Output details

IEEE Standard for Learning Technology— Conceptual Model for Resource Aggregation for Learning, Education, and Training.

IEEE Std 1484.13.1-2012.

The IEEE RAMLET standard is both a conceptual model and a formal ontology that abstracts across the structures of a number of different content aggregation formats. The standard enables a predictable means of transcoding a content aggregation instance from one format to another in a wide variety of ways, including database schemas, XSL transformations and SPARQL queries.

Both the idea of using a formal global-as-view model as well as the decision to use the W3C semantic web technology standards were IEC’s contribution, through the work of Kraan. The impetus for the strict global-as-view model arose from IEC’s earlier research on interoperability specifications in general, and our experience with profiling specifications in particular. The danger of trying to make a specification that abstracts over many existing specifications is that it simply ends up adding yet another specification. Limiting RAMLET to the semantics of existing specifications, and only defining the relations between them, solved that problem. This approach could well be applicable to other interoperability specification areas.

Using our research expertise in semantic web technologies gave the RAMLET group the required formal precision to express the model, as well as the flexibility to accommodate a wide variety of content aggregation specifications to map to and from. IEC was the author and editor of the OWL ontology that represents the RAMLET model. IEC also provided proof-of-concept implementation research.