Building e-Learning Content Repositories to Support Content
Reusability
Jacek Marciniak
Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science, Adam Mickiewicz University, ul. Umultowska 87, 61-614 Poznań, Poland
Keywords: e-Learning Digital Libraries, Content Reusability, SCORM, Tools for e-Learning.
Abstract: The article presents the method and tools to build repositories of digitalized didactic materials to support
their reusability. The method consists of a set of recommendations for the structuring of didactic materials
and of a way to assign unambiguous didactic interpretation to sections of materials by means of UCTS.
SCORM and dedicated software Content Repository are among tools used for this. SCORM is a popular
specification which defines principles used to represent digitalized didactic content, which allows to create
reusable materials. UCTS is a taxonomic system designed to situate contents in the didactic process. Using
this system to mark portions of materials ensures that users will access materials that are cohesive and
relevant without the risk of downloading incomplete contents. Content Repository is a dedicated software
designed to create, store and process didactic content with the ability to reuse it. A repository of teaching
materials on protection and management of archaeological heritage has been created based on the method
and tools discussed (E-archaeology content repository). The repository contains approximately four
thousand and five hundred Learning Objects in five languages and about eight hundred units of didactically
useful knowledge, which have been described in the language UCTS.
1 INTRODUCTION
A repository of didactic materials is an IT solution
used to digitally store, process and retrieve didactic
contents. Repositories can be made in different
ways, subject to form of materials, availability of
technical infrastructure, or user habits and IT skills.
A solution enabling digital storage of files can be
considered a repository of didactic materials. Also, a
dedicated IT system which requires materials
structured according to a defined specification and
recorded in a selected technical standard can be
considered a repository. The type of technical
solution used is correlated to didactic materials and
their role in the process of distance learning.
Digitalized didactic content can be incorporated
in the distance teaching process in various ways
depending on the methodology used. It can be used
as support and supplement to the didactic process or
it can serve as core source of information which
replaces the teacher. Notwithstanding its role, it is
essential that the teacher should be able to adapt
materials to the specificity and needs of target
groups. Those adapted materials can differ to a
lesser or higher extent from the canonical form of
the training programme. The materials modified may
contain additional elements to expand certain
themes, or parts of materials may be removed. For
the canonical contents to be modified the teacher
should have at his disposal a suitably flexible
content repository. Usually, due to limited IT
competences of teachers it is recommended that
adaptation of contents should be done without
advanced technological skills.
In order to construct flexible content repositories,
it is essential for teaching materials to be constructed
in such a way that they can be easily modified and
repeatedly used. First of all they should have a form
allowing for construction of larger structures with
smaller units; also they should be saved in such a
technical specification which will enable flexible
processing. SCORM as well as division into
Learning Objects meets this requirement. Another
thing which is necessary is the mechanism of
granting didactic interpretation to those sections of
materials which are cohesive and useful didactically.
Such sections are designed to be used in many
various educational contexts, different from that in
which they were initially placed. In the method
presented here didactic interpretation is given by
258
Marciniak J..
Building e-Learning Content Repositories to Support Content Reusability .
DOI: 10.5220/0004388502580262
In Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Computer Supported Education (CSEDU-2013), pages 258-262
ISBN: 978-989-8565-53-2
Copyright
c
 2013 SCITEPRESS (Science and Technology Publications, Lda.)

means of UCTS nomenclature (Universal Curricular
Taxonomy System).
2 FORM OF DIDACTIC
MATERIALS
In order to be repeatedly used, didactic materials
must have adequate form. A good solution is a form
of so called e-learning courses. Known as ‘e-books’
or ‘content’, they have a method of recording
contents that is suited to specific features of online
teaching. An e-learning course has the following
characteristics:
 It contains multimedia and interactive elements
which improve the attractiveness of the contents
and teaching efficiency;
 It has a hierarchical structure which follows the
principle of dividing contents into independent
units of knowledge, so called Learning Objects;
 It is suited to be placed in any system of distance
learning by the fact that is has been recorded in a
standard of didactic content such as SCORM.
