Metadata in ILIAS

Introduction: What is metadata?

The word "metadata" is a bit unwieldy initially, but it hides a helpful tool. As "data about data," metadata describes the content you create in ILIAS. Metadata helps you to identify your authorship, license content, or to document revisions and updates. Well-maintained metadata can be helpful for the later use of your learning materials - for example, to improve the advanced search on your installation or to sort catalog and document learning objects according to your needs.

ILIAS distinguishes between two different types of metadata: LOM and user-defined metadata.

Metadata according to the LOM standard

An international standard specifies a basic set of metadata. This standard, called LOM (Learning Objects Metadata), is very comprehensive. All frequently used fields can be found clearly arranged in the quick edit.

You only have to give each object a title - all other metadata is optional.

You can include LOM metadata for the following object types:

  1. Course
  2. File
  3. Glossary
  4. Glossary term
  5. ILIAS learning module
    • Chapter in ILIAS learning module (author mode)
    • Page in ILIAS learning module (author mode)
  6. HTML learning module
  7. SCORM learning moduleSCORM learning module (author mode)
    • Chapter in SCORM learning module (author mode)
    • SCO in SCORM learning module (authoring mode)
    • Page in SCORM learning module (authoring mode)
  8. Survey
  9. Question pool for surveys
  10. Test
  11. Question pool for tests
  12. Web link
  13. Media object (in the page editor or media pool)

You will always find a Metadata tab for this purpose in all these objects if you have the appropriate editing rights.

User-defined metadata

Beyond the LOM standard, you can also include custom metadata according to your preferences. These can be useful for signing objects according to your system without being constrained by a standard. For example, if you mark up many wiki pages with custom metadata, they can easily be displayed - grouped by their metadata - in a page list in the wiki.

Entering custom metadata is possible in ILIAS for the following object types:

  • Booking pool (for individual booking objects)
  • Category
  • Course
  • Glossary (for individual glossary terms)
  • An organizational unit (for organizational unit types)
  • Study program (for study program types)
  • ECS course
  • Wiki (for wiki pages)

ILIAS and OER (Open Educational Resources)

What are OER, and how can I use them in ILIAS?

Open Educational Resources (OER for short) is free learning and teaching materials published under an open license (such as Creative Commons). OER can be easily distributed and used by a broad user base.

In ILIAS, content can be labeled with OER-compatible licenses in the Metadata tab. Authors thus make it clear that their content may be redistributed and, if necessary, adapted and modified by third parties. Using a special function in ILIAS (cron job OER Harvester), it is possible to automatically collect newly published OER and make them available in a special category for all platform users. You thus make it easier for your users to discover and disseminate OER materials.

What is the OER Harvester?

The OER Harvester is a so-called "cron job" that has to be activated once in the administration. Subsequently, this cron job automatically collects all files that have been published under an OER-compatible license (e.g., Creative Commons). The files are copied to a defined category and available to all users of your platform. It is also possible to create this category in a public area and thus open your content to visitors from the WWW.

The OER Harvester only collects files that are published under an appropriate license. This must always be done manually in the Metadata tab. For each content, authors also have the option to exclude collection by the OER Harvester. So you don't have to worry about content being published unintentionally.

How do I activate the OER Harvester?

You want to activate the OER Harvester on your platform so that OER is automatically collected in a category.

Prerequisite: You need administration rights on your ILIAS platform for the one-time activation. If you do not have such rights, please get in touch with your technical support via the link at the bottom of this page.

  1. Open the general settings of the administration.
  2. Open the Cron Jobs tab.
  3. Click the Edit link in the Actions column in the OER Harvester row.
  4. ILIAS opens the settings of the OER Harvester.
  5. Under Schedule, select how often you want the OER Harvester to check for new OER.
  6. Select a category for OER releases. The category should normally be accessible to all users of your platform. Selecting a category in the public area is also possible so that visitors from the WWW can access your OER.
  7. Select the licenses you want to use. The OER Harvester will only collect materials published under the selected licenses.
  8. Click on the Save button.
  9. ILIAS will accept your entries. You need to activate the cron job now so that the OER Harvester works regularly.
  10. Click the Activate link in the Actions column in the OER Harvester row.
  11. ILIAS will prompt you to confirm the activation.
  12. Click the Activate button.

The OER Harvester is active and collects the published OER on your platform at the specified interval.

Note: ILIAS currently only collects files in the OER category. Other object types are not currently supported.

How do I publish my materials as OER?

You want to publish your materials as OER.

Prerequisite: You have created the materials and have the right to release them.

  1. Follow the instructions in this article to provide appropriate copyright information.
  2. If the OER Harvester is active on your platform, your files will be automatically collected under the OER license. To prevent this exceptionally, check the Ignored by OER Harvester checkbox.

Entering LOM metadata

Enter the essential LOM metadata in a quick edit.

