scope:

This standard specifies a conceptual data schema that defines the structure of a metadata instance for a learning object. For this standard, a learning object is defined as any entity, digital or non-digital, that is used for learning, education or training.

For this standard, a metadata instance for a learning object describes relevant characteristics of the learning object to which it applies. Such characteristics can be regrouped in general, life cycle, meta-metadata, educational, technical, educational, rights, relation, annotation, and classification categories.

The conceptual data schema specified in this standard will allow for linguistic diversity of learning objects and the metadata instances that describe them.

The conceptual data schema defined in this standard specifies the data elements of which a metadata instance for a learning object is composed.

This standard will be referenced by other standards that will define the implementation descriptions of the data schema so that a metadata instance for a learning object can be used by a learning technology system to manage, locate, evaluate, or exchange learning objects.

This standard does not define how a learning technology system will represent or use a metadata instance for a learning object.

Purpose

The purpose of this standard is to facilitate search, evaluation, acquisition, and use of learning objects, for instance, by learners, instructors, or automated software processes. The purpose is also to facilitate the sharing and exchange of learning objects by enabling the development of catalogs and inventories while taking into account the diversity of cultural and lingual contexts in which the learning objects and their metadata will be exploited.

By specifying a common conceptual data schema, this standard helps to ensure that bindings of Learning Object Metadata (LOM) will likely have a high degree of semantic interoperability. As a result, transformations between bindings will be straightforward.

The intent of this standard is to specify a base schema, which can be used to build on as practice develops, for instance in order to facilitate automatic, adaptive scheduling of learning objects by software agents.