1. XCRI Briefing
24 November 2008, Becta, Diplomas, Aston University
eXchanging Course Related Information: the emerging XCRI standard
Alan Paull
Presentation One
24/11/2008 | XCRI Briefing | Slide 1 1

2. But JISC-CETIS Enterprise Special Interest Group cares…
xcri | genesis
E-Admin … not sexy ...
But JISC-CETIS Enterprise
Special Interest Group cares…
It cared enough to spin off
a project to tackle
a shared problem …
The lack of a standard for course information.
And the project was called eXchanging Course-Related
Information
24/11/2008 | XCRI Briefing | Slide 2 2

3. XCRI HE & FE | XCRI 14-19 | XCRI EU harmonization
xcri | timeline
Q1 2005
JISC fund XCRI “Reference Model” project devised by Ent SIG + UCAS
Q2 2005
Existing standards reviewed (Norway’s closest but not quite there for UK)
Q3 2005
UK prospectus websites reviewed (161) + case studies + site visits
Q4 2005
R1.0 XCRI schema developed through prototyping & critique
Q1 2006
Schema tested with Plymouth-UCAS, Oxford, Reid Kerr, L’pool LMX
Q3 2006
Existing deployments reviewed & optimised XCRI CAP 1.0 released
Q4 2006
JISC fund XCRI CAP 1.0 trials, demo aggregator & xcri.org support
Q1 2007
XCRI ‘invited’ to brief DfES and Becta
Q2 2007
CAP pilot with London > XCRI ‘preferred approach’ in LSC vision
Q3 2007
Bolton, OU, Oxford, MMU & Staffs CAP feeds read by demo aggregator
Q4 2007
CEN WS-LT & vendor meetings for European MLO harmonization begin
Q1 2008
JISC funds CAP 1.1 trials + talks open with Becta about regional 14-19
XCRI HE & FE | XCRI | XCRI EU harmonization
24/11/2008 | XCRI Briefing | Slide 3 3

4. xcri: Course Advertising Profile (xcri-cap) | schema
Catalog @generated
Plugin
description
refinement
vocab
Provider identifier*, title*, subject*, description*, relation*, url, image, address
Plugin
studyMode
refinement
vocab
Course identifier*, title*, subject*, description*, relation*, url, image, qualification*, credit*
Presentation identifier*, title*, subject*, description*, relation*, url, image, start, end, duration, studyMode, attendanceMode, attendancePattern, languageOfInstruction, languageOfAssessment, placesAvailable, cost, enquireTo, applyFrom, applyUntil, applyTo, entryProfile*, entryRequirements*, venue*
Plugin …?
refinement
vocab
Customization
24/11/2008 | XCRI Briefing | Slide 4 4

5. xcri | rationale
National agenda of ‘informed choice’ about learning opportunities but
Feeling that education lags behind other sectors in making its ‘products’ easy to discover and compare.
Standards exist for exchanging information about people, groups and membership but
no standard way to exchange information about courses.
Institutions developing ways to populate their prospectus from definitive data but
resorting to primitive data entry to populate aggregator sites, regional portals, area prospectuses…
Genuine interest from the community in a standard for exchanging course information that facilitates joined-up thinking.
24/11/2008 | XCRI Briefing | Slide 5 5

6. xcri | benefits Preparing for XCRI-CAP Providing XCRI-CAP
for the internal delivery units in a learning provider, value is generated by XCRI-CAP in the form of internal efficiency gains as a result of the business process improvements.
Providing XCRI-CAP
value is generated in the form of strategic capability as the provider better understands the nature of its course offerings when combined into a single XCRI catalog, leading to opportunities for improved quality assurance, standardisation and consolidation of duplicate offerings.
Aggregating XCRI-CAP
value is generated for the provider in the form of cost savings on data input from the use of XCRI by aggregators. For the aggregator, value comes from the availability of additional providers in the market, and from shifting some responsibility for QA of basic data from its central process to the provider.
Going further
value is generated for the provider in the form of new business opportunities and revenue- sharing partnerships that result from opening up data networks using XCRI. For the aggregator, the availability of the provider data via XCRI enables new added-value business models that build upon the provider's offerings.
24/11/2008 | XCRI Briefing | Slide 6 6

7. xcri | example: Partnership in the East Midlands (I)
24/11/2008 | XCRI Briefing | Slide 7 7

