used to inform the work covered here were produced by the Academic ADL Co Lab

1

 in 2003 

and 2004. The initiatives, projects and systems that were included were done so on the basis 

that the team considered they would be useful to inform the current and future JORUM 

service. We have attempted to cover as wide a range as possible of solutions and on going 

work, but recognise that we may not have included all work that could inform the development 

of the JORUM service. 

The systems and projects discussed within this report are therefore not intended to provide an 

exhaustive list of e learning repository products or services. Nor is the report intended as a 

complete review of existing e learning repository initiatives as there are restrictions to access 

to many of those systems, which would affect the conclusions drawn. Equally the report is not 

aiming

to provide a complete review of commercial repositories lack of access to the 

repository software, and the scope of the report. 

Consequently it outside the scope of this report to present an evaluation of systems or 

initiatives, nor do we suggest that the content of this report provides a basis for an in depth 

technical study. 

1.4 What do we mean when we say `Repository'? 

Information technology has entered the world of learning and it is here to 

stay. From the use of computing technologies in the classroom to the 

creation and delivery of entire online courses, new technologies are 

changing the ways in which we think about and practice education. With the 

development of the Internet has come the ability to easily deliver educational 

materials in electronic form to anyone, anywhere, at anytime. With 

developments in educational technology comes the promise that educational 

resources in electronic formats can change the ways in which we teach and 

learn.  

[ADL 2003, p.4]  

Despite inspirational and positive statements like this from `The Academic ADL Co Lab', 

reality would suggest that regardless of the rapidly growing number of quality electronic 

learning and teaching resources, there remains an inability to search, locate and retrieve 

these materials easily. 

This is why repositories, systems for the storage, location and retrieval of 

electronic content, are so essential to the further integration of information 

technologies and learning. They are the potential agents for breaking 

through many barriers to the use of new learning technologies. (Ibid.) 

Within the content of this report we will examine the various learning repository initiatives 

around the globe that are bridging the gap between the creation of high quality resources and 

their delivery to the e learning community. However when we refer to `repositories' what do 

we actually mean? 

The definition of a repository is as illusive as that of a learning object; 

While theorists have debated definitions, developers and administrators 

have created networks that allow learning materials to be located and 

retrieved. In creating these networks, which they sometimes label 

 repositories,  these individuals often make do in a world shaped more by 

financial and institutional constraints than theoretical concerns. (Ibid.)  

It is important that we define what is meant by a repository within the context of this report. As 

a starting point our strict definition will be: a repository enables the storage, discovery and 

retrieval of metadata and/or electronic objects stored at a local or distributed level. 

1

 Academic ADL Co Lab at 

http://www.academiccolab.org/

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