Testing the pedagogical expressiveness of IMS LD
René van Es
Open University of the Netherlands, Educational Technology Expertise Centre, Valkenburgerweg 177, 6419 AT Heerlen, The Netherlands, rene.vanes@ou.nl
Rob Koper
Open University of the Netherlands, Educational Technology Expertise Centre, Valkenburgerweg 177, 6419 AT Heerlen, The Netherlands, rob.koper@ou.nl
ABSTRACT: The IMS Learning Design specification (LD) was introduced as an answer to the shortcomings of existing learning technology specifications. The main difference with existing specifications is that LD is an abstract, conceptual model that is able to express various pedagogical approaches whereby content can be adapted to personal needs and assessments can be integrated. In this article we evaluate the pedagogical expressiveness of LD by taking a set of 16 lesson plans and expressing them in LD. We use three different methods to identify difficulties in expressing the lesson plans in LD. Difficulties identified included circulating a document within a group, giving instructions prior to the start of an activity, random assignment of a group member to a role, group formation at runtime, creation of an inventory to map pre-knowledge, learning objectives and learning achievements, and a way to communicate information on how to deliver a lesson to a teacher. We did not find situations that were impossible to express with LD. The difficulties found are elaborated and suggestions to handle them are given. The methods used are compared and suggestions are given for further research.
Keywords: IMS Learning Design, Open specifications, lesson plan, educational modelling language
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