IMS GLC Public Forums and Resources - Common Cartridge

Understanding Common Cartridge Taxonomy Metadata

michael.aram — 2012-11-30T00:21:37 -05.00

Colin thank you as well for your answer. As Michael said, why suggest a LOM binding? Curious about that....

Thanks,

Jon

Understanding Common Cartridge Taxonomy Metadata

michael.aram — 2012-09-29T04:38:56 -05.00

Dear Colin Smythe,

thank you for your valuable answer! With this info equipped, I now read the specs with different eyes :-) Although this sounds like a conceptual flaw to me (if IMS wants to see the DC metadata model used within CC and NOT the LOM model, why then suggest a LOM binding instead of using a DC XML binding directly? Isnt that unnecessary misleading?), I am sure there were good reasons to do so.

Anyhow, the immediate question, which arises now is, whether it is valid to do something like this on item level:

cartridge dublin core/lom metadata
full blown lom

Because, what we want to achieve is having valid common cartridges, but still the ability to add arbitrary metadata.

All the best!

Understanding Common Cartridge Taxonomy Metadata

michael.aram — 2012-09-28T13:50:04 -05.00

Michael,

Some background on how the CC uses metadata is needed to explain why you are having problems getting taxon data exchanged.

While in CC the XML binding is based upon the IEEE LOM/IMS Metadata v1.3 the information exchange is based upon Dublin Core (see Table 4.2 in the CCv1.2 Implementation doc at: http://www.imsglobal.org/cc/cc...n.html#_Toc307301328). This means that the LOM binding is being used to exchange only the 16 DC elements and NOT the information model definitions in LOM.

So the 'subject' field that Jeff cites is in fact the dc:subject element which can be represented in LOM by general.keyword or classification.keyword or classification.taxonpath.taxon. This means that the classification.taxonpath.taxon structure in CC is NOT there to exchange taxonomy information (even though that is why it is in LOM).

If we now want to exchange taxon info using CC then the CC APMG need to agree best practices so that the issues you have are resolved. This will also require changes to the CC LOM XSDs becos at present you can only have on taxon per taxonpath (LOM permits many as required to permit a wide range of taxon structures).

In short, in its current form the CC does not support taxonomy data exchange. Whatever you do will in effect be a closed solution for your cartridges/systems. How essential is for you to get the taxon info into your cartridges? Jeff and Lisa will raise the issue with the CC APMG.

Colin S.

Understanding Common Cartridge Taxonomy Metadata

michael.aram — 2012-09-28T13:29:17 -05.00

Michael,

Some background on the CC is needed to explain why you are having difficulty getting the taxon information into the CC.

Colin S.

Understanding Common Cartridge Taxonomy Metadata

michael.aram — 2012-09-28T13:23:04 -05.00

Hi,

In CC the manifest and resource metadata are bound using the IEEE LOM/IMS Metadata specification BUT the information structure is based upon Dublin Core (see Table 4.2 in the CCv1.2 Implementation doc at: http://www.imsglobal.org/cc/cc....html#_Toc307301328).

So the 'subject' Jeff mentions is the DC element of dc:subject which in the CC LOM binding is mapped to general.keyword or classification.keyword or classification.taxonpath.taxon.

What this means is that for CC the use of classification.taxonpath.taxon is ONLY defined in terms of how it realises the Dublin Core dc:subject information exchange.

If we now want to use the classification.taxonpath.taxon as expected by IEEE LOM then we have more work to do to define the best practices i.e. resolve exactly the issue you have raised, etc.

One current limit is that the CC use of classification.taxonpath.taxon permits a single taxon per taxonpath whereas LOM allows many (becos in CC it isn't intended for complex taxon exchanges).

So, this means that at present CC is NOT really able to exchange taxon information.

Colin S.

Understanding Common Cartridge Taxonomy Metadata

michael.aram — 2012-09-27T04:11:43 -05.00

Well, it does not on the item/resource level (http://www.imsglobal.org/profi...lomresource_v1p0.xsd), but it does on the package/manifest level (http://www.imsglobal.org/profi...2_lommanifest_v1p0.xsd - see Classification.Type). What is the "Subject Field"? General.Keyword?