This feature allows you to quickly and easily enter the most critical and common metadata on just one screen.

  • Note: All the information you enter here, except for the title, is optional.
  • Note: The information you enter in the quick edit will also be found in the individual sub-items. Users with the "visible" right can only view the metadata from the quick edit under the "Info" tab. On the other hand, the other metadata from the various subitems are only visible to their respective authors and administrators.
  1. Enter the title of your object.
  2. Enter a description for your object.
  3. In the Language drop-down menu, select the language of your object's content.
  4. Under Keywords, enter keywords and catchphrases to identify the content of your object. You can add more keywords using the small + icon.
  5. Under Authors, enter the author of the object. You can include multiple authors separated by commas.
  6. Under Copyright, enter the desired copyright handling.
    Note: You can activate a preselection of several Creative Commons licenses recommended by ILIAS in the administration of your installation.
  7. Under Typical learning time, specify the time typically required to edit your object.
  8. Click Save to apply your changes.
  9. ILIAS will report, "Your changes have been saved."

Entering further metadata according to the LOM standard

Beyond quick editing, you can enter complete metadata in ILIAS according to the LOM standard. These are only visible to their respective authors and administrators. You can reach the input masks via the selection menu Area directly below the metadata tab and the link bar.

You can add the following metadata records:

General: This area includes the metadata title, short description, keywords, scope, and structure of your learning objectives.

  • Note: The item Identifier is handled internally by ILIAS. However, it is possible to add further identifiers to catalog your objects.
  • Lifecycle: This section includes metadata about the version of your learning object, the status (draft, final, revised), and the contributing entities (e.g., authors or editors).
  • Meta metadata: This area includes metadata about the metadata itself, i.e., the author, the metadata standard used (currently LOM v 1.0 in ILIAS), and an identifier for cataloging.
  • Technical data: This area includes metadata about file format and size, the location of the source (e.g., the reference of a source on the Internet), and technical requirements for the operating system and browser.
  • Pedagogy: This area includes metadata about didactics and pedagogy. You can provide information on the type of learning tool (exercise, questionnaire, exam, reading, etc.), the type of interactivity (active, explanatory, or mixed), the level of interactivity (very low to very high), the semantic density (very low to very high), the role of the intended end users (teacher, author, learner, manager), the context (school, college, professional training, or other), the difficulty (very low to very high), and the typical learning duration.

Rights and Licenses: This section includes metadata about copyright or other legal restrictions.

  • Note: You can activate a preselection of several Creative Commons licenses recommended by ILIAS in the administration of your installation.
  • Relationship: This area includes metadata about the relationship of your learning object to other objects, for example, as part of a collection, as a preceding or succeeding object, and so on.
  • Annotation: This area includes annotations about your learning objectives.
  • Classification: This area includes metadata about taxonomies and classifications into which your learning object falls (e.g., biology systematics and information about access restrictions or required security levels).

Multilingual LOM metadata and multilingual objects.

Adding LOM metadata in additional languages

You want to add metadata (description or keyword) in additional languages.

  1. You are in the Metadata tab in the LOM sub-tab.
  2. In the Area drop-down menu, select General.
  3. Click on the Show button.
  4. ILIAS opens the corresponding metadata area.
  5. In the General drop-down menu, select the Keyword or Description item to add it in another language.
  6. Click on the Add button.
  7. ILIAS accepts the entries and reloads the page.
  8. Fill in the newly created input field Keyword or Description.
  9. Select the new language in the associated drop-down menu.
  10. Click on the Save button.
  11. ILIAS reports, "Your changes have been saved."

Marking a multilingual learning object accordingly

You want to mark a multilingual learning object in the metadata accordingly.

  1. You are in the Metadata tab in the LOM sub-tab.
  2. In the Area drop-down menu, select General.
  3. Click the Show button.
  4. ILIAS opens the corresponding metadata area.
  5. In the General drop-down menu, select Language.
  6. Click on the Add button.
  7. ILIAS accepts the entries and reloads the page.
  8. Select the new language in the Language area of the drop-down menu.
  9. Click on the Save button.
  10. ILIAS reports, "Your changes have been saved".

Creating custom metadata

What is custom metadata?

Custom metadata goes beyond the standard information provided by the LOM standard:

  • Organizational information about courses: Mark all courses with the metadata "credit points" or "target audience" to maintain and display this information per course.
  • Technical information about devices in a booking pool: Mark out devices present in a booking pool with the metadata "Delivery". For each device, specify whether it is delivered or must be picked up.

There are two different types of custom metadata in ILIAS: global and locally created.

