Hello Greig
Greig Krull wrote:
> Hi everyone
>
> I'm relatively new to this list and am finding it very useful. I have a
> question pertaining to the status metadata elements. Certain metadata
> specifications (application profiles) such as CanCore and IMS have data
> models where all elements are optional. Surely, a minimum number of
> mandatory elements is required, at least an identifier or name or
> location? I do realise that having all elements optional allows for
> greater flexibility, but I am struggling to understand how a model
> exists where no elements are mandatory?
>
You are right that anyone who was using the LOM for a particular
application would want to mandate that certain elements were present (at
least by the time the record was finished -- the LOM might need to handle
unfinished records). Trouble is that these elements would vary from
application to application: for example, when it comes to indentifying the
object you're describing, location might be enough for one application,
where another might use title + author + publication year, and a third
might want a formal identifier (maybe an ISBN, maybe a DOI). For this
reason communities who are sharing records often specify an "application
profile", that is they select elements from the LOM and refine the
semantics of those elements (and maybe supplement them with elements from
other schemas). One refinement which often happens to the semantics is that
certain elements are mandated. So I guess the short answer to your question
is that mandating elements is delegated to users of the LOM.
You can find some example application profiles (based around the UK LOM
Core) here: http://www.cetis.ac.uk/profiles/uklomcore.
> Additionally, I am attempting to create metadata for learning objects
> that we are developing and would like to know of any metadata creation
> tools that are freely available. I am aware of Reload, which looks to be
> very useful.
>
Reload is good, but be aware that (like many other editors) it supports IMS
Metadata 1.2.1, which is slightly different from the LOM (IMS MD 1.2.1 is
based on a late draft of the LOM, you'll find differences in the
identifiers/catalog-entries and in technical requirements sections, also
you'll find a lot more langStrings in the IMS MD that in the LOM). Having
said that, since there is no finalised XML binding for the LOM, using IMS
MD is at least a practical solution to getting XML records.
You might also want to look at:
SHAME: Standardized Hyper Adaptable Metadata Editor (RDF-based metadata)
http://kmr.nada.kth.se/shame/
LOM Editor (you'll find you have to learn the German names for the LOM
elements, but that's not a major problem; uses the same IMS verion of the
LOM as reload)
http://www.multibook.de/lom/en/index.html
Splash (I think this should let you edit metadata--I couldn't get it working)
http://www.edusplash.net/
Curriculum Online Tagging Tool (used for a UK schools LO project -- there's
no info on licence)
http://www.curriculumonline.gov.uk/SupplierCentre/taggingtooldownload.htm
CampusSource · Software · Multimedia Catalogue (I haven't looked at
this--it's a repository based on SQL which uses LOM as its default metadata
schema)
http://www.campussource.de/org/software/mmc/
ImseVimse: The IMS Editor Vimse (quite old, similar to reload but with a
better form view)
http://kmr.nada.kth.se/imsevimse/
[There are many other repository systems which have LOM cataloguing
interfaces, I'm not sure how "freely available" they are]
If anyone knows fo anything I've missed, or has comments on any of these
editors, please let me know: I'ld like to put a list of editors and
repositories on the CETIS website.
Best regards, Phil.
--
Phil Barker Learning Technology Adviser
ICBL, School of Mathematical and Computer Sciences
Mountbatten Building, Heriot-Watt University,
Edinburgh, EH14 4AS
Tel: 0131 451 3278 Fax: 0131 451 3327
Web: http://www.icbl.hw.ac.uk/~philb/
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