Multimedia and interactive elements increase the
efficiency of online learning. They should always
complement and expand relevant contents and not be
used as mere attraction (Horton, 2006). Division of
the contents into Learning Objects is an approach
that relates directly to the specificity of online
teaching. Students are hardly able to master the
entire content of a single session of an e-learning
course. Thus, if Learning Objects are divided into
sections that can be mastered within three to ten
minutes than the entire work becomes more
effective. Complexity and large amounts of contents
may cause Learning Objects to be placed in larger
structures, which present selected issues and
subjects. Learning Objects will be placed
hierarchically in aggregating structures on several
levels, depending on how detailed the content is.
The underlying feature of SCORM specification
is the fact that contents can be organized in such a
way that will allow for its repeated use. SCORM
philosophy is based on the fact that contents are
divided into numerous components and as such they
are transferred into technical form such as courses,
SCOs or sets of SCOs. Other technical specifications
(i.e. AICC, Tin Can) may also be used. They must
only allow the division of content into smaller units.
3 DETERMINING DIDACTIC
USEFULNESS OF CONTENT
COMPONENT
Structuring materials as Learning Objects and saving
them in a flexible standard such as SCORM is a
good starting point to create reusable repositories.
However, such an approach does not answer the
following questions:
 Which sections of materials stored in a
repository are of standard didactic value?
 Which components may function on their own,
i.e. are relevantly cohesive and didactically
useful?
 Is it possible to incorporate fragments of contents
into new structures in such a way that they are
relevantly cohesive and didactically useful?
These questions in practice boil down to one: Is it
possible to download any component from a
repository of didactic materials, for example one
SCO or several SCO, and use it in a didactic
process?
For the components downloaded to be cohesive,
didactically useful and devoid of purely technical
character it is necessary to develop a method that
will allow for interpretation of the components in the
context of their didactic character. Thus, if the
contents are saved in SCORM, it is not sufficient to
relate to their structure because individual elements
of this structure (SCO, set of SCOs, course) do not
carry any information about the role of the materials
in didactic process. SCORM shifts to the author the
responsibility to indicate which elements of the
structure are didactically useful and which have been
introduced only for purely technical or
organizational reasons, for example the component
has been broken down into smaller units due to its
volume, and in consequence individual components
should not function independently.
However, to conceptualize contents so that their
components may be reused many times may be a
daunting task for the author. This stems from the
fact that in the process of creating contents in a
conventional way (e. g. while writing a book) it is
not customary to consider multiple uses of its parts
(chapters). It is taken for granted that the contents
will be delivered to student in its totality. Therefore,
in structuring contents meant for SCORM, where
from a technical standpoint all methods of content
structuring are possible and feasible (especially
when it is regarded as a strictly technical job!) it is
essential to develop and apply a more systematic
approach which will enable an unambiguous
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determination of contents usefulness.
SCORM is neutral about the complexity of
content. It does not include any curricular taxonomy
model that can be used to describe the role of
content in the teaching process (Dodds, 2006).
Within the method presented as suitable for
interpretation of didactic contents a solution is
suggested that does not refer to any particular
educational context – it is UCTS.
UCTS (Universal Curricular Taxonomy System)
is a taxonomic model, designed to interpret didactic
content (Marciniak, 2012). This model provides a
description language to structure didactic materials
on several levels. The model can be used to describe
materials in SCORM. It can also be used to structure
materials in any other form or technical
specification.
UCTS provides the following components that
can be used to describe didactic content:
 Curriculum,
 Learning module (or: Module)
 Learning Unit (or: Unit)
The term Curriculum is used to define contents
that can be deemed as a teaching program i.e. that
contains a set of materials which present a given
topic in an exhaustive way, and which fulfill certain
didactic goals. A Curriculum is made up of any
number of Module-type components. These
components are arranged in a sequence in which
they should be realized by student. A Curriculum
can be supplemented by an element of Exam type,
which will function as a final test for the entire
teaching program.
