Towards the Educational Semantic Web

Abstract

The objective of this chapter is to discuss relevant applications of Semantic Web technologies in the field of education, emphasizing experiences that point out trends and paths that can make the educational Semantic Web a reality. The Semantic Web, through metadata, comes to make it possible that resources of every type could be localized, retrieved and processed without human intervention, helping to reduce the information overload of the current Web. The possibility of describing resources using metadata that can be processed by computers simplifies the creation of self-organizing networks of learners, information, authors, teachers, and educational institutions. The adoption of Semantic Web technologies in the e-learning field contributes to the construction of flexible and intelligent educational systems, allowing reuse, integration, and interoperation of educational and noneducational resources (content and services) distributed over the Web.