recent additions to LRMI

[Phil Barker]

Hello all, I would like to let you know of a recent addition to LRMI: the Learning Resource Type vocabulary [1].  I sent a request for comments about it in May, and it was finally added a couple of months ago, apologies for not advertising its addition here earlier.

The LRMI Learning Resource Type Vocabulary provides a high-level controlled vocabulary that can be used with the lrmi:learningResourceType property [2] when describing learning resources to specify the nature or type of the resource being described. We have also made a small change to the range of the lrmi:learningResourceType property to allow concepts to be used as values.

If you are using lrmi properties in schema.org, you may wish to consider using it, but if you are using string values for the property there may be little difference in practice.

The vocabulary comprises 10 broad types that we hope will cover most types of learning resource in the LRMI/schema.org sense of a "persistent resource that has one or more physical or digital representations, and that explicitly involves, specifies or entails a learning activity or learning experience". It is defined as a SKOS concept scheme, and includes links to similar / broader concepts in CEDS [3] and the Library of Congress Genre/Form terms [4].

If you manage your own list of learning resource types using SKOS, we invite you create links to the LRMI concepts and thus improve interoperability of learning resource descriptions. We would be interested in hearing from you if you are in this situation. Perhaps you have suggestions for further concepts; you can raise an issue about the concept scheme if that is the case [5]. If you have any questions, feel free to ask via this list.

If you create learning resource descriptions you may reference this vocabulary in several ways, for example in JSON-LD you may have:

{ "@context": {
    "lrmi"    : "http://purl.org/dcx/lrmi-terms/",
    "lrt"     : "http://purl.org/dcx/lrmi-vocabs/learningResourceType/",
    "dcterms" : "http://purl.org/dc/terms/",
    "lrmi:learningResourceType" : {
      "@type": "@id"
    }
  },
  "@type": "lrmi:LearningResouce",
  "@id": "http://example.edu/textbooks/0001",
  "dcterms:name": "Example Textbook",
  "lrmi:learningResourceType": "http://purl.org/dcx/lrmi-vocabs/learningResourceType/textbook"
}

Or, if you don't want to rely on consumers understanding/dereferencing that URI to get vital information, you may prefer:

{ "@context": {
    "lrmi"    : "http://purl.org/dcx/lrmi-terms/",
    "lrt"     : "http://purl.org/dcx/lrmi-vocabs/learningResourceType/",
    "dcterms" : "http://purl.org/dc/terms/",
    "skos"    : "http://www.w3.org/2004/02/skos/core#"
   },
  "@type": "lrmi:LearningResouce",
  "@id": "http://example.edu/textbooks/0001",
  "dcterms:name": "Example Textbook",
  "lrmi:learningResourceType": {
    "@id": "http://purl.org/dcx/lrmi-vocabs/learningResourceType/textbook",
    "skos:prefLabel": "textbook"
  }
}

In schema.org, you may use the labels defined as simple string values, but you could include a link to our full definition (and hence provide access the links to other schemes that we define -- after all this is linked data), by using a defined term as the value for learning resource type

{ "@context": "https://schema.org/",
  "@type": "LearningResouce",
  "@id": "http://example.edu/textbooks/0001",
  "name": "Example Textbook",
  "learningResourceType": {
    "@type": "DefinedTerm",
    "@id": "http://purl.org/dcx/lrmi-vocabs/learningResourceType/textbook",
    "name": "textbook"
  }
}

Again, if you have any questions, feel free to ask via this list.

Finally, coming soon: a German translation of these and other LRMI concept schemes.

Regards, Phil

1. https://www.dublincore.org/specifications/lrmi/concept_schemes/learningResourceType/#teaches

2. https://www.dublincore.org/specifications/lrmi/lrmi_terms/2022-06-14/#learningResourceType

3. https://ceds.ed.gov/element/000928/

4. https://id.loc.gov/authorities/genreForms.html

5. https://github.com/dcmi/lrmi/issues/new/choose

--

Phil Barker. http://people.pjjk.net/phil
CETIS LLP: a cooperative consultancy for innovation in education technology.
PJJK Limited: technology to enhance learning; information systems for education.

CETIS is a co-operative limited liability partnership, registered in England number OC399090
PJJK Limited is registered in Scotland as a private limited company, number SC569282.