Protecting the content through learning object metadata

Abstract

The web is full of numerous educational resources but they are not being properly used by the educators.
There is so much pedagogical content available on the open web that is being ignored. A lot of learning
initiatives stepped in to propose recommendations and guidelines to ensure interoperability of digital
content. This has led to the development of learning objects repository (LOR) whose goals are interoperability,
reuse, sharing, and retrieval of learning content. However, at the same time, the reproduction of learning
material should not breach the copyright protection of the right holders as it is an act of cybercrime.
In the lifecycle of LOR development, learning objects (LOs) are annotated using metadata descriptors
to specify their syntax and semantics. This annotation process has led to the development of learning
objects metadata (LOM) whose ultimate goals are to make searching and cataloging of LOs an easier task.
LOM standard includes a number of sections, one of which is the “Rights” category which takes care of
intellectual property rights and terms for the use of an LO. This paper presents the idea that how learning
resources are annotated using LOM standard and how this annotation contributes to anti‑cybercrime in
formal education. More specifically, the paper tells that the “Rights” category and some related elements
that work together for the provision of protection to the content holders. The paper also suggests that
there should be some standardized mechanism for the automatic annotation of LOs so as to give copyright
protection on permanent basis.