An ontology oriented approach for e-learning objects design and improvement

Abstract

A Semantic Web is one of the most emerging research areas nowadays. Ontology is a formal specification of the particular domain that describes a set of objects and properties that the objects might have. The development of learning objects for integrated learning environments based on Semantic Web services (SWS) are still at a very early stage. The SWS technology allows teachers to design and personalize learning objects (LO) presented for the necessary content. The aim of this paper is to outline the state-of-the-art research along those lines and to suggest a realistic way towards the educational Semantic Web. With regard to the aim we first propose a LO design (or redesign) model on service-based interoperability framework, in order to open up, share and reuse educational systems’ content and knowledge components. The research will focus on LO design and redesign by proposing ontology-driven possibilities that reflect the modularization in the educational information systems. Some brief examples of implementation on the Virtual Campus platform of the Politehnica University Timisoara are also given.