Open Access to Textual and Multimedia Content: Bridging the Digital Divide [2009]

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https://ir7.inflibnet.ac.in/handle/1944/1455

Jointly Organised by INFLIBNET Centre and CEC

29th - 30th January, 2009

Jacaranda Hall, India Habitat Centre, Lodhi Road, New Delhi - 110 003

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Browsing Open Access to Textual and Multimedia Content: Bridging the Digital Divide [2009] by Subject "A Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM)"

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    A Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM) Initiation:
    (INFLIBNET Centre, 2009-01-29) Kaur, Sarbjot; Aggarwal, Sunil
    The era of information and communication technology has created web-based learning environment and led to the digital and virtual educational systems. With elearning mode classrooms have been changed to virtual classroom. Libraries can be seen in the midst of so many innovations, progressing towards their new vision and goal to be the part of the virtual world in its true sense, where there is no barrier between information and information seekers. Libraries are undergoing phase of developmental changes even unaware of so many challenges. Today’s hybrid libraries are favouring electronic learning objects and facilitating end users with the help of innovative semantic interoperability. Extensive use of online resources in the developing countries like India, which is geographically very vast and varied, provoked the authorities of educational system to incorporate web-based learning system to facilitate the distant user who are physically deprived from the learning in form of education. Various institutions and databases are providing access to elearning objects, though they have their own ways for creating metadata. The precision value is quite low at standardized retrieval points which also vary from interface to interface, therefore, to share all these resources and for their easy exchange, a set of rules and specifications are required. Here comes Sharable Content Object Reference Model in picture, a set of rules and specification developed by Advanced Distributed Learning for setting the compatibility between e-learning object and learning management systems or tools. This paper has been divided into three sections. First one discusses the holistic nature of problem in terms of spatial changes in library architecture, change in the definition of learning object and perception and training problems of the librarians in the current scenario. Second section includes the six case studies with respect to websites of Google, Wikipedia, Merlot Open source learning project, Massachusetts institute ofTechnology, social sciences research network and consortium of educational communication. Third section carries over the insight of the first two sections to throw light on the key role of standards for the proper integration of learning management systems specifically Sharable Content Object Reference Model and the level of awareness and preparation vis-à-vis the same.

Consortium for Educational Communication (CEC) and the Information Library Network (INFLIBNET) the two Inter-University Centres (IUC's) of the University Grants Commission (UGC) were set up with common facilities as IUC's equipped with infrastructure for research and academic activity in the universities of higher education in the country considering the fact that heavy investment on infrastructure and other cost-intensive central facilities may be beyond the reach of individual institutions. CEC and the INFLIBNET Centre of UGC provide information support for education and research in colleges and universities through their services and facilities. While CEC concentrates on creation and dissemination of multimedia-based learning resources, the INFLIBNET specialises in textual-based information retrieval services through its union databases and by facilitating access to full-text and bibliographic e-resources through consortium arrangements. Both the organizations make intensive use of Internet, Web and other communication technology to develop and disseminate their services. While both the institutions work primarily for the same goal, albeit separately, there is a lot of scope for the them to cooperate, coordinate and collaborate in the process of creation, development and dissemination their resources and services. The Internet and Web technology offer virtual environment that facilitate collaboration, hitherto, not possible in the traditional communication system. There is, therefore, an opportunity to examine and evaluate the activities, services and functionalities of the two institutions, identify gaps in resources, services and infrastructure and flag potential areas of coordination and collaboration. The two organizations may also redefine their roles in changing scenario and identify modalities to work in tandem with inputs from their users and experts in Media, Communication and Library Information Science.