JEM Repository for Learning ObjectsAntti AlamäkiOlga CaprottiMatti Pauna
University of Helsinki
Launched on January 2008
as an integrated
service from the JEM Portal
http://jem-thematic.net/lom
Purpose
Metadata
• Utilizing the current de facto standard: Learning Object Metadata (LOM) by IEEE
“attributes that are needed to adequately describe a learning object and can then be used for automatic processing of learning objects and for their classification”
• Specifically designed for educational materials• Modified to JEM’s needs (not all fields are used)
LOM Data Model
LOM metadata descriptions include more than 70 fields in nine categories describing, for example– structure and interactivity of the content– topic classification– school level and difficulty– author(s) information– file format, software environment, etc..JEM Repository supports a subset of these elements
Functionalities
1. Browse contents2. List view and sort (by classification, title,
date, or author)3. Add record and register content (as a url and
also attachment)4. Edit record5. Export LOM record to an XML file
Metadata form
• Fill in the fields for metadata elements• Instructions of the purpose of the information
are given in the form page• Screencast will be made available in the JEM
support pages demonstrating metadata editor
Select classification from taxonomy
Select classification from taxonomy
Classifying Contents
The classification describes the topics covered for example in a mathematics course as a tree
MathTax (also known as LivingTaxonomy) is used as a basis for the JEM classification
The LivingTaxonomy project is a community of educators, content publishers, and developers who aim at “creating global, open source, standards-based taxonomies for digital education”
Taxonomy (for Single Variable Calculus)
Easy to organize contents for fine-grained educational modules
Implementation
• Built as a module for Drupal (open source content management platform) by Antti Alamäki
• As in Drupal framework, the module is programmed in PHP, using MySQL database
• Will be made available to the Drupal community
The metadata fields can be modified (by administrator)
Future plans
• Reviews and rating• Search with metadata form• Metadata form template• Import from XML• Combine with Drupal OAI module for
metadata harvesting• Support ProLearn Query Language for
confederated search engines