Key Issues for Educational/Learning Resource Sharing Networks : Standardization, Globalization and Localization in the ICT Environments(Session 3: International Collaboration in Content Development and Distribution,E-learning beyond Cultural and Linguistic Barriers : Co-existence and Collaboration(NIME 2002 INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM))

Abstract

The Internet has provided us with an expanded access to a variety of ever increasing information resources all over the world. Due to the unstructured nature of Internet resources and limited functionalities of existing search engines, however, we often experience difficulty in locating high quality targeted information required for specific purposes. Digital educational materials are no exception. Several national and international consortia were established to facilitate a better access to high quality educational materials. They are developing and integrating standard cataloging and indexing schemes such as LOM (Learning Materials Metadata) and Dublin Core Metadata Profile, while incorporating XML (extensible Markup Language) and Unicode to overcome language problems. The goals and objectives of higher education reflect cultural values and social contexts. Advances in information and communication technology (ICTs) bring about a fundamental paradigm shift in the perspectives of higher education from provider-based to learner-based. The new paradigm seems to emphasize the values and perspectives of learners rather than those of educators. The resource sharing of educational materials in higher education in the new ICT environment should respond to the paradigm shift. The key features or two existing global resource-sharing endeavors in the educational domain, the GEM Consortium and the ARIADNE Foundation, are described and compared. The important issues in establishing and maintaining global resource-sharing networks in the educational domain will be discussed. They are: (1) goals and objectives, (2) standardization in format, language representation, metadata scheme, and semantics, (3) level of granularity, (4) copyright management, (5) quality control of metadata and educational materials, (6) vocabulary control, and (7) attitude toward cultural, gender, and racial biases