Hi everyone,
I've been monitoring the list since it started but it was meeting Stu
and Liddy last Monday in Sydney that finally inspired me to share a few
thoughts that arose out of that meeting.
I apologise for the length of the posting.
1. Currently there seem to be two schools of thought. There are those
who want to add value to metadata in order to "give teachers what they
are looking for". These argue that adding educational elements such as
DC.Pedagogy gives the resource a context in which to use it, ie. how
could we best use the resource.
The other group argues that metadata should describe the resource, not
the context, ie. it should identify the nature of the resource per se
not how it could be used. This is Stu's and DCMI's position. They argue
that the use of context metadata is capable of misinterpretation and
ongoing argument re the use or value of the resource. DCMI argues that
metadata should be value free.
I believe the discussion then boils down to 'What is the role of
metadata?'
2. I suggest that metadata for a resource can be grouped into core and
extended metadata. Core are those elements that describe the basic
attributes of a resource (eg. title, creator). These elements are by
their nature objective. They have no relationship to how or for whom the
resource is used, ie. the context. Other elements such as the proposed
DC.Pedagogy or DC. Audience are conversely essentially subjective. They
derive from one persons opoinion as to the particular application or
context of a resource. Who defines what the particular pedagogy of a
resource is? If it is a NEF (non-educationally focussed) resource, the
Creator (even if they make the effort to add metadata) is unlikely to.
If it is indexed by a third party, who is to say that their view is
authoritative. However, assuming the a tag is then added, the resource
from then on becomes
'tarred with that brush' (to use an expression). For right or wrong,
people will judge the value/application of that resource according to
the available metadata.
My first argument then is that the application of subjective (or context
based) metadata is potentially fraught with danger.
3. I suggest that metadata has two functions: resource discovery (ie
locating suitable resources) and resource description (providing useful
value-added information about the resource).
The metadata for most resources will include the core items. However
given that all elements in DCMI are optional, extended elements will
only be used sparingly (where a particular indexer is enthusiastic
enough to include elements which he/she thinks is particularly
relevant). Hence only core elements are really useful for resource
discovery across a wide range of resources. It is far more logical to
search for a resource by title or keyword than as an example of a
resource that will keep a class occupied for 35 minutes.
4. Having discovered a potentially suitable resource using core
elements, it is reasonable to allow the searcher to find out more about
the resource. This could be done using extended elements (DC.Pedagogy)
but alternatively it could also be done by the judicious use of free
text Comments or Annotations (see Albert Ip's work on the use of
Annotations as Type 1 data) saved as separate documents and linked to
the original resource by means of an element such as DC.Relation. The
technical solution for this might be achieved using a bi-directional
link to a link table.
The use of Comments helps to retain the integrity of the metadata as a
vehicle for resource description and
allows ongoing value adding to the resource by practitioners. Most of
these would not have rights to alter the original metadata record.
5. Hence I come to the conclusion that there is no pressing need for
further extended elements and that the use of Comments/Annotations
allows greater flexibility and opportunities for value add.
Regards
Mike
--
Michael Currie
EdNA Project Officer (Higher Ed.) Ph. +61 3 9344 9578
University of Melbourne Fax +61 3 9347 9106
Parkville, Victoria, Australia Email [log in to unmask]
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