons: – LOM element – Operator – Value • Can be combined to build arbitrarilycomplex queries (And, Or, Not)
ELN and ELN Client • A network of systems capable of exchanging LOs • Built around a Brokerage System (BS) that rules exchanges between systems • Communication between ELN members is based on different protocols (JMS, web services, etc.) • Systems avoid the hassle of dealing with the different networking protocols involved by using an “ELN Client” • “ELN Client” hides the complexity of client-BS communication behind a simplified API • “ELN Client” let members focus on message content
• 2nd versions of the ELN Client and
Brokerage System have been released • LMS/LCMS providers have started to join the ELN • Preliminary results are encouraging • The configuration of the ELN described here - 4 systems - to be tested intensively • 500 schools across Europe