A Semantic Web Service Architecture for Learing Object Repositories

Abstract

The evolution of learning technology standards has resulted in a degree of interoperability across systems that enable the interchange of learning contents and activities. Nonetheless, learning resource metadata does not provide formal computational semantics, which hampers the possibilities to develop technology that automates tasks like learning object selection and negotiation. In this paper, the provision of computational semantics to metadata is addressed from the perspective of the concept of Semantic Web service. An architecture based on the specifications of the WSMO project is described, including the definition of an ontology for learning object metadata, and issues of mediation, all under the perspective of the learning object repository as the central entity in learning object reuse scenarios. The resulting framework serves as a foundation for advanced implementations that consider formal metadata semantics as a mechanism for the automation of tasks related to the interchange of learning objects.