Hello all, here is a summary of the latest metadata related news from IMS.
A summary of the summary is: "incremental progress on all fronts".

Theres a summary of how IMS works at the end of this message, which might
help if you're not clear on what the increments are.



LRM2LOM Project Starts
---
The charter for work on the IMS Learning Resource Meta-data to Learning
Object Metadata (LRM2LOM) project has been approved. This means that the
work on producing a new specification for IMS Metadata which boils down to
"use the LOM" can start. [it shouldn't take long; the limiting factor for
when it can come into operation is likely to be the approval by the IEEE of
  a standard XML binding for the LOM -- no news on this yet]


Vocabulary Definition Exchange (VDEX) Base Document produced.
---
VDEX is a specification for lightweight exchange of simple value lists, eg
the vocabularies used for LOM elements. An IMS Base Document is a private
(to IMS members) draft, which, if it passes a voting procedure becomes a
public draft, open to comment (and then after necessary revision and
another vote may become an IMS spec.)


Digital Libraries SIG
---
The digital libraries are active on two areas. First: producing a charter
for project work to produce a specification for Course Resource
Interoperability (addressing reading lists in the most general sense, and
how you get them to work with library catalogues, VLEs and how you can swap
them from one setting to another). Second: a white paper describing the
interface between IMS specs and the digital library is being prepared.


Meta-Date SIG
---
Two more charters are being produced (the first was for LOM2LRM): one
dealing with accessibility extensions, the second general metadata
extensions and profiling.





How IMS Works
---
Special interest groups (SIGs) can produce charters outlining work they
think is necessary. If approved project teams are formed to do the work.
The project team produces private drafts of the necessary spec, until they
are happy with it, at which point they may be approved as Public Drafts.
After public comment and a vote by IMS members a Public Draft will
hopefully become an approved IMS Specification. The time scale from charter
approval to voting on a public draft is about six months.



If you have any questions, or would like further details about the above,
then please get in touch with me.

All the best,  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/