Specifying semantic conformance profiles in reusable learning object metadata

Current learning technology standards and recommendations have defined common languages for describing and sequencing learning resources. But further work is needed to provide common and consistent means for many processes internal to learning management systems, which are essential to achieve a high level of automation. This paper describes the concept of semantic conformance profile as a way to specify complex run-time behaviors for such processes in a flexible way. These profiles use a contract-based specification to make run-time semantics clear, and are intended to be used in conjunction with specialized ontologies for the steps that require a complex representation. Five basic profiles are sketched as use cases to drive the specification approach.