scope:

Purpose

This Technical Report provides a Conceptual Reference Model that comprises categories of items, attributes, and relationships. It can be used to identify the relationships between concepts represented within an information technology for learning, education and training (ITLET) system, such as competency, knowledge, skills, capabilities, qualifications, performance, and learning objectives. It can be used to identify related objects that are used to convey competency information. This Technical Report pertains to the exchange and integration of heterogeneous information relating to information technology (IT) systems that are used by learning, education and training (LET) organizations and their communities in order to manage, develop, describe, transfer or assess competency information or other related objects. The scope is further elaborated as follows.

This Technical Report provides guidance regarding the level of detail and precision expected and required to describe, in relation to the ITLET Conceptual Reference Model, IT systems that are used to manage, develop, describe, transfer or assess competency information or other related objects within the LET fields.

• This Technical Report provides a definition of competency (ITLET) specific to competency as it is represented within an IT system. This definition is not domain dependent and acknowledges the unique challenges of representing competency information within IT systems (some of which are further elaborated in 8.2).

• This Technical Report is intended specifically to introduce requisite contextual information, i.e., the environment, which can, for example, include information such as location description, duration, date and time.

• The exchange of relevant information from IT systems among LET organizations and their communities, and harmonization with their models, fall within the scope of this Technical Report.

• This Technical Report introduces the topic of privacy needs as they relate to IT systems that are used by LET organizations in order to manage, develop, describe, transfer or assess competency information or other related objects.

• This Technical Report focuses on information about participants, related elements, and the respective relationships included within IT systems in LET that are used to manage, develop, describe, transfer or assess competency information or other related objects.

Primary role

The primary role of this Technical Report is to enable the integration and interoperability of heterogeneous sources of competency information. This Technical Report provides a toolkit comprising the ITLET Conceptual Reference Model and processes needed to elaborate semantic definitions and clarifications to transform and enable the exchange of information across disparate, localized information sources into a coherent global resource. The ITLET Conceptual Reference Model can be used as a common reference point, and the process described in this Technical Report can be used to assist human understanding of IT system(s) used within LET to manage, develop, describe, transfer or assess competency information or other related objects.

Aspects not currently addressed

This Technical Report does not address the following aspects.

a. the conception that competency is an unobservable and unmeasurable entity;

b. specific details related to the functions of the classes;

c. the creation of data models and complex data structures;

d. guidelines related to the use of such data models, or to their bindings;

e. Application Program Interfaces (APIs) and associated bindings;

f. specific relationships to other ISO/IEC International Standards and detailed descriptions of related work by other organizations;

g. multilingual support;

h. cultural adaptability;

i. a detailed overview of privacy issues;

NOTE Privacy within ITLET systems will be the subject of a future International Standard (ISO/IEC 29187).

j. guidance regarding accessibility issues;

NOTE See ISO/IEC 24751 (all parts) for more information on accessibility with ITLET systems.

k. a detailed explanation and guidance regarding the application of a Digital Services Supply Chain (DSSC) approach to competency information model implementations;

l. guidance regarding best practice in conceptual modelling for information technology systems.

It is anticipated that some or all of these requirements will be addressed in future editions of ISO/IEC 24763, or in companion International Standards or Technical Reports.