1. Metadata and Language Learning Objects New Models of Publication, New Environments for Sharing Curricula GLOCALL Conference November 2-7, 2007 Andrew Ross Brown University

2. Stuff: Yours, ours, theirs. Yours: lessons, activities, assessments, realia, curricula. Ours: locally-shared materials -- the “filing cabinet”, course management systems. Theirs: textbooks, ancillary materials, media, enrichment sites.

3. The LP and iTunes Atomization of content –Song, not album –Activity, not textbook Playback and mashup –“LP” model: primacy of textbook, linear curriculum, ancillaries to fill lacunae. –iTunes model: Non-linear approach to curriculum development.

4. iTunes as Metaphor Move to content module and “chunked” content. Micropublication –Chapter, not book –Lesson, not module –Activity, not lesson Repository –Where does microcontent live?

5. Learning objects and repositories Models –Local hosting –Web portal (MERLOT, Realia Project) –Content management systems (Drupal, Fedora, Dspace) Agnosticism, not dogma

6. Architecture LO User Registry DB

7. Wrapping the package

8. Content Granular Compound Standards-based Linked Versioned Rated

9. Formal Metadata Minimal, global, essential –Unique ID –Creator –Date –Version –Link –Rights

10. Folksonomy Space for informal metadata –Chinese 1A, 101, Beginning, First-year –Hard, moderate, easy –Part of Lesson 5 –Goes with x textbook, accompanies y video Separate layer, Darwinian selection of terms by community

11. Language Learning Object (LLO) Metadata Shared terminology –Targeted level, skill, objective –Instructional process –Associated objects –Sequence –Mappable Vocabulary, not architecture

12. Metadata as lingua franca Formal metadata LLO metadata Folksonomic metadata No current common vocabulary for describing language learning objects. No consensus on quantity and schema for LLO metadata. No universally-accepted standard for formal metadata

13. IALLT, Heinle and Metadata Cengage-Heinle: –Developing a Web 2.0 site to aggregate learning objects and user communities (wiki, blog, repositories …) –Generalized taxonomies and folksonomic openness. IALLT: –Developing controlled vocabularies for LLOs; standards for learning object composition, granularity. –IALLT will be responsible for the standard’s development and dissemination; Heinle will use IALLT standard metadata vocabularies for its learning materials.

14. Why this model? Commercial publishing buy-in critical. Sole responsibility for database/ repository architecture is unsustainable. Folksonomies and informal peer review systems are critical to usability. Granular content facilitates mashups, flexible curricula.