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Manila as Learning Object Repository (Con't)

February 28, 2004 By Will Richardson

Dan Mitchell extends yesterday’s post on Manila’ LOR capabilities even more:

Since the links can be embedded in other pages on the weblog site it is an easy matter to create a page describing the gem that includes a link. (Or, as hard-core Manila users know, a News Item may serve even better.) Now you have a searchable page containing a description of the resource with a built-in link to the original gem.

It gets even better. Frontier/Manila server operators can add plug-in tools that provide extra features to those who create and maintain sites. One such tool is the Metadata plugin, which puts full metadata fields on the page where one creates new Manila stories – making it a relatively easy matter to add metadata to the page wrapping the resource… if you are into such things.

[Update] I failed to mention the RSS piece of this when I first posted this message. The RSS feature can automatically publicize the fact that the new object has been created an made available. Those subscribing to a site’s RSS feed will get the descriptive text for the resources with a link back to the original.

Weblog tools can provide the following:

  • Learning objects (by the way, I don’t like that term!) can easily be uploaded.
  • They can easily be incorporated into web pages on the weblog site, either by embedding or by linking to the original object.
  • The page containing the link or embedded object can contain descriptive material concerning the object.
  • Plugins allow additional features such as easy inclusion of metadata.
  • The page and the metadata are searchable.
  • RSS can provide notification when a new object is posted.
  • The more you dig into it, the more powerful Manila seems…

    Filed Under: General, Learning Objects

    Comments

    1. Chris Freeman says

      February 29, 2004 at 1:02 pm

      What you are starting to see develop is a communities group memory. With the capabilities you are describing, your school/organization’s group memory is unfolding before your eyes! 🙂

      There is lare amounts of $$$$ being thrown at this in the business industry for out of the box products to do this. I foresee blogging, rss, etc.. allowing education to create a group memory that might even be more realistic than some that are being fit into a “black box” solution in the business world.

      Just some thoughts. 🙂

      Dr. Chris Freeman
      Director of Technology
      Vestavia Hills City Schools
      http://www.vestavia.k12.al.us

    2. Alan Levine says

      February 29, 2004 at 8:55 pm

      The problems are that such an approach does not scale and ends up with a cacophony of different structured LORs that are not connected, not searchable, and blink on and off with the vagaries of blog interest.

      A much mroe sound approach is to stock the “objects:” in stabel large repositories (e,g, MERLOT, or DLESE or CAREO) and what one should use the weblogs for is describing, syndicating the use of the objects, the contexts, which is much more interesting than just the objects themselves.

      This is a different take on it- have the object repositories accept TrackBack poings frmo blogs or sites that use the objects- see:
      http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/show/nmc1003/

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