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Appendix: FOSS tools for OER development, management and dissemination/Part Three

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1 FOSS tools to design and implement Learning Object Repositories
2 Other pages in the FOSS tools for OER appendix
3 FOSS for OER pages and resources

[edit] FOSS tools to design and implement Learning Object Repositories

Learning Object Repositories: a definition

"A Learning Object Repository is storing content/assets/resources as well as their metadata record." From EduTools Glossary Analysis.

Background resources

Two excellent reports from Jorum may be a good reference:

[edit] General digital repository systems

"A digital repository is either a local, institutional, or central (e.g., subject- or discipline-based) digital archive for depositing and providing access to digital contents." From Wikipedia article on digital repositories.

Fedora: "Fedora open source software gives organizations a flexible service-oriented architecture for managing and delivering their digital content."
DSpace: "A groundbreaking digital repository system that captures, stores, indexes, preserves, and redistributes an organization's research data."
ePrints: "Both a practical tool and the crystallization of a philosophy, it enables research to be accessible to all, and provides the foundation for all academic institutions to create their own research repositories."

[edit] Specific Learning Object Repository projects

DOOR: "DOOR Digital Open Object Repository is an Open Source piece of software for creating learning objects repositories. With DOOR you can store digital content in the form of learning objects (LO), i.e., content + metadata, in a tree-shape catalog. You can then search for LOs, retrieve them and include them in your courses or instructional units. DOOR is compliant with international metadata standards, and implements the IMS Metadata 1.2.1 and Content Package 1.1.3 specifications. DOOR is also fully integrated with Moodle, and Open Source LMS. The DOOR-Moodle plug-in allows Moodle teachers to browse more repositories seamlessly from a single Moodle course, and then select and import LOs with their metadata."
LeMill: "A web community for finding, authoring and sharing learning resources. First at all, you can find learning resources. You can use the resources you find in your own teaching or learning. You can also add your own learning content to LeMill. You may edit your content and combine larger chunks of learning resources from individual media pieces. If you wish you may also join some of the groups producing or editing learning resources. In LeMill the content is always easily found where and whenever you need them."
CALIBRATE European project: "The CALIBRATE (Calibrating eLearning in Schools) project (October 2005 – March 2008) brings together eight Ministries of Education, (including six MoEs from new member states), to carry out a multi-level project designed to support the collaborative use and exchange of learning resources in schools."
eRIB: "The eduSource Repository-In-A-Box (eRIB) is aimed at organizations or single users who wish to create a repository of learning object metadata records. The eRIB provides all the basic tools to add a new node to the eduSource network. It consists of an open source database (eXist) with a built-in LOM (IEEE Learning Object Metadata) data structure and a set of tools to create, manage and find metadata records in the eduSource Network."
CAREO: "The CAREO repository is actually composed of 2 separate components: the ALOHA Server, which acts as a metadata management server, and the CAREO web application, which is used as the primary interface to the repository."
ARIADNE: "The ARIADNE Foundation runs a network of knowledge pool systems, has contributed to the development of several standards (including Learning Object Metadata and the Simple Query Interface) and is one of the founding members of the GLOBE network of learning repositories."
iTunes: Podcasting audio or video files is very popular and has a number of educational application - see, for example Stanford on iTunes.
- N.B. iTunes is proprietary. It is not a free application, although the podcasts may be free to download. Some FOSS alternatives may be available soon - see, for example Songbird.

[edit] Standards specification/models for Learning Objects Repositories

IMS DR: "The IMS Digital Repositories v1.0 Final specification, released January 30, 2003, purpose is to provide recommendations for the interoperation of the most common repository functions. These recommendations should be implementable across services to enable them to present a common interface. On the broadest level, this specification defines digital repositories as being any collection of resources that are accessible via a network without prior knowledge of the structure of the collection. Repositories may hold actual assets or the meta-data that describe assets. The assets and their meta-data do not need to be held in the same repository."
CORDRA (Content Object Repository Discovery and Registration/Resolution Architecture): "An open, standards-based model for how to design and implement software systems for the purposes of discovery, sharing and reuse of learning content through the establishment of interoperable federations of learning content repositories."