A Module can be made up of several components
of Unit type, or other modules. The entire set
mutually complementing each other is meant to
cover a given topic in an exhaustive fashion. This
component should be supplemented with an exam
type element which will verify how well student has
mastered the module.
A Unit is the smallest section of materials, which
introduces cohesive content and which contains
elements to enable students to self verify their
progress. A Unit is the smallest section of contents
that cannot be divided any further. This reflects the
idea that for any didactic material (book, script,
PowerPoint presentation) there is a certain threshold
below which further sectioning of materials is not
possible, although divided contents may still be
relevantly valuable. It is assumed that a Unit may be
made up of the following smaller elements:
 Learning Object – a section of materials which
introduces new contents organized as
‘knowledge capsules’. The contents may be
delivered as text, text with graphics (drawings,
photographs, etc) or as multimedia and
interactive content (non-linear graphs, dynamic
diagrams and graphs, etc); this element may
contain self verification and verification features.
 Exercise – a component designed only for self
verification. This type of elements should be
built in an interactive way i.e. it should contain
elements of interactive testing (one-choice and
multiple choice questions, drag and drop, puzzle,
etc).
 Self assessment – a special type of exercise
which enables students to verify their progress in
a given section of contents. Questions in this
component should have a cross-sectional
character.
 Exam – a component to verify students’
progress. Questions in this component may be
drawn at random from pools of questions, or
given in a fixed set. The results should be sent to
LMS/LCMS system and made available to
teacher.
 References – a list of books or papers to expand
on issues discussed,
4 CONTENT REPOSITORY TOOL
A Content Repository is a tool that allows for digital
storage of didactic materials and for creation of new
materials based on existing components
(www.contentrepository.org). The tool was
developed to solve the problem of electronic storage
of large amounts of resources A content repository is
a piece of software working in WWW environment.
It is designed to create content repositories in
SCORM standard (version 1.2 and 2004). It can be
used to create monographic or multi-topic
repositories.
A basic function of Content Repository is to
create new structures of knowledge based on
existing components. The system enables this in an
approach that is analogous to editing, in which editor
selects interesting and relevant contents. In Content
Repository this activity consists of finding materials
in the system and incorporating them into existing
structures. This tool allows for processing only those
components that have been earmarked by the author
as didactically useful. This is done in the tool by
ascribing a didactic interpretation to the component
and by creating an artifact called Processable Unit
(PU).
Processable Unit (PU) is a structure of data
isolated from Content Repository, and which serves
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as a base on which processing of knowledge deemed
by authors as didactically useful takes place.
Processable Units are created by ascribing didactic
interpretation to any SCORM component (Fig. 1).
PU’s created in this way are defined in the system as
Basic PU’s. UCTS-derived nomenclature or
nomenclature derived from any other taxonomic
model may be used for didactic interpretation.
Content Repository is adapted to simultaneously
serve numerous taxonomic models. If UCTS
nomenclature is used, entitled users may ascribe one
of the following values to a SCORM component
(SCO, set of SCOs, course): Unit, Module,
Curriculum. The system enables also creation of
blank PU’s, so-called System PU’s. Their role is to
aggregate other PU’s stored in the system. It is
possible to embed any base PU’s or other system
PU’s in system PU’s. What is important is that when
a content is defined as PU, it determines whether it
can be downloaded from the system. Only those
content structures can be downloaded from Content
Repository that have been defined as PU’s in the
system.
Figure 1: Ascribing didactic interpretation.
Processable Units are artifacts isolated from
Content Repository which determine the level of
content granularity in a repository. The system
permits operations on contents only by referring to
PU’s. The tool does not permit to create new content
components, i.e. it is not possible to create new
SCO’s nor is it possible to defragment PU’s (that is
to divide into smaller units). This also means that
while downloading contents from repository it is not
possible to download single SCO’s isolated from the
PU in which they have been embedded. So, only
those content structures earmarked by the author as
didactically cohesive and useful can be downloaded
from Content Repository.
