Education Application Profile

IMPORTANT NOTICE: The wording of this initial draft relies heavily on the wording of the DC:Libraries Application Profile. The DC-Education Working Group is indebted to the excellent (and pioneering) work of the DC-Libraries Working Group and trust that its members consider our substantial copying as the highest form of flattery.

Creator: DCMI-Education Working Group
Contributors: Stuart A. Sutton, University of Washington, USA
Diane Hillmann, Cornell University, USA
Date Issued: 7/18/2006
Identifier: http://www.ischool.washington.edu/sasutton/dcmi/ed/04-05/DC-Education_AP_06-20-05.html
Replaces: http://www.ischool.washington.edu/sasutton/dcmi/ed/04-05/DC-Education_AP_11-30-04.html
Is Replaced By:
Latest Version: /http://www.ischool.washington.edu/sasutton/dcmi/ed/04-05/DC-Education_AP_06-20-05.html
Status of Document: DCMI Working Draft.
Description of Document: This document proposes an application profile that clarifies the use of the Dublin Core Metadata Element Set in education and training-related applications and projects. It was originally prepared by the DCMI-Education Application Profile Drafting Committee, a subset of the DCMI-Education Working Group. This proposal has been formatted in conformance with the Dublin Core Application Profile Guidelines produced by the CEN MMI-DC Workshop.

DC-Education Application Profile

I. Introduction

The concept of application profiles (see Application profiles: mixing and matching metadata schemas) has emerged within the Dublin Core Metadata Initiative as a way to declare which elements from which namespaces areused in a particular application or project. Application profiles are defined as schemas which consist of data elements drawn from one or more namespaces, combined together by implementors, and optimized for a particular local application.

The DCMI-Education Working Group has explored various uses of the Dublin Core Metadata Element Set in education and training-related applications and has envisioned the following possible uses of this application profile:

At the DC-Education Working Group meeting at DC2005, the group accepted the proposal that the application profile should focus primarily on the educationally-purposed elements, and rely on general best-practice recommendations for other elements. This implies that the purposes of the AP noted above would include this AP as a component of usage, requiring additional understanding of general DC elements.

Thus, an education application profile will be a specification that defines the following, as pertains to the educationally-purposed properties:

This document proposes an application profile that clarifies the use of the educationally relevant portion of the Dublin Core Metadata Element Set and recommends usage in education and training-related applications and projects. It was originally prepared by the DCMI-Education Application Profile Drafting Committee, a subset of the DCMI-Education Working Group.

2. Namespaces and Format of entries

The DC-Education Application Profile uses terms from the following namespaces:

Format of entries:

This Application Profile is presented following the " CEN CWA 14855: Dublin Core Application Profiles Guidelines" produced by the CEN MMI-DC Workshop. On completion of the application profile according to CWA 14855 and approval of the Usage Board, the Working Group intends to declare a Resource Description Framework (RDF) version of the profile according to Guidelines for Machine-processable Representation of Dublin Core Application Profiles, Final CWA, ISSS/WS-MMI-DC/132 (December 2004) at http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/metadata/cen/ws-mmi-dc/.

Name of Term A unique token assigned to the term.
Term URI A Uniform Resource Identifier used to identify the term.
Label A human-readable label assigned to the term.
Defined By An identifier of a namespace, pointer to a schema, or bibliographic reference for a document within which the term is defined.
Source Definition The definition of the term in the namespace in which the term was orginated.
Source Comments Comments on the term from the namespace in which the term orginated.
DC-Ed Comments DC-Education comments about the term.
Type of term The grammatical category of the term (e.g. "Element", "Element Refinement", or "Encoding Scheme").
Refines The described term semantically refines the referenced term. A refinement makes the meaning of the element narrower or more specific. It will share the meaning of the unrefined element but with a more restricted scope.
Refined By The described term is semantically refined by the referenced term.
Encoding Scheme For The described term, an encoding scheme, qualifies the referenced term. Using an encoding scheme will aid in the interpretation of an element value. These schemes include controlled vocabularies and formal notations or parsing rules. A value expressed using an encoding scheme will thus be a token selected from a controlled vocabulary (e.g., a term from a classification system or set of subject headings) or a string formatted in accordance with a formal notation (e.g., "2000-01-01" as the standard expression of a date). If an encoding scheme is not understood by a client or agent, the value may still be useful to a human reader.

