Supporting the delivery of activity-based learning scenarios with learning content

Evidence to support content development and, particularly the reuse of materials has proven challenging to find in the education sector. Our work, therefore, has focused on identifying best practices in this area that include the efforts of both individuals and institutions across Europe (and beyond) who use, adapt, innovate and share such educational materials. Our surveys have revealed that a variety of learning platforms, tools and standards are used to promote the sharing of such materials as well as uncovering the reasons why these activities are so important. Awareness about the benefits of this work has been raised through a series of research reports, the development of an interactive online course about reuse as well as the promotion of a dedicated content development and reuse innovations space within the ICOPER website.

Recommendations

Standardization bodies:Recommending missing/new standard elements for potential application profiles of IMS-LD collaboration and communication services to realize a successful application of best practice collaboration and communication services considering learning facilitators' requirements.

1. A need for communication across different IMS-LD Learning Opportunities deployed in different RTE.
2. A need for synchronization across different IMS-LD Learning Opportunities.
3. A need for better integration of external tools or services into IMS-LD Learning Designs/Opportunities.
4. A need for an element that supports the definition of "emerging roles".
5. An element that supports person assignments to roles is not a requirement.

IMS-LD technology providers:

Recommending how to modify IMS-LD editors and players to support these best practice collaboration and communication services.

1. IMS-LD players have to ensure a high level of accessibility.
2. IMS-LD tools have to be more user-friendly.
3. IMS-LD players should better exploit the potential of their underlying RTE.
4. IMS-LD editors and players should converge to some extent.
5. IMS-LD technology providers have to commit to an integration of IMS-LD players in already existing RTE.
6. A need for enhanced identity management.
7. A central management of generated data during runtime is a further requirement.
8. A wider application of dynamically generated widget‑based services is essential.
9. IMS-LD tools should execute non-standard-compliant protocols, or make course designers aware of their incompatibility.
10. A need for an element that supports the definition of "emerging roles".

Our Approach

The IMS-LD specification is a language for describing complex, multi-role oriented learning arrangements. It will only unfold its whole potential if it enables course designers and learning facilitators to include and support a wide range of new (and changing) communication and collaboration services in standardized Learning Designs/Opportunities. This will benefit from reusability and interoperability even if there are only a few pre-specified services within the IMS-LD specification available. Consequently the special focus and achievements are:

• Presentation of best practice collaboration and communication services, e.g.Combinatorial tool*, Forum, (Micro-)Blog, Wiki
• Evaluation of the ability of the IMS-LD specification as well as best practice IMS-LD editors and players to support these best practice collaboration and communication services.

A comprehensive set of recommendations towards the stakeholder groups was derived. These recommendations serve as a first starting point for further elaborations on potential application profiles, respectively standard elements and tool developments to better integrate collaboration and communication services into the IMS-LD Specification as well as its corresponding tools (IMS-LD editors and players).

With a particular view to the IRM (ICOPER Reference Model), ICOPER primarily contributes to the data and guidance level. This happens because recommendations for potential application profiles of IMS-LD collaboration/communication services primarily contribute to the IRM data level. As we also recommend best practice collaboration and communication services and their actual use in best practice IMS-LD editors and players, ICOPER also contributes to the IRM guidance level.

* In the realm of this ISURE, combinatorial tools are defined as collaboration/communication services which combine major characteristics, respectively features of particular collaboration/communication services (e.g. audio/video conference, forum, wiki, etc.), and provide learners and learning facilitators with a huge plethora of collaboration/communication functionalities in one single user interface.

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