5 E-ARCHAEOLOGY CONTENT
REPOSITORY
E-archaeology content repository is a repository of
digitalized didactic contents in the area of protection
and management of archaeological heritage. The
repository was built using a Content Repository
system. UCTS was used for didactic interpretation.
The repository is available at: www.e-
archaeology.org/contentrepository. The resources
collected there are made up of multimedia and
interactive e-learning courses.
All the contents in the repository have been
developed by specialists in the area of protection and
management of archaeological heritage within the
framework of two European Leonardo da Vinci
projects. The first project, resulted in developing
contents for a learning program “Protection and
management of archaeological heritage in
contemporary Europe”, and in building a set of e-
learning courses based on this content. In the course
of the second project the contents was expanded and
supplemented.
Digitalized materials stored in E-archaeology
content repository were built in a way suited for
online teaching (Marciniak, 2009). The course
components contain interactive and multimedia
elements (Figure 2). Those elements introduce
contents in a non-linear fashion and test students’
progress in self-tests. The structure of those
materials allows their reusability. The authors
divided the contents into small cohesive units of
knowledge which describe topics in an exhaustive
way (Kok, 2009), then these materials were
digitalized in this form. While implementing the
contents in SCORM (version 1.2) it was decided that
individual cohesive sections of materials were saved
as SCO’s. SCO’s making up individual courses are
organized hierarchically, using the Activity SCORM
component. These structures were selected in the
course of creating the contents, thus reflecting
conceptualization of the subject in accordance to
author’s plan.
The repository contains didactic contents in five
languages (English, German, Latvian, Polish and
Spanish). There are about 4500 SCO’s, in particular
(approximate values for English version):
 Fifteen training programs (curricula)
 Sixty components of Module type
 One hundred seventy-five components of
Unit type
 Seven hundred SCO’s.
Authors of new learning programs and teachers
using the repository content can take advantage of a
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range of solutions supporting search process, such as
LOM metadata and tags from wordnet-based
ontology in the area of protection and management
of archaeological heritage used to describe the
contents.
Figure 2: Element of an e-learning course.
The contents in E-archaeology Contents
Repository can be used to conduct a didactic process
in the area of protection and management of
archaeological heritage. After downloading from the
repository, they can be incorporated into teaching in
the following ways:
 Materials may constitute basic training programs
in assisted web-base training;
 They can supplement synchronized training
sessions (for example videoconferences), or
conventional courses.
In order to verify the method and usefulness of
Content Repository tool, in the Leonardo da Vinci
project nine pilot training courses were conducted in
the area of protection and management of
archaeological heritage. Contents for these trainings
were created with E-archaeology repository
resources. The teachers running the courses created
their own training programs suited to the needs of
target groups. From a technical standpoint training
programs are system PU’s defined in Content
Repository as UCTS Curricula. The teachers reused
content from the repository annotated as UCTS
Modules and Units while creating Curricula.
6 CONCLUSIONS
To enable creation of repositories of reusable
teaching materials it is essential for the materials to
have a certain form, to be didactically interpreted
and to be described in such a way as to simplify
search. A good solution is to save contents as
SCORM and structure them as Learning Objects. It
is necessary to ascribe didactic interpretation so that
the repository could refer to didactic and not
technical conceptualization. Use of SCORM enables
division of contents in many different ways;
however, not every type of division will ensure
comprehensive delivery of a subject to students, nor
will it ensure distance learning methodology. UCTS
- compatible content conceptualization leaves room
for additional didactic requirements. LOM metadata
are of particular use in building SCORM contents
because they allow comprehensive description of
contents, and then effective repository search.
Content Repository enables creation of massive
repositories of teaching materials. The system is run
by SCORM and its all metadata. It permits loading
e-learning courses and other types of knowledge
structures, dividing them to suit the teaching needs,
and building new teaching programs or other types
of knowledge structures using components available.
It is possible to download these components as
SCORM packages. Thanks to these functionalities
courses loaded into the system are not identical with
what can be downloaded from it.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This research was partially supported by the
Leonardo da Vinci project number 2010-1-PL1-
LEO05-11465
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