Linked Data for Open and Distance Learning

Abstract

Implementing the full vision of Open and Distance Learning (ODL) raises immense technological challenges. The goal is to move from current localised, restricted and locked proprietary content towards the open discovery, use and combination of resources independent from their geographic and institutional origins. It is therefore natural that existing initiatives have taken the Web as a base platform, to publish and share open educational resources (OER) in the form of online documents. Beyond this first step however, new technological barriers to the full realisation of the ODL vision appear: How to discover these open resources? How to connect resources located in different repositories? How to relate these resources to the context, interest, cultural and technical environment of the learner? In this report, we introduce a recent development in the area of Web technologies which has the potential to revolutionise the area of ODL