Understanding Common Cartridge Taxonomy Metadata

michael.aram — 2012-09-26T11:05:04 -05.00

Common Cartridge does not support these LOM elements. You will need to put whatever you can inside the subject field.

Jeff

Extending Common Cartridge Metadata

nomadsolo — 2012-09-25T04:05:10 -05.00

I am facing the same situation. We want to include additional metadata to items which follow a custom schema. Is it possible to reference such an "extension metadata file"?

Understanding Common Cartridge Taxonomy Metadata

michael.aram — 2012-09-25T03:42:24 -05.00

Hello all,

suppose I have a country-specific taxonomy, which is identified via the URL http://example.com/edu-tax. Now, I want to describe an IMS-CCv1.2 conformant cartridge to the subject "Instruments", which has the following path in the taxonomy:

Physics -> Acoustics -> Instruments

Suppose, the subject "Instruments" has the id "34". How am I supposed to do that? For example, the "lom:taxonPath->source" element is not allowed; neither are more than one taxon elements.

Would this be a valid XML?

discipline

http://example.com/edu-tax/34

Instruments

Or am I supposed to insert the whole "Path" into this one taxon element?

http://example.com/edu-tax

{["12,"("en," "Physics")], ["23,"("en," "Acoustics")], ["34,"("en," "Instruments")]}

Or am I totally on the wrong path?

PS: I would be great if one could insert code-snippets in the forums.

Creating CC packages from Adobe FrameMaker

bmettler — 2012-08-30T10:01:46 -05.00

We currently use Microsoft Publisher to create our lab manuals which we then send to a company in India and have convert to CC packages. We would like to do the whole process in house and I'm looking in to Adobe FrameMaker to create our lab manuals instead. What I'm trying to figure out is how to go from FrameMaker to a final CC package? I'm totally green when it comes to CC packages and how to create them so this is all still a learning process for me. I know that you can export as several formats from FrameMaker including PDF, XML, and HTML so is there a resource that can show me step by step how I would take one of those formats and create a CC package from it?

Thanks,
Ben

Structure of a common cartridge

donotcross03 — 2012-08-29T17:42:44 -05.00

Canvas 3rd-party javascript

JeffKahn — 2012-08-29T10:14:22 -05.00

Common Cartridges containing JavaScript have been imported successfully into several LMS platforms. Unfortunately, the same cartridges' JavaScript is not running in Canvas and Instructure has confirm this limitation. Has anyone experienced this or can suggest work-arounds?

Known Issues in Common Cartridge Support

LisaM — 2012-08-28T09:33:11 -05.00

The IMS Common Cartridge community continues to work toward our goal of "publish once, run anywhere". As we become aware of issues related to importing, running, or exporting cartridges, we will document them here to inform you of any exceptions and assist you in using and developing cartridges. Since publishers or platforms may not support every content-type or function covered under the Common Cartridge specification, we are noting known issues to keep you informed about potential problems or mis-matched interoperability expectations you may encounter. Feel free to let us know of any issues, so that we may share them with the community.

Common Cartridge Builder

LLIPOT — 2012-07-16T08:02:13 -05.00

There is no list of issues, specifically. Some may be CC-related, others Blackboard-related. As background:

Which version of Blackboard are you using (the service pack or better yet the full version number) or is this CourseSites?

Has the CC passed the validator (validator.imsglobal.org) without errors or warnings?

What version of CC is the package?

What problems are you on import, behavior or actual logged errors and warnings?

Jeff

Common Cartridge Builder

LLIPOT — 2012-07-15T11:54:45 -05.00

Thanks for the link to builder tool, I was having trouble being directed to non existent pages myself. I had the same problem with the zip extension so I added .zip to the file name and it seemed to work, it seems often simple additions to file names can point things in the right direction but it took a while to find the solution.

We're using Blackboard currently and seem to have a problem loading CC packages, is there a list of common load issues somewhere?

Common Cartridge Builder

LLIPOT — 2012-04-20T08:58:59 -05.00

Have you tried downloading the application from here:

http://www.imsglobal.org/devel...ce/CCBuilder/index.cfm

Common Cartridge Builder

LLIPOT — 2012-04-19T12:40:58 -05.00

i have a question, how can you access builder tool now? the links i keep finding online point me to a non-existing location

Structure of a common cartridge

donotcross03 — 2012-04-13T10:35:53 -05.00

Thanks, Jeff. you have really helped with the structure question - that's what i thought but was not sure of.