In some cases, encoding schemes not yet registered are indicated. These will be registered in the future, as appropriate registry applications become available.

Has Encoding Scheme The described term is qualified by the referenced encoding scheme.
Obligation Indicates whether the element is required to always or sometimes be present. In this application profile the obligation can be: mandatory (M), mandatory if applicable (MA), strongly recommended (R) or optional (O). Mandatory ensures that some of the elements are always supported and mandatory if applicable means that this element must be supported if the information is available. An element with a mandatory obligation must have a value. The strongly recommended and the optional elements should be filled with a value if the information is appropriate to the given resource but if not, they may be omitted.
occurrence Indicates any limit to the repeatability of the element.

3. Table of Contents

Properties & Property Refinements Schemes

General notes regarding all elements:

4. DC-Education Application Profile



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Name of Term audience
Term URI http://purl.org/dc/terms/audience
Label Audience
Defined By http://dublincore.org/documents/dcmi-terms/
Source Definition A class of entity for whom the resource is intended or useful.
Source Comments A class of entity may be determined by the creator or the publisher or by a third party.
DC-Ed Comments Provide terms that most narrowly describe the intended (or easily implied) ultimate beneficiary for the resource being described. Avoid assigning broad classes such as "students" or "trainees" unless the intention of the creator is that the resource is useful for such broad classes. Where available, assign terms from a controlled vocabulary.
Type of term element
Refines
Refined By mediator
educationLevel
Encoding Scheme For
Has Encoding Scheme GEM Beneficiary
Obligation O
occurrence

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Name of Term conformsTo
Term URI http://purl.org/dc/terms/conformsTo
Label Conforms To
Defined By http://dublincore.org/documents/dcmi-terms/
Source Definition A reference to an established standard to which the resource conforms.
Source Comments [none]
DC-Ed Comments Specific, unambiguous references to achievement standard statements issued by formal standards bodies such as national, state, or provicial governing bodies or recognized organizations. Such standards include the many state K-12 achievement standards in the U.S. that define what students should learn at specific educational levels. The English National Curriculum is another example of such standards. See, for example, the Achievement Standards Network (http://www.jesandco.org/asn/viewer/default.aspx) repository of state and national U.S. standards.
Type of term element-refinement
Refines relation
Refined By
Encoding Scheme For
Has Encoding Scheme
Obligation
occurrence

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Name of Term educationLevel
Term URI http://purl.org/dc/terms/educationLevel
Label Education Level
Defined By http://dublincore.org/documents/dcmi-terms/
Source Definition A general statement describing the education or training context. Alternatively, a more specific statement of the location of the audience in terms of its progression through an education or training context.
Source Comments [none]
DC-Ed Comments Values assigned for the educationLevel property should be taken from a controlled vocabulary; however, given substantial variance in jurisdictional terminology, no single vocabulary will serve all jurisdictions.
Type of term element-refinement
Refines audience
Refined By
Encoding Scheme For
Has Encoding Scheme NSDL Education Level; (U.S.)
United Kingdon Educational Contents; (UK)
United Kingdom Education Levels; (UK)

Obligation
occurrence

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Name of Term instructionalMethod
Term URI http://purl.org/dc/terms/instructionalMethod
Label Instructional Method
Defined By http://dublincore.org/documents/dcmi-terms/
Source Definition A process, used to engender knowledge, attitudes and skills, that the resource is designed to support.
Source Comments Instructional Method will typically include ways of presenting instructional materials or conducting instructional activities, patterns of learner-to-learner and learner-to-instructor interactions, and mechanisms by which group and individual levels of learning are measured. Instructional methods include all aspects of the instruction and learning processes from planning and implementation through evaluation and feedback.
DC-Ed Comments
Type of term element
Refines
Refined By
Encoding Scheme For
Has Encoding Scheme
Obligation
occurrence

