Introduction

DLNET has provided Learning Object (LO) Packaging Tool that will assist you in the content submission process. The learning objects created in your submission process becomes a resource that can be used by learners, educators and course builders. The most important attribute of a learning object is that it encapsulates metadata (information about the resource and its creator) together with the resource you contributed. Thus, wherever your learning object goes, so will the metadata that you created, ensuring that your contribution is recognized and acknowledged by all who use it.

The tool's functions can be summarized in the following steps:

• Harvesting Metadata: An interactive form in the tool collects the metadata from you, the owner/creator of the resource being submitted.
  
  
• Validating Resources: The tool prepares your content files for packaging by ensuring that all the components including files, folders, and links are present and accounted for. It parses through the folder or workspace recursively, creating a manifest of the files that constitute the learning object.
  
  
• Packaging: The tool bundles the metadata with the resource and manifest files processed in the validation stage to create a DLNET LO package. This is the package (zipped folder) that you submit or upload to the DLNET website.

Version

Java Runtime Environment (JRE), Version 1.3.x or later must be installed on your computer. You may download (free) and install the JRE software from SUN's Java site. A Minimum of 10 MB of disk space is recommended to download and use the tool and JRE softwares. For a brief introduction and summary on using the tool, please refer to the Guidelines for Using the Tool Document.

A summary of the steps involved is given here as a guide for those downloading the Tool. Please note that the Tool contains a detail step-by-step guide to assist you in preparing and packaging the resources that you will be submitting to DLNET. Please note that a detailed step-by-step guide is included within the tool to assist you in preparing and packaging the resources that you will be submitting to DLNET. The context-based guide can be accessed by clicking on the help icon next to each text block.

• START: Setting the Workspace
  Before starting to use the Tool, create a workspace, i.e., a new folder in which to place the learning resource and all its associated files. It is recommended that the folder name reflect the resource topic. Double-click on the Tool's icon to begin the program. After the tool loads up, point to the work space or folder you created above. You will be prompted to create a project file if it is a new submission process. Provide a filename for the project <project_filename.dln> or use the default filename shown that corresponds to the name of the workspace. Do not use spaces or special operating-system characters such as : \ / * ? in naming your file. For editing existing projects, just point to the .dln file in the workspace or folder containing your learning resource.
  
  Important: In both NEW and EXISTING profiles, all the resources must be located within the workspace or folder that includes the top starting file. The user or the tool cannot access files or folder outside this folder during successive steps.
  

• STEP 1: Information about the Author
  Here is where you will enter information about the creator of the content including the Name, Email Address and Affiliation of the primary author or publisher. If there is more than one author, enter them in the spaces provided.
  
  
• STEP 2: Information about the Content
  Here is where you will enter information about the content. This STEP consists of three parts: Basic Metadata, Educational/Pedagogical, and Technical/Rights/Classification information. The user will be asked to enter the information in the text areas next to the metadata elements or in some cases, select the values from a predefined table or choice boxes.
  
  Note: STEP 1 and 2 are part of the metadata harvesting process. Please complete all boxes with requested information. For help on the metadata items, click on the icons next to the text boxes.
  
  
• STEP 3: Content Validation
  Here is where the content is readied for packaging. The files making up the content are collected and organized under a RESOURCE folder. Validation ensures that all the necessary components, i.e., files, folders and hyperlinks, are present and accounted for prior to packaging. In case of non-html content, remember to select all the necessary files and folders and click 'ADD' to package all the material together.
  
  
• STEP 4: Summary and Content Packaging
  The last step consists of reviewing the information you entered in the previous STEPS and packaging the content into a Learning Object that can be uploaded to DLNET. Review the metadata information in STEPS 1 and 2 carefully in case there are spelling errors and overlooked items before packaging. At the end of this process a user specified DLNET LO .zip folder is created.
  
