Facilitating metadata creation - The MINE metadata wizard for IEEE LOM

One stumbling block to the establishment of distance learning programs is on the time consuming tasks to create high quality digital contents that can be used in instruction. In the literature, reusability of learning objects is addressed as a potential solution toward the sharing of high quality contents. To find suitable contents while one is designing the course material, the IEEE LOM provides a generic and standard mechanism to enable a common representation and vocabulary for the description of learning objects. However, it is unlikely that an individual will fill out the 77 items of metadata defined by the IEEE LOM. Nevertheless, it is possible to compute the relationship among these 77 items, and to provide an automatic metadata generation mechanism to reduce the load of a content creator. This paper proposed such a mechanism, by means of using user profiles, system extracted information, interactive questions, and influence rules. We present the mechanism, as well as a developed system, called the MINE Metadata Wizard, which is integrated with a SCORM-compliant authoring tool that we have developed. Interested readers are welcome to download the tool under http://www.mine. tku.edu.tw/.