1. The IEEE Actionable Data Book
and EPUB 3
Tyde Richards, John Costa, Avron Barr
IEEE Learning Technology Standards Committee

2. Tyde Richards John B. Costa Avron Barr
Prior Chair: IEEE ADB & LTSC
San Diego, California
tyderichards@gmail.com
Chair: IEEE ADB
President / CEO: RePubIT
Orlando, Florida
jbcosta@repubit.com
+1 321.262.3626
Chair: IEEE LTSC
Founder: Aldo Ventures, Inc.
Santa Cruz, California
avron@aldo.com

3. About the IEEE
! Global professional organization for engineers
! Over 430,000 members in 160 contries
! Motto: Advancing Technology for Humanity
! Democratic leadership, volunteer participation
! A few facts
– 3.5 million documents in digital library
– 170 transactions, journals, magazines
– 1,500 standards (e.g. 802)
– 1,300 conferences in 92 countries
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4. About the IEEE LTSC
! Learning Technology Standards Committee (LTSC)
! Formal accredited standards since 1996
– Best known for LOM, SCORM runtime
! Participation free, open, by indivdual
! Strategy shift to support interoperability lifecycle
– Ability to form Technical Advisory Group issuing reports
– Ability to sponsor pre-competitive R&D on interoperability
(Actionable Data Book project)
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5. Background to the ADB project
! IEEE LTSC involved with standardizing SCORM
! Study Group ~2010 about updating standards
! SG recommendation
– No benefit to updating
– In a new, rapidly changing technology paradigm
– SCORM approach needs to be rethought
– Need new foundation, not clear what it is
! Year long investigation of lots of candidates
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6. The SCORM Interoperability Model
Learning Specific Structure Learning Specific Content
SCO
Client
Zip File
Web browser
“dumb”
Learning Management System
Business logic

7. Study Group Conclusions
! Target: a new open approach to mobile learning
! Key enabler: EPUB 3 as content strategy
! Key enabler: xAPI for cloud data exchange
! Challenge: data exchange with IoT/local devices
! Challenge: global adoption strategy

8. Why EPUB 3 ?
A new but familiar architecture …
Generic Structure Generic Content
HTML
5
epub Zip File
eBook Reader
data exchange services

9. Why EPUB 3 ?
SCORM EPUB 3
Architecture Glue parts together Intrinsic whole
Control Server Mobile platform
Content format Out of scope HTML5
Player Out of scope eBook Reader
User Experience Out of scope W3C CSS
Sustainability Not Sustainable Sustainable
Accessibility Out of scope Central focus

10. Why xAPI?
! Developed by ADL R&D project
! New approach and successor to SCORM runtime
! Big data, cloud data solution
! Common “experience statement” format that can
be constrained by vocabularies
! On ramp to a semantic data solution
! Commercial interest and adoption
! Potential for IEEE standardization

11. An xAPI Statement
! Id
! Actor
! Object
! Verb
! Result
! Context
! Timestamp
! Attachments

12. IEEE Actionable Data Book
! R&D Project Sponsored by IEEE LTSC
! EPUB 3 as mobile learning delivery platform
! Carry forward SCORM concepts as appropriate
! Assume cloud (xAPI), device, IoT communication
! 2013 Feasibility Study
! 2014-15 Build something

13. ADB 2015 Goals
! 1. Report on ADB technical architecture
! 2. Use cases to illustrate ADB generality
! 3. ADB Proof of Concept demonstration illustrating
communication with cloud, IoT, and mobile
platform capabilities
! 4. A survey to assess ADB viability as a globally
available platform for mobile learning
! 5. An ADB workshop at an appropriate venue

14. Architectural Approach
Generic Structure Generic Content
HTML
5
epub Zip File
eBook Reader xAPI – cloud data exchange
device capabilities
Bluetooth LE for IoT
Activity

15. ADB Activity Model
! Updates 20 year old AICC CMI/ SCORM concept
! Minimalist approach to coordinate data exchanges
! Three entities
– Activity: a unit of completion
– Location: unit of navigation within and activty
– Activity Set: a collection of actvities
! Three phases/events per entity
– Before, during, after
! Under development – feedback welcome

16. ADB Activity Model: Why?
! Motivate by considering xAPI capabilities as
appropriate in different content contexts
! The xAPI Statement API
– Can be used for learner experience/performance data
– Can be used for annotations
– Can be used for scientific data
! The xAPI Agent Profile API
– Can be used to get/store user preferences
! The xAPI State API
– Can be used to get/store activity data

17. The Activity, EPUB 3, and xAPI
Activity Set (EPUB 3 eBook as a whole)
before
xAPI during during during for experience data
after
xAPI to get user preferences, including accessibility preferences
Activity + (page set)
before
after
xAPI to get activity state data
Location + (page)
before
after
xAPI for page entry data
xAPI for page exit data
xAPI to store activity state data
xAPI to store changes to user preferences

18. Mapping the Activity onto EPUB 3
! Our best quess … two options
! Widget
– ADB Proof of Concept last Spring
– Limitations for our requirements
! Collection/Distributable Object
– Appears better option, on the drawing board
– Two level collection hierarchy
– Activity role containing location pages
– Activity Set role containing Activity collections

19. Relationship to EDUPUB
! Out best quess ….
! ADB
– HTML5 content unit is the Location
– Focus providing data exchange capabilites to the Location
– Silent on HTML5 content conventions
! EDUPUB defining HTML5 content conventions
! Appear to be complementary technologies

20. Relationship to LTI and Caliper
! Our best guess …
! LTI
– A tool essentially an embedded Web site
– Different approach to communication than xAPI
– LTI and xAPI are complementary
! Caliper
– Outcome data models for different kinds of activities
– Needs a transport mechanism
– xAPI 100% appropriate implemented solution

21. Anticipated 2015 Roadmap
EPUB 3 Activity
Support
EPUB 3
Activity
xAPI
Mobile
Support
JS
Reader
Phone
Gap
IoT
Support
Blue
Tooth
LE
Currently
Here

22. Some Collaboration Opportunities
! EPUB 3 for LTSC/ADB Technical Report
– Immediate, possilble pilot for IEEE
! EDUPUB integration with ADB
– As appropriate
! ADB support for Accessibility Preferences
– Anticipated ADL Design Cohort January 2015
! Collaboration on 2015 ADB Prototype
– As appropriate

23. Tyde Richards John B. Costa Avron Barr
Prior Chair: IEEE ADB & LTSC
San Diego, California
tyderichards@gmail.com
Chair: IEEE ADB
President / CEO: RePubIT
Orlando, Florida
jbcosta@repubit.com
+1 321.262.3626
Chair: IEEE LTSC
Founder: Aldo Ventures, Inc.
Santa Cruz, California
avron@aldo.com