
SCORM Meta-data provides a standard framework and vocabulary
for storing and communicating useful information about learning
resources. Broadly speaking, meta-data is information
about something that can be ascertained without actually examining
it. For example, a card catalog entry for a library book tells
you such things as who published the book, what language it is
written in, and how many pages it has. Using the catalog you can
figure all this out without going into the stacks to examine the
book and counting the pages yourself.
Beyond simply providing data about things, the SCORM specifies
how that information is stored and how it is represented. This
greatly enhances the value of the information by making it broadly
accessible.
Relating this to the classroom example, SCORM meta-data is like
the library catalog system that a teacher might use to find instructional
materials. One can easily and effectively search the collections
of several libraries at once because information about holdings
is compiled in a standard way and many catalog systems can communicate
with one-another by speaking the same "language." If
the book’s “meta-data” – the card catalog
entry – were not based on standards, none of this would
be possible.
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