Hi Everyone
I thought it might be of interest to many of you to know that within a
section of the ISO work, we are trying to firm up on a model for
metadata for learning resources. It is called the Metadata for
Learning Resources standard and will come from ISO/IEC JTC1 SC36 WG4.
It is draft standard N19788. At this stage, we are working
particularly on Part 1 that will set out how the other parts are to be
completed.
ISO standards are developed by experts and voted upon by national
bodies that subscribe to ISO work. Many international standards emerge
from this organisation, as you know, and they are adopted by many
governments. We are working with a mandate to develop a model for
learning resources that is DC compatible and as closely interoperable
with the LOM as possible. Many of you know what that means. It has
been the subject of extensive work by DCMI working groups for many
years.
If your interests lie in this area, and you would like to participate,
you can do so as an expert, or by making contacting with your national
body and working through them. All national bodies are urged to vote
on standards but many do not have access to information that tells
them how to vote or why, so they have to vote in a fairly uninformed
way.
Understanding how to develop metadata that is interoperable with both
DC and LOM metadata is within reach, and if achieved, should make it
easy for institutions that use DC metadata to contribute their
metadata to educational sources, and vice-versa. This seems like a
very worthy exercise, to many of us! Curiously, if the MLR adopts the
DC abstract model, it will be making that an ISO/IEC standard metadata
model. This might be of interest to some people?
Of course, this note to you is an invitation for discussion about the
topic on this list - so please, offer your thoughts, but perhaps do
that on the DC-education list? (To join the DC-education list, go to http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/wa.exe?SUBED1=dc-education&A=1)
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you do not know who else to
contact or want more info: (liddy at sunriseresearch.org)
Liddy
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