1. Join the LRE Federation
You already have a repository of learning resources and want to become part of the LRE federation and be able to offer a “federated search” capability to your users. Or you have an education portal and want to allow your users to access the content offered by the LRE Federation.

For this option you will need to do some technical work so that your repository or your portal can receive or send queries in one of the query languages supported by the LRE and be able to return or receive results in one of the supported result formats. Generally, this does not take more than a few days’ work by a Java developer who is already familiar with your repository.

2. Let the LRE service harvest your metadata
You have a repository that allows some of its metadata to be mirrored by another repository that is already connected to the LRE federated search (such as the LRE portal).

The mirroring protocol used by the LRE is based on the Open Archive Initiative – Protocol for Metadata Harvesting (OAI-PMH). Harvesting metadata using the OAI-PMH generally requires a repository that has been designed to support the protocol. If you have this sort of repository, we can harvest your metadata.

For this option, you will need to implement the OAI-PMH protocol on your repository, if it is not already available. The protocol is described on the Open Archives website (http://www.openarchives.org), together with useful implementation guidelines. You will also have to inform us of possible access constraints that you would like the LRE to enforce on your behalf.

3. Provide resources and metadata to the EUN; ‘mass upload’ of resources
You do not have a repository or you do have one but initially only want to make a small number of resources available via the LRE.

A connection to the LRE federation is not the only option. We can also offer content providers a ‘mass upload’ of their resources to the repository. In order to mass upload, an EXCEL sheet needs to be filled in and sent to Sylvia[dot]Hartinger[at]eun[dot]org. If there is no server available for hosting the resources at a providers’ site, they can also be hosted at EUN. For this, please send a CD or DVD with the learning resources to EUN. There is no need to study the LRE application profile (see Metadata) as the EXCEL sheet you receive is preset accordingly..

This third option might be particularly useful for small content developers or maybe cultural heritage organisations that have some learning resources for schools.

EUN staff can help potential Associate Partners decide what is the best option given their particular requirements. Before contacting the EUN, however, please take a look at the following FAQ section.

LRE FAQ

1. What should I do if I have learning resources but don’t have a repository?
If you don’t have a repository, or maybe have just a small number of resources, option 3 above may be the easiest way to get involved.

2. What should I do if I am primarily interested in the metadata harvesting approach?
If you plan to have your metadata hosted at EUN or only support the harvesting protocol, please send us sample metadata, preferably in xml format, so that interoperability can be properly assessed before going to a full-scale implementation. If necessary, some adjustment will be discussed with EUN’s technical staff. Then, integration will first be tested with a subset of data, before going for the production environment when all tests are successful.

3. What is the process if I have a repository and want to connect to the LRE brokerage system?
A good first step is to send someone from your technical team to a LRE workshop. Check the events section to see when the next one is running. If you plan to join the LRE federation as a fully connected repository or portal, you will be given access to a test instance where you will be able to test your connection with the federation. You will have an initial discussion with EUN staff to assess the interoperability issues, like metadata format or query languages.

If you are exposing metadata and content, you will need to implement some modules for receiving and answering to queries. If you also want to expose LRE content in your own environment (portal or service) you need to implement some modules for sending queries and processing the results. Connecting your instance will then be a process during which you will implement the different modules needed, as presented during the technical workshop. The EUN staff will assist you by providing technical support. When the connection to the test instance is running properly, you will be promoted to the Production instance.

4. I’m thinking about developing my own repository and would like to connect to the LRE federation. Is there any help you can provide here?
You may wish to consider installing MINOR which can be easily installed. MINOR is an open source repository of learning resources that was designed to be simple and interoperable.  It allows users to easily manage metadata that describing collections of resources that can be stored in MINOR itself or in other systems.  A plugin approach makes it possible to easily support multiple metadata formats and application profiles. MINOR has built-in support for exposing your metadata, either through a connection to the LRE brokerage system or through a harvesting approach.

5. Can I harvest metadata from EUN or other repositories.
About 10 repositories participating in the LRE have implemented the OAI-PMH protocol. You should contact the participating repositories for more details. It will be possible to harvest metadata from the EUN from February 2008.

6. I would like to expose my content via the LRE but possibly would also like to expose LRE content via my own portal or service. How can I do this?
For exposing your own content see the answer to question 1 to 4. For obtaining metadata from other repositories see the answer to question 3 and 5.

7. Does my content need to have Creative Commons’ licenses in order to be made available via the LRE?
As we are initially focussed on open educational resources when we launch the LRE, we are encouraging all Associate Partners to add Creative Commons’ licenses to their content as we think this licensing scheme can be understood without too much difficulty by most teachers. Which CC license you chose is up to you. So far, most LRE partners have found it relatively easy to apply CC licenses to their open content. If you find that you are unable to add a CC license but would like to use some other form of ‘open’ license, we may be able to accommodate this. Please contact EUN for further advice.

If you have commercial content that you would like to make available under a different licensing agreement, this may be possible at a later stage (see question 11).

8. Do I need to adopt and index my resources using the LRE Application Profile?
The LRE application profile is profiling the IEEE LOM standard. It is developed for schools in Europe. It contains only three mandatory fields. If you want to expose your content to the LRE then as a general rule your content should follow the LRE application profile. In general, you can keep your metadata in your own format (e.g. in Dublin Core format) as long as you are able to output it according to the LRE application profile and its XML binding. For exceptions please contact the EUN.

9. I have my metadata in Dublin Core format. How can I expose them?
See the answer to question 8. You can also get some help from the EUN.

10. What is the licensing scheme for the metadata made available through the LRE?
The metadata should be provided under a Creative Commons license scheme. This means that others can use the metadata you provide.

11. Does the LRE provide access to commercial content as well as open content?
Initially the LRE will provide access to free educational resources under a Creative Commons or other form of open license. However, we are currently talking to a number of commercial developers of educational content and assessing the viability of trying to provide a version of the LRE that contains resources for which users or Ministries of Education would be expected to pay. If you have commercial content and would like to discuss these possibilities, please contact jim(dot)ayre(at)multimediaventures(dot)com.

Step-by-step joining guide
Following feedback obtained from the seminar for potential LRE Associate Partners on 9 November 2007, we shall be developing a help facility that will provide a customised step-by-step guide for new LRE partners based on their specific profiles and a range of user scenarios. Watch this space!