When engaging deeply in any standardization project, as I have with the InLOC project, one is likely to get new insights into what standardization is, or should be. I tried to encapsulate this in a tweet yesterday, saying "Standardization, properly, should be the process of formulation and formalisation of the terms of collective commitment".
Then ...
Today is the final day of the InLOC project — a European ICT Standardization Work Programme project I have been leading since November 2011. So a good day for an initial review and reflection. I blogged some previous thoughts on InLOC in November 2012 and February this year.
Is there a good term for my specialist area of work for CETIS? I've been trying out "technology for learner support", but that doesn't fully seem to fit the bill. If I try to explain, reflecting on 10 years (as of this month) involvement with CETIS, might readers be able to help me?
InLOC is a European project organised to come up with a good way of communicating structures or frameworks of competence, learning outcomes etc. We've now produced our interim reports for consultation: the Information Model and the Guidelines. We welcome feedback from everyone, to ensure this becomes genuinely useful and not just another academic exercise.
The Leap2A review report has now been published. It is available along with other relevant materials from the e-Portfolio interoperability JISC page. For anyone following the fortunes of Leap2A, it is highly worthwhile reading. I'd like to take up some unasked questions, with implications for the future direction of Leap2 more generally.
All of us in the learning technology standards community share the challenge of knowing who our real customers are. Discussion at the January CEN Workshop on Learning Technologies (WS-LT) was a great stimulus for my further reflection – should we be thinking more of national governments?
In mid March I spent several days at the ISO SC36 meeting in Strasbourg, an experience which was ... how can I say this ... frustrating. Let me give some background, explain my frustration, then offer ideas about causes and possible remedies.
At this useful meeting, on the premises of European Schoolnet, the question of e-portfolio information was introduced, and other business carried forward. Many of the familiar people were there. I turned out to be the only UK person. A bright new face was from Q&R, a Greek company contracted to CEDEFOP to do interesting things with their Europass web site.
This is a rather ephemeral statement of position-of-the-month on the future of interoperability standards, for the CETIS meeting on 24th September. I have just three things to note: two issues from helping to create the EuroLMAI CEN Workshop Agreement (moving towards an EN European Standard) and one issue from Leap2A.
