|
|
 |
|
|
> Expert Meeting “Digital Libraries In Education”
|
|
|
|
|
The expert meeting Digital Libraries in Education (DLE) was organized by the UNESCO Institute for Information Technologies in Education (IITE) in Dubna (Moscow region, Russian Federation) and Joint Institute for Nuclear Research (JINR) on 15 October 2002 in cooperation with the Russian Conference on Digital Libraries (RCDL’2002), JINR and Institute of Informatics Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The expert meeting was held as a round table in the course of RCDL’2002.
Full Text
|
Author(s) |
Leonid A. Kalinichenko
|
|
|
|
|
Periodical Name |
IITE NEWSLETTER No.3’ 2002/July-September
|
|
Publication date |
15 October 2002
|
|
Publisher |
UNESCO-IITE
|
|
Publication Location |
Dubna, Russian Federation
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Periodical Website |
http://www.iite.ru/iite/publications/publications?id=55
|
|
Related Website |
http://www.iite.ru/iite/index
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Full Text |
UNESCO strives to foster new forms of networking of teacher training institutions and teachers, usage of digital libraries, production and deployment of digital educational material. Thus, IITE has launched the project Digital Libraries in Education. Main objective of the expert meeting in Dubna was a discussion of the draft analytical survey Digital Libraries in Education developed by the international working group. Prof. Leonid Kalinichenko (Chief of laboratory, Institute of Informatics Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences) presented the analytical survey at the expert meeting.
The content of the analytical survey reflects the results of joint work and meetings at the NSDL (National STEM1 Education Digital Library) Policy Committee, UCAR (University Consortium
for Atmospheric Research, Boulder), SDSC (San Diego Supercomputer Center, UC San Diego), University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) as well as with Ed Fox, David Fulker, Mary Marlino, Tamara Sumner, Mike Wright, Bertram Ludäscher, Mike Freeston, Dan Atkins, and their colleagues. The analytical survey incorporates the information accumulated at these meetings and centres. Additionally the survey includes excerpts of Digital Libraries in Education: State-of-the-Art Report2 that were discussed in 2001 with Yannis Ioannidis (Greece, University of Athens), Stephan Koernig (Germany, TU of Darmstadt), Pasquale Savino (Italy, IEI CNR, Pisa), Narasimhiah Seshagiri (India, SERC, Bangalore) and other participants of the international expert meeting at IITE in June 2001.
The survey provides the detailed analysis of current DLE technologies and their anticipated evolution, thus forming a base for planning the forthcoming phases of the IITE project for DLE development. Several DLE projects have been carefully selected to identify typical DLE features, characteristics of current state of DLE technologies, to clarify social and organizational issues of DLE development, and to predict a DLE impact on education. Advanced frameworks and methodologies related to DLE are analyzed for further evolution of DLE technologies and applications. This information serves a ground for future development within the IITE project.
A general discussion of the role of digital libraries as an integral part of the rapidly changing educational environment starts the survey. A wide range of interpretations of the digital library concept is given. The survey treats DLE as a repository of educational resources with services. Managed Learning Environment (MLE) and Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) definitions and interactions are treated as the “Integrated Learning Environment”. The related pedagogic models for VLE are discussed in this connection. The survey lists criteria of digital library quality in the learning environment. Perspectives of incorporation of VLE and digital library into the learning process are discussed, the example being the recently accepted JISC3 /NSF4 project proposal for DLE in Human Geography, GIS and Earth Observation. The survey briefly outlines works on standardization of educational metadata. To analyze DLE technologies, several American projects (NSDL, DLESE5, CITIDEL6 and NDLTD7) as well as some European projects (DNER8, Scholnet and Cyclades) were selected to demonstrate the current state-of-the-art and the planned evolution of technologies. To show the anticipated evolution of DLE frameworks from the current ones based on the conventional library metaphor, to more knowledge-based systems, the survey collects information on several advanced frameworks and methodologies related to DLE. This discussion covers the issues of instructional courses development re-using the pre-existing learning objects, works on extended information content of digital libraries in education and research with specialized educational resources of data (including real-time data), the use of advanced infrastructures (Cyber-infrastructure and Data Grid) as a possible basis for future DLE, researches on knowledge-based approaches for DLE frameworks (navigation and search interface for NSDL based on science literacy benchmarks and preparing a course of physical geography in the ADEPT9 concept-based architecture).
After the survey was presented, its content was discussed by the present at the expert meeting: Dr Mary Marlino (UCAR, Boulder, CO, USA), Dr Alex Ushakov (UC Santa Barbara, CA, USA), Prof. Bernd Wegner (TU Berlin, Germany), Dr Stephan Koernig (TU Darmstadt, Germany), Prof. ladislav Shirikov (JINR, Russian Federation), Dr Sergei Christochevsky (IITE Senior Project Manager), Prof. Alexander Marchuk (Institute of Informatics Systems of the Russian Academy of Sciences), Dr Victor Zakharov (Institute of Informatics Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences) and others.
Among the remarks there was an indication that DLE is too broad a subject to be covered exhaustively in one survey. The report could not consider every educational discipline, mostly concentrating on education in natural science and engineering. Thus, the specificity of many other disciplines for DLE needs to be investigated further. Geographically, the report is based on the information produced mostly in the USA and Europe. Collecting information about the state-of-the-art in other regions is important for UNESCO. Several essential issues (such as sustainability and economy, DLE globalization as national/regional development) were not sufficiently analysed in the report and require an extended discussion.
The expert meeting recommended the analytical survey be published and broadly disseminated, and the next phase of the IITE DLE project be proceeded to.
Prof. Leonid Kalinichenko and Dr Victor Zakharov (Institute of Informatics
Conversation in IITE after the expert meeting: Prof. Leonid Kalinichenko, Prof. Vladimir Kinelev (Director of IITE), Dr Mary Marlino, Dr Alex Ushakov
Dr Sergei Christochevsky, manager of the IITE Digital Libraries in Education project
Dr Mary Marlino (University Consortium for Atmospheric Research, USA)
1 Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics
2 Information materials prepared for IITE expert meeting on DLE by Leonid Kalinichenko
and Liang Zhang, May 2001
3 Joint Information Systems Committee, UK
4 National Science Foundation, USA
5 Digital Library for Earth System Education
6 Computer and Information Technology Interactive Digital Education Library
7 Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
8 Distributed National Electronic Resource
9 Alexandria Digital Earth Prototype
|
|
| | |
|