I will send you the few questions I have. I can't really call Atlanta today but if you have time next week, I would be able to

Extending Common Cartridge Metadata

nomadsolo — 2012-04-13T09:54:37 -05.00

The supported metadata fields in CC are enumerated. By convention, you should follow the intent of each field with regard to its content. Which specific metadata do you want to add that you don't see covered? Depending on the metadata, there may be a suggested best practice.

Structure of a common cartridge

donotcross03 — 2012-04-13T09:52:20 -05.00

For a Common Cartridge, yes the manifest describes the content and its containment structure.

Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI) is a run-time launch from one application to another, typically, a learning platform to a tool. The launch includes contextual information, user, role, context id, resource id, etc. A CC can contain a link that when activated preforms the launch.

There is no specific or required structure, but a common practice is to group content by type, say all the assessments together, or by content, say all of the Chapter 1 material.

I can help with using Blackboard to load a CC. We also offer or can arrange for testing access to hosted instances of Moodle, DesireToLearn, Canvas, ATutor, Agilix, and Jenzebar. There is more support for CC v1.0, although it is an inferior specification, than CC v1.1. We recommend people adopt CC v1.1 or v1.2.

Perhaps give me a call and we can review testing options.

Jeff Kahn

Office ++1.678.339.0674
jkahn@imsglobal.org

Extending Common Cartridge Metadata

nomadsolo — 2012-04-12T07:00:12 -05.00

looks like they don't really answer questions here. i am myself curious about this

Structure of a common cartridge

donotcross03 — 2012-04-11T05:01:15 -05.00

Hello, frankly speaking I am somewhat new to the industry and am currently still learning about elearning standards as AICC, SCORM, CC.

I did find the documentation regarding IMS CC implementation and the elements that are generally included in the CC. There are still however some things that are not clear to me and i would appreciate any help on this.

The system we have allows conversion of developed content to a CC form. Questions seem to work fine, rest of content - not really. I've tried finding sample CC packages and noticed that besides imsmanifest.xml, html files and something similar to images/media folder, packages seem to have different structure

1. Imsmanifest.xml - is that the key that makes the common cartridge package what it is? I have frequently found links to LTI but I still don't really get what these are
2. is there any kind of a formal structure of a package i.e. let's say besides the manifest file there should be folders:
- media folder with media elements
- html folders with html pages containing web content - text and media
- assessment folder with assessment xml file / files
- some CC I found contained additional folders "instructions", "PDF", "Flash"
- should there also be a folder for discussion topics if this element is included in the CC package?
3. Currently the only test environment we have is Blackboard. Would you have experience of loading CC packages in Blackboard. Do they always work well or have you noticed any issues?
4. Would anyone be able to suggest any additional LMS that could give a good option to test CC?

thanks

IMS CC REST validator

rqueiros — 2011-09-23T10:45:21 -05.00

Hi,

Nothing is planned on this but I'll raise it with our development team to see how much effort this would require.

Colin S.

IMS CC REST validator

rqueiros — 2011-09-02T17:25:23 -05.00

Hi,

I have finished a CC builder. The tool is working, but I want to include a feature to validade the generated package. I could use the XSD and some Schematron to do the job, but I want to rely on the IMS CC validator (http://validator.imsglobal.org/). At this moment the validator offers the validation service via WEB UI, SOAP WEB SERVICE or COMMAND LINE. I want to know if there are any plans to offer a REST flavour to this web service?

Thanks in advance.

Best regards

Common Cartridge and

ws.sideshow — 2011-08-15T08:58:16 -05.00

Yes, Common Cartridge currently does not include any conditional release of content, but you are correct that adding LD or Simple Sequencing on top could support this. It can also be done programmatically in the learning platform without using standards (at the discretion of the teacher). There has been discussion in IMS regarding how to add simple adaptive release to Common Cartridge. Technically this seems very straightforward, but the members haven't taken it up yet.

Common Cartridge and Learning Design

rabel — 2011-08-15T08:51:06 -05.00

Sorry - link was wrong - I updated it. Thanks.