Subject Areas

[Jim Goodell]

Cross posting from LR group:

One of the more challenging subjects the educational metadata community has discussed is "Subject" or "Subject Area" classifications.  I'm bringing it up again because it is a problem worth solving.  Different organizations have adopted different subject categories that work for their own context, localization, education level (K-12, postsecondary,etc.), academic vs. non-academic, etc.

Someone looking at separate lists of terms might be able to infer equivalents, e.g. math (US) and maths (UK), however there are others that may use the same term to mean something different in different contexts, e.g. "technology".

So, I'd like to propose a shorter and longer term solution.  First, when tagging is done using a tool such as EZPublish, always provide a listbox/dropdown instead of a open text field.  Put the selection from the local controlled vocabulary into the tag for Subject (schema.org:about) instead of free form text. 

Second, have the tool insert two additional tags (or have the system add the tags before sharing to a wider context, e.g. via the Learning Registry):

 Learning Resource Subject Code
(ceds: https://ceds.ed.gov/CEDSElementDetails.aspx?TermxTopicId=20373)

Learning Resource Subject Code System
(ceds: https://ceds.ed.gov/CEDSElementDetails.aspx?TermxTopicId=20374)

(I envision tools like EZPublish used for multiple contexts to have a dropdown to select the Subject Code System and then a second dropdown dynamically populated with the Subject terms for that system.)

By identifying the "Subject Code System" it allows the consuming system to interpret the context of the subject/about tag.  For example, if ISLE pushes metadata to the Learning Registry for a resource about "Technology".  The consuming system could use a crosswalk to apply the correct logic when associating other subjects that use the term "technology" and others that don't, e.g. SCED "Engineering and Technology" isPartOf the ISLE Subject "Technology" AND SCED Subject Area "Computer and Information Sciences" isPartOf ISLE "Technology" .

I think the longer-term solution is to put the URL into the subject/about tag or use the alignmentObject to reference a unique targetUrl for one or more applicable subject areas.  (Phil Barker posted a good example of "about" with both a URL and label recently on the LRMI thread.)  I think for this to be most effective the targetUrl must resolve to a page that is tagged with the (1) name of the subject code system / subject taxonomy / framework, (2) the subject label / node name, (3) a definition statement describing the subject.  Search tools need both a unique identifier (url) for the subject within the context of a framework AND the human readable labels of the framework and the subject/topic within that framework.

[As it is being discussed on the weekly LR call...more ideas on this coming on how to do this using the alignmentObject...]

[Steve Midgley]

And for people who don't know what EZ Publish is, I think Jim is referring to a Learning Registry add-on that makes it easier to classify resources using a GUI and publish them into LR. You can also download the metadata so created, for use elsewhere - so it's a general purpose tool. Mnemonic URL: http://learningregistry.org/easypublish

Steve

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[Alan Paull]

We've implemented some of this in the UK's eProspectus standard: eXchanging Course Related Information, Course Advertising Profile (XCRI-CAP 1.2). See http://www.xcri.co.uk/what-is-xcri-cap.html.

 

I'd always thought that the short term solution suggested here was the way to go, and it's implemented that way in XCRI-CAP 1.2. For example:

                                                <dc:subject xsi:type="xcri:JACS3" identifier="G130">Mathematical methods</dc:subject>
                                                <dc:subject xsi:type="xcri:JACS3" identifier="G150">Mathematical modelling</dc:subject>
                                                <dc:subject xsi:type="xcri:JACS3" identifier="G120">Applied mathematics</dc:subject>
                                                <dc:title>Mathematical methods, models and modelling</dc:title>

 

This isn't perfect, as it uses xsi:type, but that's a small detail. In principle we have the JACS version indicated and the identifier in machine-readable attributes, with the human-readable stuff in the element. JACS is the UK's current HE subject coding system.

 

For data entry, I envisage a drop-down that permits easy picking off of any appropriate term, and the system automatically sticking in the correct format. In fact, we've implemented this in our own XXP (XCRI services platform) data entry web form service: this allows course data entry and has the drop-down lists, etc. With some basic workflow, it includes automatic output and publishing of an XCRI-CAP feed with appropriate markup.

 

Alan Paull

 

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Alan Paull

APS Ltd

80 Fenton Road, Warboys, HUNTINGDON, Cambs, PE28 2SL, UK

al...@alanpaull.co.uk

Skype: alanepaull

+44 7977 120886

 

 

 

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