1. Comparing EducationalMetadata SchemaThe Gateway to Educational Materials (GEM)IEEE Learning Object Metadata (LOM)Canadian CoreDenise Petrik, Alexis Stapp, and Jasmine Woodson

2. What are Educational Materials?And why do they need special metadata?Educational materials include- Lesson Plans- Classroom Activities- Evaluation Materials (Tests, Quizzes)In order to truly help teachers, informationspecific to the educational field must beidentified in metadata describing these materials.EXAMPLES: grade level, difficulty level, academic standardsmet, or resources needed 3. History and BackgroundTimelineGEM: created in 1996.LOM: developed in the late 90s, made official in 2002.CanCore: began development in 2000, published in 2002.Brief Description Provide structure and guidelines for educational resources -termed "educational materials" in GEM and "learning objects" inLOM and CanCore.GEM - meant primarily for digital objectsLOM and CanCore - cover both digital and analog objects 4. Structural DifferencesGEM - based on Dublin Core- added eight elements, some of which can be qualified- fairly simpleLOM - based on GEM, and therefore DC.- greatly expanded: added nine categories and nearly 70 elements- much more complexCanCore - based on LOM- simplifies LOM, making it less complex and ambiguous- application profile: more best practice recommendations thana metadata standard 5. Other Structural Notes- CanCore developed as a simplified version of LOM -- but elements can come from standards other than LOM- GEM highly user-oriented with great user support- no such support in LOM- The lack of user support in LOM is one of the many thingsCanCore seeks to improve upon 6. Content StandardsGEM has controlled vocabularies for some of its elementsand advocates the use of others for others.- resource types, relationships, subjects, etc.- not all elements are requiredLOM does not have its own vocabularies- makes use of other vocabularies- not all elements are requiredCanCore requires some use of controlled vocabularies (notits own)- no elements are mandatory 7. Coding LanguageGEM - designed for HTML- but the creators were aware of other languages on thehorizon, like XML.LOM and CanCore - both used with XML. 8. Implementation DifficultiesGEM - concerns with storage - incomplete metadata (Academic Standards) - simplicity = fewer search facetsLOM - extremely complex = specialized training needed - requirements for metadata (or lack thereof) can lead to loss of flexibility and functionalityCanCore - fewer elements = better interoperability+ less rich resource description 9. Current UseGEMItems catalogued by Consortium members are aggregatedon The Gateway, its own catalog siteLOMDoes not have its own catalog siteUsed in various repositories and digital collectionsCanCoreUsed primarily in public educational institutions in Canada 10. Current and Future ConcernsGEM- some updates made in form of new fields - ex. user-generated content: ratings and commentsLOM- standard reviewed in 2007- potential for user-generated content in futureCanCore- adapting to work with RSS- planned training & support services 11. Thank you forlistening!