TOPIC 2

Dear participants, The official start of the e-Conference will take place at 13:00 (GMT +0.00). During that time, the first questions that will elaborate on each topic will be published. To be able to participate in the initial discussions, we kindly ask you to use the time left, to familiarize yourselves with some of the resources and reading material that are provided in the first page of the Forum (folder: RESOURCES). With kind regards, Nikos Palavitsinis

Initiating the discussion on Topic 2, we would like to provide you with a set of questions that focus on various aspects of the proposed topic. As you will see, some of the questions are more generic, whereas others focus on specific stakeholder groups (i.e. content/course creators, users of the content, etc.). The idea here is to start elaborating on these topics, clarifying and delving into the characteristics of a quality learning resource. To facilitate the discussion, we would like to ask you to start replying by indicating the question number addressed (i.e. Q1), so that our colleagues that read you answers can easily identify the question you refer to. 1. Have you described in the past, your learning resources using metadata (description, title, keywords, tags, etc)? Which are the metadata elements that you mainly use? 2. Do you feel that providing metadata for resources is useful? What are the incentives that drive you, to provide the metadata? 3. What constitutes high quality metadata for a resource? Is it completeness for all metadata elements? Is it the clarity and correctness of the language used? Other aspects? 4. What are the benefits you see in providing metadata for learning resources in practice? With kind regards, On behalf of Topic 2 Moderators, Jackie Wickham & Stephanie Taylor Nikos Palavitsinis

[quote="Lisa-Cespedes"] Providing quality metadata: Is the gain worth the effort? The topic above, is refined with the questions that follow in the post of the Moderator of Topic 2. You can either reply to this general topic, or address one of the other questions. [/quote] I think providing quality metadata has much benefits that one might think of, but as long as a standard is used I am sure the quality will be kept alive.

[quote="nikospalavitsinis"] Initiating the discussion on Topic 2, we would like to provide you with a set of questions that focus on various aspects of the proposed topic. As you will see, some of the questions are more generic, whereas others focus on specific stakeholder groups (i.e. content/course creators, users of the content, etc.). The idea here is to start elaborating on these topics, clarifying and delving into the characteristics of a quality learning resource. To facilitate the discussion, we would like to ask you to start replying by indicating the question number addressed (i.e. Q1), so that our colleagues that read you answers can easily identify the question you refer to. 1. Have you described in the past, your learning resources using metadata (description, title, keywords, tags, etc)? Which are the metadata elements that you mainly use? 2. Do you feel that providing metadata for resources is useful? What are the incentives that drive you, to provide the metadata? 3. What constitutes high quality metadata for a resource? Is it completeness for all metadata elements? Is it the clarity and correctness of the language used? Other aspects? 4. What are the benefits you see in providing metadata for learning resources in practice? With kind regards, On behalf of Topic 2 Moderators, Jackie Wickham & Stephanie Taylor Nikos Palavitsinis [/quote] Hi Nikos, let me answer the questions you posed, 1. I am using a metadata to construct and I am tagging them using the acceptable lom standard. 2. Providing metadata to your resources is useful if you want to search them and if you want to make them searchable in a federated repository structure. The incentive...a good will that someone on the other side of the world is making ones resource available and for the sake of giving a better learning environments for students or any other clients of the subject matter 3. The quality of a metadata, I believe, is not completeness in its adherence to the standard of metadata used but the correctness and using the minimum, at least, acceptable tags from the standard. The language is also important but the process is time consuming 4. It will make your works and your organizations' reputation in providing learning materials to a bigger level. You will get more comments and directions other that the recognition you get for your resources

[quote="ameha"] [quote="Lisa-Cespedes"] Providing quality metadata: Is the gain worth the effort? The topic above, is refined with the questions that follow in the post of the Moderator of Topic 2. You can either reply to this general topic, or address one of the other questions. [/quote] I think providing quality metadata has much benefits that one might think of, but as long as a standard is used I am sure the quality will be kept alive. [/quote] That's a good point about using standards. I'm reminded of the late, great Groucho Marx who said: "These are my principles, and if you don't like them...well, I have others". It's perhaps the same with standards - if you don't like one, have a look at the others. A colleague of mine at the University of Nottingham recently posted a very entertaining and sensilble blog about the plethora of standards and has suggested a useful way forward: http://blogs.nottingham.ac.uk/learningtechnology/2010/10/05/babelona-the-tower-of/ There are two main purposes for metadata - to enable people to discover things and to enable machines to talk to each other. (Well perhaps three if you count metadata that supports preservation and administration - or is that four?). There does seem to be a gap in the metadata world - we don't seem to have any way of evaluating metadata shemas in terms of their usefulness in connection with these two purposes and, dare I say it, their return on investmment. Does anyone know of anything or have any ideas about this?

