ISO/IEC 19788-1:2024

Overview

ISO/IEC 19788-1:2024 - Information technology for learning, education and training - Metadata for learning resources - Part 1: Framework defines a framework for describing resources. Often referred to as the MLR (Metadata for Learning Resources) framework, this second-edition standard is IT‑neutral and prescribes principles, structures and rules for creating interoperable metadata. Although optimized for learning, education and training, the framework is applicable to describing any type of resource and supports multilingual and cultural adaptability from a global perspective.

Keywords: ISO/IEC 19788-1:2024, metadata for learning resources, MLR, educational metadata, interoperability

Key Topics and Technical Requirements

• Resource classes: standardized classification and templates for defining resource types (attributes such as Identifier, Label, Name, Definition, Subclass of, Note).
• Properties: formal property specifications including Identifier, Canonical identifier, Domain, Codomain, Linguistic indicator, Content value rules, Refines, Examples, Best practices and Status.
• Vocabularies: controlled vocabularies with attributes (Identifier, Label, Name, Open/closed, Extension of, Set of terms) and guidance for user extensions.
• Data elements and records: definition of data elements (property identifier, subject, content value, language code) and MLR record structure (Identifier, Resource, Content).
• Application profiles: mechanisms and templates for creating application profiles based on the MLR framework, including property constraint templates and condition tables.
• Content value rules and templates: predefined rule sets and templates to ensure consistent content values and promote reuse.
• Principles: user-centric approach emphasizing multilingual support, cultural adaptability and reuse to promote interoperability across systems.

Keywords: resource classes, properties, vocabularies, data elements, application profiles, content value rules

Practical Applications and Who Uses This Standard

ISO/IEC 19788-1:2024 is used to design, implement and govern metadata that improves discovery, reuse and exchange of resources. Typical applications:

• Learning management systems (LMS) and digital repositories - consistent metadata for search and aggregation.
• Educational publishers and content creators - standardized descriptions to support distribution and discovery.
• Libraries, archives and museums - interoperable metadata for resource sharing across cultural and language boundaries.
• EdTech vendors and platform developers - implementable templates and vocabularies to ensure system compatibility.
• Metadata architects, librarians, instructional designers and standards developers - use the framework to build application profiles and governance rules.

Keywords: LMS metadata, educational repositories, metadata architects, multilingual metadata

Related Standards (if applicable)

• ISO/IEC 19788 series - Part 1 provides the framework on which additional parts and application profiles are built.
• The framework is intentionally compatible with other metadata initiatives to promote broad interoperability.

Keywords: ISO metadata standards, MLR framework, metadata interoperability