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Name of Term mediator
Term URI http://purl.org/dc/terms/mediator
Label Mediator
Defined By http://dublincore.org/documents/dcmi-terms/
Source Definition A class of entity that mediates access to the resource and for whom the resource is intended or useful.
Source Comments The audiences for a resource are of two basic classes: (1) an ultimate beneficiary of the resource, and (2) frequently, an entity that mediates access to the resource. The mediator element refinement represents the second of these two classes.
DC-Ed Comments The mediator property should be used only when it is either explicitly stated (or easily implied) that it was the intention of the creator of the resource that it be placed in the hands of some form of intermediary (e.g., a teacher or trainer) as opposed to the hands of the ultimate beneficiary (e.g., the student or the trainee).
Type of term element-refinement
Refines audience
Refined By
Encoding Scheme For
Has Encoding Scheme
Obligation
occurrence

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Name of Term subject
Term URI http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/subject
Label Subject
Defined By http://dublincore.org/documents/dcmi-terms/
Source Definition The topic of the content of the resource.
Source Comments Typically, a Subject will be expressed as keywords, key phrases or classification codes that describe a topic of the resource. Recommended best practice is to select a value from a controlled vocabulary or formal classification scheme.
DC-Ed Comments
Type of term element
Refines
Refined By
Encoding Scheme For
Has Encoding Scheme [ To be added -- Array of subject vocabularies? ]
Obligation
occurrence

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Name of Term type
Term URI http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/type
Label Resource Type
Defined By http://dublincore.org/documents/dcmi-terms/
Source Definition The nature or genre of the content of the resource.
Source Comments Type includes terms describing general categories, functions, genres, or aggregation levels for content. Recommended best practice is to select a value from a controlled vocabulary (for example, the DCMI Type Vocabulary [DCMITYPE]). To describe the physical or digital manifestation of the resource, use the Format element.
DC-Ed Comments
Type of term element
Refines
Refined By
Encoding Scheme For
Has Encoding Scheme NSDL Learning Resource Type (Draft vocabulary)
Obligation
occurrence

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Name of Term GEM-BEN
Term URI http://purl.org/gem/instance/GEM-BEN/
Label GEM Beneficiary
Defined By http://thegateway.org/
Source Definition Words or phrases that describe the ultimate beneficiary of the resource being described--usually some category of student or trainee.
Source Comments
DC-Ed Comments
Type of term encoding-scheme
Refines
Refined By
Encoding Scheme For Audience
Has Encoding Scheme
Obligation
occurrence

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Name of Term NSDLEdLvl
Term URI http://metadataregistry.org/NSDLEdLvl
Label NSDL Education Level
Defined By http://metadataregistry.org/vocabulary/show/id/10
Source Definition Terms representing levels of formal education relevant in most of the United States.
Source Comments
DC-Ed Comments
Type of term encoding-scheme
Refines
Refined By
Encoding Scheme For EducationLevel
Has Encoding Scheme
Obligation
occurrence

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Name of Term NSDLResType
Term URI http://metadataregistry.org/NSDLResType
Label NSDL Learning Resource Type
Defined By http://metadataregistry.org/vocabulary/show/id/11
Source Definition Terms describing learning resources available through the NSDL.
Source Comments
DC-Ed Comments
Type of term encoding-scheme
Refines
Refined By
Encoding Scheme For Type
Has Encoding Scheme
Obligation
occurrence

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Name of Term UKEC
Term URI http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/metadata/education/ukec/
Label UK Educational Contexts
Defined By http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/metadata/education/
Source Definition The UK Educational Contexts (UKEC) list provides a set of terms for the environments within which learning and use of learning objects is intended to take place.
Source Comments
DC-Ed Comments
Type of term encoding-scheme
Refines
Refined By
Encoding Scheme For educationLevel @@@
Has Encoding Scheme
Obligation
occurrence

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Name of Term UKEL
Term URI http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/metadata/education/ukel/
Label UK Education Levels
Defined By http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/metadata/education/
Source Definition The UK Educational Levels (UKEL) list provides a set of high-level terms to name educational levels across all UK educational sectors.
Source Comments
DC-Ed Comments
Type of term encoding-scheme
Refines
Refined By
Encoding Scheme For educationLevel
Has Encoding Scheme
Obligation
occurrence

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5. Acknowledgements

Members of the Drafting Committee:

6. Major changes since last update