XML and Content Reuse Systems for Instructional Design
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February 2 2004 Strategies and Techniques for Designers, Developers, and Managers of eLearning THIS WEEK — DESIGN STRATEGIES XML and Content Reuse Systems Two weeks ago, the first article in this for Instructional Design series introduced the Part II: Implementing Content Repositories & Selecting Tools basics and the termi- nology of XML for BY HENRY MEYERDING designing and using his is the second in a series of three articles for learning objects. In experienced instructional designers about XML and designing content Tcontent reuse systems. The previous article in this reuse systems for series discussed the basics of XML as it applies to learn- e-Learning, the big- ing content management. XML, a derivative language from gest issues are the SGML that represents a simplified and optimized approach taxonomy, the pro- to creating databases, is an object language that allows cess, and the tools. you to create learning objects and transform them into a Read this article for a variety of different forms. This article In a very basic sense, what a content focuses on many of the methods and reuse system does is to scientifically complete review of benefits of organizing content into reposi- divide content into associative, function- tories, and the tools that can be used to al, or structural taxons. (See the sidebar these issues and a create the content stored there. on page 14, Definitions.) This taxonomy summary of tools that of information makes useful reuse feasi- Taxonomy ble. The application of this useful taxono- you may consider for Our scientific understanding of any my to enterprise information is what topic is founded upon taxonomic process- determines whether the content reuse your own content es: we take things apart to see how they system produces benefits for the organi- work. We can gain a better understanding zation or becomes just another expensive reuse implementation. of the intricate parts of a whole system good idea. by examining its parts and then combin- All learning objects are defined by tax- A publication of ing them together, gradually coming to onomies. These taxonomies express the understand how those parts interrelate. Continued on next page WWW.EL EARNINGG UILD.COM DESIGN / strategies way in which each object is understood, of approved artwork or source content used and maintained. In evaluating how for other servers such as Adobe Publisher David Holcombe to construct learning object models for Document Server or FrameMaker Server. an XML repository, it is very important to The road to XML content reuse is sim- Editorial Director Heidi Fisk understand that these models are used ply a progression of responses faced by Editor Bill Brandon to define queries. The value of the sys- learning organizations. Generally speak- Copy Editor Charles Holcombe tem depends upon the ease and accura- ing, there are six steps taken on the path Design Director Nancy Marland cy of queries. Many organizations discov- from no content sharing and reuse to a ered too late that they had expended comprehensive XML repository system: The eLearning Guild™ Advisory Board Ruth Clark, Conrad Gottfredson, John Hartnett, substantial resources in creating an XML 1. File Server — A “shared drive” acces- Bill Horton, Kevin Moore, Eric Parks, Brenda Pfaus (or SGML) repository that provided no sible to all team members with read Marc Rosenberg, Allison Rossett additional benefit over cutting and past- and write permissions to all. ing documents from a file server be- 2. Version Control System — A collection cause their content authors could not of documents, stored by document ver- Copyright 2004. The eLearning Developers’ Journal™. find anything in the repository. sion to protect against accidentally Compilation copyright by The eLearning Guild 2004. All rights reserved. Please contact The eLearning Guild for overwriting files. reprint permission. Repository design 3. Document Manager — A software sys- A content repository has several differ- The eLearning Developers’ Journal is published weekly tem that provides different levels of by The eLearning Guild, 525 College Avenue, Suite ent purposes: access to documents based upon 215, Santa Rosa, CA 95404. Phone: 707.566.8990. • To store controlled versions of docu- selectable criteria. The eLearning Guild is an operating unit of Focuszone ments 4. Learning Management System (LMS) Media, Inc., 1030 Beatrice Street, Eagan, MN 55121. • To store current versions of learning — A system that provides access to The Journal is included as part of Guild membership. objects learning content for students, authors, To join the Guild go to www.eLearningGuild.com. • To store in-work versions of learning and editors. The modern LMS usually objects provides some kind of virtual campus • To publish content to Web servers paradigm. The eLearning Developers’ Journal™ is design- • To publish content to other servers 5. Learning Content Management ed to serve the industry as a catalyst for inno- (Learning Management Systems, System (LCMS) — A system that vation and as a vehicle for the dissemination of abbreviated as LMS) divides up learning content into man- new and practical strategies and techniques for • To function as an ISO Repository ageable components, which can be e-Learning designers, developers and man- The most important reason for having dynamically revised in some or all of agers. The Journal is not intended to be the a repository is to facilitate collaboration its instances in the curriculum. definitive authority. Rather, it is intended between content creators, editors and to be a medium through which e-Learning practi- 6. XML Repository — A system that production staff. One mistake often tioners can share their knowledge, expertise applies content taxonomies to organ- and experience with others for the general made with a complex repository is to ize content into associative and struc- betterment of the industry. make customized views that are not tural classifications so that content As in any profession, there are many differ- shared between different team mem- can be created and managed with ent perspectives about the best strategies, bers. This can be frustrating and time- maximum efficiency. techniques and tools one can employ to accom- consuming. Not every organization progresses plish a specific objective. This Journal will share Once everyone has gone through the through each step in an orderly manner. these different perspectives and does not posi- arduous task of chunking and labeling It is often the case that different groups tion any one as “the right way,” but rather we their legacy content, this content needs within a learning organization implement position each article as “one of the right ways” to be put into a repository where it can different steps at different times, and for accomplishing a goal. We assume that be easily accessed. The best way to do then face significant challenges integrat- readers will evaluate the merits of each article this, for instructional designers, is to put ing the results. Table 1 on page 3 sum- and use the ideas they contain in a manner the content into a version control system marizes some of the objectives and limi- appropriate for their specific situation. We that is linked to a database. tations of each step in the progression. encourage discussion and debate about articles ClearCase, for example, is a version When computer networks became and provide an Online Discussion board for control application that can present sev- common in the workplace, people aban- each article. THE ELEARNING DEVELOPERS’ JOURNAL eral different views of the repository for doned the file cabinet for the file server. / The articles contained in the Journal are all different uses. One view presents a virtu- They soon learned that file servers have written by people who are actively engaged in al file server that contains all the most their own defects when it comes to shar- this profession at one level or another — not recent versions of the training docu- ing important information. The next logi- by paid journalists or writers. Submissions are ments. Another view presents selected cal step was to try to remove the most always welcome at any time, as are sugges- documents to a Web server or LMS. Yet tions for articles and future topics. To learn glaring defects of the file server by imple- another view presents the XML database more about how to submit articles and/or menting a version control system. The ideas, please refer to the directions in the box elements. Other views can be developed version control systems made it safer to FEBRUARY 2, 2004 on page 5 or visit www.eLearningGuild.com. for specific uses, such as creating put your documents onto the network archives of content, presenting catalogs and easier to find things, but when large 2 DESIGN / strategies numbers of people put large numbers of ments, and they can also customize the intensive means of achieving high quality documents into the system, it became database engine to provide better sys- content reuse. harder again. tem performance for content manage- Question: If XML repositories are so Then came the document manage- ment functions. OutStart Evolution®, great, then why doesn’t anyone market ment system which made it simpler to Aspen®, and learn eXact® are all exam- an XML repository as an LCMS? find things, but which usually locked you ples of blended XML systems. Answer: Practically all LCMS vendors into tools and processes that rapidly Once you have an XML repository, your are organized according to a service con- became outmoded. A good example of repository can inter-operate with other sulting business model. They invest mas- this last hurdle to progress was a large systems, such as LMSs or even LCMSs, sive amounts of time and money to cre- legal firm that implemented a complex but the content is organized for your ate efficient systems, which they practi- macro-language-driven documentation exclusive needs and convenience.