  
• DONE: Submit to DLNET
  At this point, the contributor is requested to log-on to the DLNET and upload the zipped LO package. The user can now either exit the tool or start new LO development by choosing the appropriate menu item under 'FILE' from the tool's menu bar.

• I downloaded the tool, but got the following error message: "Your Java VM needs to be upgraded (to Java 1.3.1) before this program can be run..." What do I do?
• The DLNET LO tool started up fine, what do I do next?
• How long does it take to create a DLNET LO package?
• Do I have to register with DLNET to submit my DLNET LO package?
• Where can I get more information on DLNET LO in general and specifically the metadata and the packaging used in DLNET?
• What are the copyright restrictions on the resources once bundled as a DLNET LO package?
• I start up a DLNET LO profile (either New or Existing), but the tool hangs. What happened?
• I navigated to where my resource files are located and setup the DLNET LO project filename (project_filename.dln, either New or Existing), but the tool hangs. What happened?

Q: I downloaded the tool, but got the following error message: "Your Java VM needs to be upgraded (to Java 1.x.x) before this program can be run..." What do I do?

Ans: The above message implies that JAVA Runtime Environment is not setup in the machine or is of older version. Please click here and follow instruction given at the website to download and install JAVA Runtime Environment (version 1.3.1 or later).

Q: The DLNET LO tool started up fine, what do I do next?
Ans: Now you are ready to create the DLNET LO package. Please follow the instructions either from the help menu or the above guidelines to generate the LO package.

Q: How long does it take to create a DLNET LO package?
Ans: It depends on the total size of the resources being bundled and the collection of metadata. Filling the metadata form takes about 5 to 10 min while validation and packaging depends on the total size of resources. It was noted that for a 3 MB of HTML type resource, the validation process took less than a minute. On average, it takes less than 10 minutes to create a DLNET LO package.

Q: Do I have to register with DLNET to submit my DLNET LO package?
Ans: Yes. Please register as a "Content Contributor" at DLNET to submit the DLNET LO package created using the tool. If you are already registered as General User or Reviewer, please update your user status to be included as Content Contributor. To register as DLNET Content Contributor, click here. If you are already registered as "Content Contributor", please login to DLNET to submit the package.

Q: Where can I get more information on DLNET LOs? What are the metadata and the packaging standards used in DLNET?
Ans: For more information on DLNET LOs including a comprehensive definition and an example, click here (pdf format). DLNET has adopted IMS's metadata and content package schemes. Details of this can be found at the IMS website.

Q: What are the copyright restrictions on the resources once bundled as a DLNET LO package?
Ans: DLNET LOs will have no copyright restrictions unless explicitly indicated. However, the user is requested to use the LO as is, i.e., with its metadata included, to acknowledge authorship and ownership of the content.

Q: I start up a DLNET LO profile (either New or Existing), but the tool hangs (for over 5 min). What happened?
Ans: Once the profile is set, the tool attempts to determine the path to all the resources within that folder. These are the resources that are validated in STEP 3 and when successfull are packaged in STEP 4. If the profile is set at a very high folder level within Windows system (such as at DESKTOP) or the number of folders and files within the top resource folder is high (over 10,000 files with a combined size of over 15 MB) then the tool attempts to capture the path information of these files. Due to limitations of the machine (either the CPU speed or available memory) this large amount of data causes application instability and the tool hangs. Kill the DLNET LO Tool when this happens. The easiest way to avoid it is to close some other applications currently not in use (so as to free up system resources), then to re-start DLNET LO Tool and re-try building the LO. More importantly, make sure that the resource and all its component files and folders are not on the desktop or other system folders but in a separate folder of their own.

Q: I started up a DLNET LO profile (either New or Existing), but the tool hangs (for over 5 min). I noted the memory and CPU usage was very high. What happened?
Ans: Please see the answer to the prior question.

Q: I navigated to where my resource files are located and setup the DLNET LO project filename (xx.dln, either New or Existing), but the tool hangs (for over 5 min). What happened?
Ans: Please see the answer to the prior question.