| Metadata allows systems, applications and users to manage and access resources without a need for interaction with the resource itself. For this reason, the administration and exchange of metadata is a central activity in systems that manage learning objects. Metadata considerations are fundamental when creating interoperable e-learning tools, and metadata standards have been among the very first learning technology standards to mature. This deliverable analyses a number of existing metadata specifications in order to isolate the reasons and issues behind harmonization problems. By making these issues explicit, we hope to contribute towards producing a benchmark against which possible solutions can be measured. The deliverable also discusses the potential of a solution based on harmonization of the various abstract models used in the metadata specifications. |