[quote="ameha"] Hi Nikos, let me answer the questions you posed, 1. I am using a metadata to construct and I am tagging them using the acceptable lom standard. 2. Providing metadata to your resources is useful if you want to search them and if you want to make them searchable in a federated repository structure. The incentive...a good will that someone on the other side of the world is making ones resource available and for the sake of giving a better learning environments for students or any other clients of the subject matter 3. The quality of a metadata, I believe, is not completeness in its adherence to the standard of metadata used but the correctness and using the minimum, at least, acceptable tags from the standard. The language is also important but the process is time consuming 4. It will make your works and your organizations' reputation in providing learning materials to a bigger level. You will get more comments and directions other that the recognition you get for your resources [/quote] Dear Ameha, Reading your opinion on the questions asked, it feels like you are already familiar with the concepts of metadata and you are also capable of working with them. I only have one question, leaving the ground to Jackie and other colleagues to follow up on your answers. Do your colleagues, or people you work with, in other institutions, share your thoughts on the necessity of metadata? In general, what is your perception of people's attitude towards using metadata to annotate resources?

Hi, The main question of this topic is actually the central theme of all the people like me that work in systems supporting and exploiting metadata. The question is : where is the value in metadata? Here you have a paper I coauthored some time ago about this critical issue: http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1389548 However, we actually did not provide answers to the question but only more questions. Just as for other Information System resources, metadata needs to be cost-justified, be it with cost-benefit analysis, strategic resource theories as the resource-based view of the firm, or any other kind of effectiveness or efficiency related argument. The problem is that there are few reports on this issue, and our understanding of the value of metadata is still in its inception. More empirical studies and in-depth analysis is for sure required! All the best, Miguel-Angel

[quote="msicilia"] Hi, The main question of this topic is actually the central theme of all the people like me that work in systems supporting and exploiting metadata. The question is : where is the value in metadata? Here you have a paper I coauthored some time ago about this critical issue: http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1389548 However, we actually did not provide answers to the question but only more questions. Just as for other Information System resources, metadata needs to be cost-justified, be it with cost-benefit analysis, strategic resource theories as the resource-based view of the firm, or any other kind of effectiveness or efficiency related argument. The problem is that there are few reports on this issue, and our understanding of the value of metadata is still in its inception. More empirical studies and in-depth analysis is for sure required! All the best, Miguel-Angel [/quote] Hi Miguel-Angel This looks like a really interesting article but I can't access it :cry: Is it possible to also publish it in an open access way or is this restricted by the publishers. I'd really like to read the full text. Best wishes Jackie

Q1. Have you described in the past, your learning resources using metadata (description, title, keywords, tags, etc)? Which are the metadata elements that you mainly use? I have already described quite a few learning resources by using metadata. In the repository tool that we use for the specific purpose the metadata fields mentioned (title, description and keywords) are obligatory. In addition, we use metadata for describing areas such as copyright status, educational context, target age range, classification of the resource, contribution information etc. Q2. Do you feel that providing metadata for resources is useful? What are the incentives that drive you, to provide the metadata? Describing resources with metadata is a dirty, time-consuming job... but it pays well! I mean that it's a hard task but it surely helps at a later step, for indexing and retrieving the resources. It's much easier this way! Q3. What constitutes high quality metadata for a resource? Is it completeness for all metadata elements? Is it the clarity and correctness of the language used? Other aspects? I find all the aforementioned aspects equally important. I believe that a partially-described resource can only be partially helpful. If improper language is used, then the resource will also suffer... there should be some general guidelines that should be followed, that should contain both the completeness of the metadata as well as the quality of the used metadata. This guidelines could be implemented in the form of a quality assurance schema. Q4. What are the benefits you see in providing metadata for learning resources in practice? As I mentioned in my reply to Q2, the description of the resources with metadata elements really benefits the indexing and retrieval of the resources, especially when we are talking about a large number of resources found in the same repository!

[quote="jackiewickham"] There are two main purposes for metadata - to enable people to discover things and to enable machines to talk to each other. (Well perhaps three if you count metadata that supports preservation and administration - or is that four?).... [/quote] Well, in my opinion, from a teacher's perspective the most important thing about metadata is that it helps me to select the resources I need without inspecting all the elements in veeeeeeeeeeeeery long lists of educational resources. But if you want to get it like this, your metadata must be good, descriptive and apropriate for everyone. If also multilingual, you will guarantee the ssame benefits for a wider audience. Metadata descriptions like "A photo of an organic farm" are useless, so if this is what we are prepared to put in, let's forget about. Instead, comprehensive, detailed, standard-complinat metadata are pricesless!! Regards, Salvador