Re: [dita-learningspec] Groups - DITA Learning Content SC Meeting modified

["Bob Doyle" <bobdoyle@skybuilders.com>]

Hi Scott,

Thanks for these minutes.

After three days of exchanging tech notes with Deborah Pickett in Melbourne, I'm happy to report that my son Derek has finally installed John Hunt's learningsc plugin and started to build some deliverables. 

Deborah was terrific at homing in on our difficulties. We developed a workaround, but the problem remains to be fixed in the plugin when John returns.

We are temporarily posting results to a hidden directory on the DITA Tutor site.
http://www.ditatutor.com/learningsc/  and also see
http://www.ditatutor.com/learningsc/topOverview.html

The "complex" learning design is at 
http://www.ditatutor.com/learningsc/complex/

The XSD is at
http://www.ditatutor.com/learningsc/xsd/

The strict rules of OASIS design and development may require that we put this work somewhere on the OASIS website? When John returns from his vacation, we can take our results down. But I thought you might like to see the results of building John's samples.

If and when we make a learning object, we may have it show up as part of an eLearning course on DITA Tutor - as a proof of concept.

In a long Skype conversation last night with Allyn, I learned  that the open-source Moodle LMS we are using at DITA Tutor is a "resource-based" LMS and might only work with a learning object as a self-contained unit.

Apparently Moodle has no explicit support for sequencing, or any way to reuse parts of a learning object.

In the next few weeks, I will be studying a number of eLearning content authoring tools - including Authorware, Lectora, and ToolBook, which create complex learning objects, and some less expensive systems, like LessonBuilder, CourseGenie, and an open-source tool recommended by Allyn, RELOAD - and a server-based version called WeLOAD. 

Server-based tools fit well into our mission of providing web-based tools to help people get started with DITA without needing to know XML or install anything.

I will also look at Captivate and Camtasia, which claim to produce SCORM-compliant eLearning content, apparently simple learning objects?

Cheers,

Bob.

On 20 Jul 2007 19:11:15 -0000, scott.hudson@flatironssolutions.com <scott.hudson@flatironssolutions.com> wrote:

Thanks to John Accardi for taking minutes!

-- Scott Hudson


DITA Learning Content SC Meeting has been modified by Scott Hudson

Date:  Thursday, 19 July 2007
Time:  04:00pm - 05:00pm ET

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Agenda:


Minutes:
DITA Learning Content SC minutes 19 Jul 2007

Attendees:
John Accardi
Allyn Radford
Robin Sloan
Scott Hudson


Primary agenda was to advance the IEEE LOM work initiated by Scott. Task was to fill in column H

with elements/attribute in our SC structures that would apply.
Much discussion began but not many value were filled in ... it seems like a slippery task

Key discussion points:

- IEEE LOM elements are mostly optional so that implementing organizations can select subsets

important them for required treatment.  Allyn mention that it is rare that any implementing

organization uses all the elements/attributes.  They pick the subset that works for them and

makes them required as necessary to support processing and deployment.  In other words, standards

bodies make things optional for flexibility and implementing organizations make things mandatory

to support their specific business requirements.

- Scott mentioned that the LOM has nailed down the meaning, vocabulary and intentions of some

things and is very vague about other things.  For example, aggregation level has subjective

values of 1, 2, 3 and 4.

- Allyn brought up that we should check that Scott's spreadsheet is based on the lastest standard

LOM (might be based on an earlier version). Vendor solutions typically going to IEEE LOM 1.0.

- Scott needed the group to consider whether the LOM elements need representation across all our

info types or only at map levels or both. Allyn brought up that we could consider an organization

that groups elements/attributes that describe the behavior of content (like conditional display)

in a separate, referenced metadata file but embeds elements/attributes that more directly

describe the content itself, inside the topic or map files.  Allyn brought up SCORM SCOs as an

example that implements associated metadata files.  Allyn also mentioned that in older HTML work,

easier maintenance was supported with separated metadata files. Scott mentioned that the DITA way

seemed to be object-oriented; keep the metadata inside the topic and map files, perhaps in the

prolog structure.  This way all is organized and travels together.

- Scott reminded all that the idea was to be sure that our structures contained all the

elements/attributes to map to the LOM, all in support of a LOM manifest. Allyn suggested that

such data typically would primarily come from a map.  John suggested that it might be helpful to look at a working manifest and work backwards to the source points in LOM and then to our

structures. Allyn suggested we use an example like this from ADL.

Suggestion to put structural stuff inside the topics themselves, while descriptive stuff could be

handled via an attribute like metaref to point to an external metadata file. This would be more

akin to how IMS can point to an external metadata file.

- John asked for a big picture clarification of why mapping our elements/attributes to LOM was

desirable.  Scott and Allyn responded that if SCORM and IMS are based on some level of

implementation of the IEEE LOM, then if our DITA SC also had all the LOM mapped, deliverables had

a better chance of playing in those SCORM and IMS worlds.

- John mentioned that it was difficult to easily see all our elements/attributes in support of

quick, efficiently and best mappings to the LOM.

- Allyn brought up potential confusion about what would be metadata versus real content.  For

example metadata for one content type might easily be seen as content proper in another. (e.g.,

Learning Content vs. Instructional Design)

- Allyn also mentioned that the LOM might be inherently insufficient for learning content

purposes.  For example, the lack of some thing an learning objective.  Scott agreed so the LOM

should be considered just a minimum.

- Scott and Allyn spoke about the fact that a high level perspective or diagram is needed, that

relates SCORM, DITA, IMS. The lack of this hinders our LOM mapping exercise.


This event is one in a list of recurring events.
Other event dates in this series:

Thursday, 14 June 2007, 11:00am to 12:00pm ET
Thursday, 21 June 2007, 11:00am to 12:00pm ET
Thursday, 28 June 2007, 11:00am to 12:00pm ET
Thursday, 05 July 2007, 11:00am to 12:00pm ET
Thursday, 12 July 2007, 04:00pm to 05:00pm ET
Thursday, 26 July 2007, 04:00pm to 05:00pm ET
Thursday, 02 August 2007, 04:00pm to 05:00pm ET
Thursday, 09 August 2007, 04:00pm to 05:00pm ET
Thursday, 16 August 2007, 04:00pm to 05:00pm ET
Thursday, 23 August 2007, 04:00pm to 05:00pm ET
Thursday, 30 August 2007, 04:00pm to 05:00pm ET
Thursday, 06 September 2007, 04:00pm to 05:00pm ET
Thursday, 13 September 2007, 04:00pm to 05:00pm ET
Thursday, 20 September 2007, 04:00pm to 05:00pm ET
Thursday, 27 September 2007, 04:00pm to 05:00pm ET

View event details:
http://www.oasis-open.org/apps/org/workgroup/dita-learningspec/event.php?event_id=15062

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-- 
Bob Doyle
Editor In Chief, CMS Review - http://www.cmsreview.com
Founder, DITA Users -  
http://www.ditausers.org
Former Technology Advisor, CM Pros - http://www.cmprofessionals.org/membership/cm-profiles/bob-doyle
Contributing Editor, EContent Magazine - 
http://www.econtentmag.com/About/AboutAuthor.aspx?AuthorID=155 
President and CEO, skyBuilders - http://www.skybuilders.com
77 Huron Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02138
Tel: +1 617-876-5676   Skype:bobdoyle