8. xcri | example: Partnership in the East Midlands (II)
Leap Ahead / Aimhigher Progression Pathways XCRI Project
Kirstie Coolin August 2008
Area Prospectus
XCRI mapping + export
Export of basic course data from APs
Progression Pathways database
XCRI filtering + Import
Holding tables
XCRI mapping + export
Pull
Learning Provider(s)
LP = Learning Providers AP = Area Prospectuses PP = Progression Pathways Database
24/11/2008 | XCRI Briefing | Slide 8 8

9. xcri | support www.xcri.org
Specifications and guidance - Creative Commons license
Aggregator – “does my data look good in this?”
Calls for mini projects
Developer forum
How to implement XCRI
“XCRI Readiness”
Implementation models
Scenarios of practice
common problems and solutions
24/11/2008 | XCRI Briefing | Slide 9 9

10. xcri | context of the implementation models
24/11/2008 | XCRI Briefing | Slide 10 10

11. xcri | Readiness Characteristics I
Key to scale:
0 = Least favourable circumstance
4 = Perfect!
24/11/2008 | XCRI Briefing | Slide 11 11

12. xcri | Readiness Characteristics II
24/11/2008 | XCRI Briefing | Slide 12 12

13. xcri | Implementation Models
Simple Single Stream Model
Multiple Source Aggregation Model
Integrated Content Management Model
Outsourcing Model
Feedback Model
Courses update push model from Data Collecting Organisation’s perspective
24/11/2008 | XCRI Briefing | Slide 13 13

14. xcri | implementation top tips
Problem
Solutions
We don’t know how many courses we offer; our courses data sets are extremely variable.
Review and model processes you use; you may find the XIM template useful.
Consider creating a single catalogue that will aggregate all your courses data.
We have a great many de-centralised sources with no links between them.
Carry out preliminary work in each source, so that you can aggregate them; introduce common course identifiers; consider changing to compatible data structures.
Our quality of authoring is poor.
XCRI implementation may provide opportunity to change how your authors work. Consider providing a new data entry system that will feed your XCRI outputs. Improvements in data quality can be presented as a ‘quick win’ for an XCRI implementation.
Our data analysis is poor, so it is very difficult for us to map to XCRI successfully.
For initial XCRI implementation, create new data store with data structures that reflect the XCRI model and import data into the new store. Reduces dependencies between XCRI and other components of the system. Then a full integration of the new system with the old one, or an entire replacement system, can be planned.
24/11/2008 | XCRI Briefing | Slide 14 14

15. xcri | lessons
XCRI…
went for low hanging fruit: course advertising = inherently public data
sought out & engaged key experts & practitioners
discovered huge inefficiencies arising from embedded work-arounds
promoted & celebrated its “shared response to a shared problem”
evolved by keeping it real – real data, real people, real processes
is increasingly seeking out policy makers, senior managers & vendors to support sector process re-engineering
We are “learning to network and networking to learn”
And now…
we’re joining up the pilot work, gaining the authority of a formal standard and entering the mainstream!
24/11/2008 | XCRI Briefing | Slide 15 15

16. xcri | summary Committed to joined-up thinking
Partnering with key agencies: Becta, UCAS, LSC, DCSF/DIUS ISB …
Keeping it simple and testing thoroughly with real data
Building capacity: funding mini projects
Going beyond technical support to organisational readiness: XIM
Keen for more institution, agency and vendor engagement
Aware of role in delivering 14-19, Leitch, Burgess, Bologna, Burgess,...
Go to to discover more.
24/11/2008 | XCRI Briefing | Slide 16 16

17. XCRI Briefing
24 November 2008, Becta, Diplomas, Aston University
eXchanging Course Related Information: the emerging XCRI standard
Alan Paull
24/11/2008 | XCRI Briefing | Slide 17 17

18. xcri | Simple Single Stream Model
24/11/2008 | XCRI Briefing | Slide 18 18

19. xcri | Multiple Source Aggregation Model
24/11/2008 | XCRI Briefing | Slide 19 19

20. xcri | Integrated Content Management Model
24/11/2008 | XCRI Briefing | Slide 20 20

21. xcri | Outsourcing Model
24/11/2008 | XCRI Briefing | Slide 21 21

22. xcri | Feedback Model
24/11/2008 | XCRI Briefing | Slide 22 22

23. Courses update push model from Data Collecting Organisation’s perspective
24/11/2008 | XCRI Briefing | Slide 23 23