COSE received funding from the JISC (JISC JTAP119-2) to progress on making COSE conformant with the metadata and content packaging specifications.  In consequence, COSE v 2.0 included a Content Packaging and Interchange Facility which was based on  the draft v 0.6  content packaging specification and the metadata specification v1.0, allowing exchange of content between COSE systems and facilitating migration toward updated metadata and content packaging specifications.

Under a separate round of JISC funding (JISC JCIEL 10), the COSE Project worked with the teams who produced the Colloquia (University of Wales, Bangor) and CoMentor University of Huddersfield) learning environments to test  the IMS specifications with the aim of achieving interoperability between the three systems. This was the CO3 Project.The outputs of CO3 that directly affected COSE included conformance with the IMS specifications cited earlier. The CO3 project report is now available here.

Application of the content packaging and metadata specifications is considered not sufficient in itself in achieving true content interoperability and re-use. A third specification may be required in defining content runtime behaviour so that packaged content can be used in any conformant VLE (/LMS). The COSE team is working on this, having been successful in bidding for a further tranche of funding as part of the JISC X4L programme. The ADL specification SCORM v1.2 (and runtime environment), produced in parallel with the IMS specifications cited earlier, will be the focus in assessing runtime issues.

COSE also took part in the JISC MLE Interoperability Pilot programme with the SURF Pilot, using the IMS enterprise specification v1.01. The full report of this work, which involved the 11 FE Colleges in the SURF consortium and four leading MIS vendors, is available from JISC web site.

Developed at Staffordshire in the course of the CO3 project, both the CO3 and SURF Pilot projects made use of a configurable XML Generator tool for converting MIS output data files (csv, tab delimited, etc..) to xml according to different control documents (dtds in the first instance). This will be available free from the COSE web site that it might be further developed, for example, for use in generating student profiles and transcripts (HE) and ISR/ILR records (FE).

Links will be added here, IMS Briefs, describing our experience in using IMS specifications in developing COSE and in various partnerships / collaborations. Specification development is an on-going process. As well as upgrading to later version specifications, where appropriate, COSE will be working to apply the Question and Test Interoperability and the Learner Information Package specifications, and in the assessment of other emerging specifications.

Project reports and associated documents aim to provide an informed view for stakeholders on what they can expect of IMS specifications in achieving interoperability. As there are currently no means of conformance testing, transparency in making such claims is most important.

Important Links:

The Centre for Educational Technology Interoperability Standards (CETIS)
The IMS Project Website
The Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC)

If you came directly to this page, why not visit the COSE Project website