The ability to effectively administrate educational resources in terms of accessibility, reusability and interoperability lies in the adoption of an appropriate metadata schema, able of adequately describing them. A considerable number of different educational metadata schemas can be found in literature, with the IEEE LOM being the most widely…

In various research areas, the availability of open datasets is considered as key for research and application purposes. These datasets are used as benchmarks to develop new algorithms and to compare them to other algorithms in given settings. Finding such available datasets for experimentation can be a challenging task in technology enhanced…

Large-sized repositories of learning objects (LOs) are difficult to create and also to maintain. In this paper we propose a way to reduce this drawback by improving the classification mechanisms of the LO repositories. Specifically, we present a solution to automate the LO classification of the Universia repository, a collection of more than 15…

Nowadays, a wide range of initiatives are focused on providing solutions relating to the integration and reuse of different types of learning objects. This paper deals with the assembly of learning objects, one of the most difficult components for reuse. Our proposal takes into account the requirements and competencies defined for each learning…

Game-based learning is becoming popular in the academic discussion of Learning Technologies. However, even though the educational potential of games has been thoroughly discussed in the literature, the integration of the games into educational processes and how to efficiently deliver the games to the students are still open questions. This paper…

In the context of the emerging paradigm of Lifelong Learning, competence-based learning is gradually attracting the attention of the Technology-Enhanced Learning community, since it appears to meet the 21st Century learning and training expectations of both individuals and organisations. On the other hand, the paradigm of Learning Objects--as a…

To increase the interoperability and reusability of learning objects, Advanced Distributed Learning Initiative developed a model called Content Aggregation Model (CAM) to describe learning objects and express relationships between learning objects. However, the suggested relations defined in the CAM can only describe structure-oriented…

This paper presents an ontology-based framework aimed at explicit representation of context-specific metadata derived from the actual usage of learning objects and learning designs. The core part of the proposed framework is a learning object context ontology, that leverages a range of other kinds of learning ontologies (e.g., user modeling…

The IMS Learning Design specification (LD) was introduced as an answer to the shortcomings of existing learning technology specifications. The main difference with existing specifications is that LD is an abstract, conceptual model that is able to express various pedagogical approaches whereby content can be adapted to personal needs and…

It seems a foregone conclusion that repositories for reusable learning objects (RLOs), based on common standards and supported by suitable search facilities, will foster a global economic market in the production of RLOs. Actual reuse will support producers of high-quality RLOs, and other producers will be unable to compete, i.e. competition…

The big question for many researchers in the area of educational systems now is what is the next step in the evolution of e-learning? Are we finally moving from a scattered intelligence to a coherent space of collaborative intelligence? How close we are to the vision of the Educational Semantic Web and what do we need to do in order to realize it?…

Semantic Web and Adaptive Hypermedia come from different backgrounds, but it turns out that actually, they can benefit from each other, and that their confluence can lead to synergistic effects. This encounter can influence several fields, among which an important one is Education. This paper presents an analysis of this encounter, first from a…

Tools to support teachers and learning technologists in the creation of effective learning designs are currently in their infancy. This paper describes a metadata model, devised to assist in the conception and design of new learning activities, that has been developed, used and evaluated over a period of three years. The online tool that embodies…

The challenge of the semantic web is the provision of distributed information with well-defined meaning, understandable for different parties. Particularly, applications should be able to provide individually optimized access to information by taking the individual needs and requirements of the users into account. In this paper we propose a…

This paper presents a reference framework to describe educational material. It introduces the PALO Language as a cognitive based approach to Educational Modeling Languages (EML). In accordance with recent trends for reusability and interoperability in Learning Technologies, EML constitutes an evolution of the current content-centered…