|
(:toc#:) This page records the findings of an interview held on 2 December 2003 with representatives of TKI, a place where teachers and principals can go to find quality assured information that is useful in the classroom. Phase 1 focused on “filling the shelves” and creating a standards-based vocabulary for searching. Phase 2 focused on interoperating with other collections, but many of these weren’t ready at the time. TKI is currently undergoing a major upgrade, which the Ministry is funding. Summary of key points
Current information-related problemsWe need a sector-wide Meta Data and thesaurus standard and interface protocol. At the time TKI started, there were already NZGLS and thesaurus working groups set up. We need 3 levels of Meta Data:
The number 1 need is for a common NZ education sector Meta Data standard with accompanying vocabularies. TKI developed one based on the NZ curriculum for its own audience needs, and this could become the basis for a sector-wide standard.
Then develop sector-wide Meta Data management services, XML schema-driven, to allow anyone to add their own local fourth tier for their own unique purposes. For example, there may be a need for extra terms for iwi or hapu affiliation, that are only required for some parts of the collection.
Everyone currently has their own system. The Ministry of Culture and heritage developed the New Zealand Biographies series of over 1000 stories, but didn’t use a Meta Data-oriented approach or produce content in a web-friendly form. We are hoping their new history programme will take a more open approach to information discovery. This is a good example of the importance of getting the discoverability equation right. Current barriers include:
Use TKI as a demonstrator site — we have already done many of the things that ESAF is talking about. Te Papa is choosing its content management system at the moment. What mechanisms are in place to ensure that others can access their content using Meta Data? ESAF is about access and common services and making it easy for the NetworkedLearner?. For example, many networks won’t let video clips through the firewall.
Searches need to make sure they don’t put things up that aren’t relevant. The same content can have many different “wrappers” for different purposes. Information usability will become increasingly important. The problem is information crosses multiple sites, all contributing related content to the learning task. We need good information architecture, content structure and navigation so it’s easy to find what you need. We need to structure information so that it’s accessible.
Many people have a mentality that you build a site and the content sits there for 3 years, then you redevelop it. The reality is that content needs to be dynamic — people don’t think about the process for adding content. A good example is handling dead links (404 errors). If you have interlinking between sites, what happens when the link moves? Currently it’s a manual process to keep links up to date.
Take more of a sector-wide approach to usability of information. Develop and agree certain looks and feels for how to present information, then adopt common XML templates to implement the agreed standards. This will allow sites to deliver information assembled from different places in a consistent way for different purposes. This includes being able to access content when it moves somwehere else. Don’t give me broken links and don’t make me maintain links manually. (See the Semantic Web)
Make sure we standardise on the same terms for the same things. When people use the same term to mean different things in different contexts, make sure these uses are ring-fenced. We need to ensure we deliver accurate search results relevant to the learner’s current context. This is an area where TKI has a lot of knowledge to share. We have been through many of the standards problems and solved them.
Future information-related opportunitiesTama’s story — a vision for the future.Tolaga Bay Area School has become the centre of the local community, both physically and virtually. The advent of broadband has brought a wealth of information to the community. The community grows instead of shrinking and knowledge is accessed as needed. People find it easier to be life-long learners with the farmers gaining new skills to use on the farm, teachers finding new ways to facilitate learning and Board of Trustee members getting access to technical advice needed for their new responsibilities. People are collaborating, locally, nationally and internationally. The school has become the hub of the community bringing people together and providing them with the skills they need. It has become an ISP, giving the surrounding residents a broadband link into their homes. Tama is a year 7 Correspondence School student in Tolaga Bay. His local teacher, Pam, has been concerned for some time about how his visual impairment is impacting on his learning. She has posted a query to the special education professional community on software solutions that could be appropriate and received a possible solution from a specialist vision advisor in Kaikohe. She set up Tama’s workstation with the new software. Tama is studying the theme of New Zealand’s nuclear stance, within the Time, Continuity and Change strand of the Social Studies curriculum. He comes onto TKI to search this theme. By identifying himself as a year 7 Correspondent School student, and based on the East Coast Bay, the TKI entry page adjusts itself and offers new information. It identifies his location with a regional map, highlighting his part of the country, and provides Tama with information so he can find local e-mentors on the TKI register who might be of interest to him, and local resources that are nearby, for example his local public museums and galleries, and nearest Learning Outside the Classroom (LEOTC) programmes which are part of TKI’s online learning nation initiative. The name and face of Tama’s Correspondence School teacher, Bill, is also displayed, in case Tama wishes to email him for clarification or assistance. If Bill is online, his name will glow and Tama knows he can click on this and go into the Chatroom to say hello to Bill. Today, though, Tama is looking for information for his essay. He types into the free text search box the theme he is researching: “Why did New Zealand decide to become nuclear free”. After clicking Search, he is prompted to give more information — “would you like to see audio and video clips relating to this theme from our TKI Resource Bank??” and “would you like to narrow down your search in any way?” Options such as keywords are offered, and links to recent work that students of Tama’s age have published on this theme. Tama asks to see everything available, and the page refreshes to provide him with a selection of thumbnail images from the collection available in TKI. Choices include video-based news clips from the New Zealand Production Archive, and a range of newspaper reports, including one from the Lange “Oxford Union Debate”. An audio clip and transcript of Lange’s speech to the Debate is also on offer, from Radio New Zealand’s collection. Tama is also asked if he would like to leave a question on the theme for TKI’s “Spotlight” team. The team will ensure that the question reaches the right person — and as luck would have it, the Prime Minister is due to participate in an upcoming TKI Spotlight. It will be a good chance to ask her to respond to Tama’s question. Tama creates a TKI Kete — Tama’s Nuclear Debate Essay — to hold the results of his selection from the search results. Later he will use this kete to develop his essay, creating a digital presentation for Bill, his Correspondence Schoolteacher. He will share the Kete with Bill, attaching his presentation as a link. A similar scenario can be drawn for a teacher. To make this real, we need a common Meta Data schema with a web services standard interface. And we need to engage all the content contributors to get access to their content. ← The Learning Federation | Requirements | Education Review Office → |
Quick Links Principles
|