  • Global -  can be used anywhere in ILIAS. Globally created metadata records must be created and enabled by an ILIAS administrator before they can be used within objects. The following object types support global metadata: Booking object in the booking pool, group, category, course, glossary term in glossary, individual assessment, media object in the media pool, organizational unit type in an organizational unit, study program type in the study program, session, exercise, wiki page in the wiki.
  • On the other hand, local is only available in a single object - for example, a single course or wiki. On the other hand, you can create local metadata records, provided you have editing rights to the object in question. The following object types also support local metadata: Booking pool, group, category, course, glossary term in glossary, individual assessment, media object in the media pool, session, exercise, and wiki.

Both types of metadata records can be easily exported and imported as needed.

Enable custom metadata

You want to enable custom metadata for your object.

Procedure:

  1. Open the settings tab of your object.
    Note: In the wiki, you can find this as the Settings link in the Wiki Functions menu on each wiki page.
  2. In the Additional functions section, activate the Custom metadata checkbox.
  3. Click the Save button.
  4. ILIAS activates the custom metadata and reports "Changes saved". A new Metadata tab appears.

Note on usage:

Global custom metadata is only available if the following prerequisites are met:

  • At least one record exists under Metadata in Administration.
  • The record is active, contains fields, and is associated with the desired object type.
  • To check this, contact your technical support if necessary. They can create and activate all required global data records. If you have administrator rights, you can also do this yourself.

You may need to create or import local custom metadata records first.

Create a LOCAL custom metadata record.

You want to create a local metadata record and add fields to it. Attention: The metadata records are only available in the object in which they were created!

Prerequisite: User-defined metadata is already activated.

Step 1: Create a metadata record

  1. Open the Metadata tab.
  2. Click on the Add button.
  3. Enter a title (e.g., "Type of device") and (optionally) a description.
  4. Check the Active checkbox if you want to use the metadata record right away.
    Note: If you do not activate this checkbox, you will not be able to assign metadata to the metadata record!
  5. Click on the Add button.
  6. ILIAS creates the record and reports, "A new record has been created." Your record will now appear in the Custom Metadata Records table.

Step 2: Add fields

  1. Click the Edit Fields link in the table row of your new record.
  2. Select a field type from the drop-down menu. This determines what type of metadata you want to record:
    Text (free entry): users enter a value themselves.
    Date or date and time: Users enter the format DD.MM.YYYY or select from a calendar.
    Selection list (single or multiple selections): Users select from specified values.
    Integer: Users can enter only integer numeric values.
    Floating point: Users can enter values with decimal places.
    Location: The metadata entries are points on a map that users can search for.
  3. Click the Add button.
  4. ILIAS opens a new page.
  5. Enter a title for the field and, optionally, a description. Activate the Searchable checkbox to make the contents of the field searchable, e.g. for page lists in the wiki. In addition, depending on the field type, further specifications are possible or even required:

    Text:
    Maximum length: What is the maximum length of the input in characters?
    Multiline: For longer text fields (more than 30 characters) it makes sense to allow multiline input.     Selection bar (both types)
    Entries: Which entries can be selected from? Add at least two entries, e.g. "Beamer" and "Laptop"

    Integer
    Minimum and maximum value: Limit the possible entries upwards and downwards.
    Suffix: Append e.g. a unit. For example, for a beamer, this could be the resolution in pixels (px).

    Floating point number
    Minimum and maximum value: Limit the input possibilities upwards and downwards.
    Suffix: Append a unit, for example.
    Decimal places: Determine how many decimal places are possible.
  6. Make all necessary entries and click on the Create button.
  7. ILIAS creates the field.

In the next step, you can mark up the individual objects with metadata. The procedure differs depending on the object type.

Create a GLOBAL user-defined metadata record.

You want to create global user-defined metadata records available everywhere in your ILIAS installation.

The administrators of your installation can only create global metadata records.

  • If you have administrator rights, open the Administration tab and click on the Metadata link. Follow the instructions there to create new records.
  • Otherwise, please get in touch with your technical support.

Exporting custom metadata

You want to export a custom metadata record to use it for other objects.

Prerequisite: Custom metadata has already been enabled.

  1. Open the Metadata tab.
  2. Click the Manage metadata records link below the tab.
  3. ILIAS opens a new page and presents the Custom Metadata Records table.
  4. Select the checkbox to the left of the metadata record you want to export. You can also select multiple records.
    Note: At this point, you can only export metadata records created locally. Please contact your technical support if you want to export globally created metadata records (e.g., for use on another ILIAS installation).
  5. Select Export from the drop-down menu above or below the table.
  6. Click on the Execute button.
  7. ILIAS opens a new page and reports, "A new export file has been created".
  8. To download the export file, activate the checkbox to the left of the export file you want to download. You can also select multiple files.
  9. Select Download from the drop-down menu above or below the table.
  10. Click on the Execute button.
  11. ILIAS opens the download dialog of your browser or downloads the file directly.

Note: If you want to delete the export file(s) after the download, proceed as described and select the entry Delete in the export files selection menu.

Import custom metadata

You want to import a user-defined metadata set.

Prerequisite: The user-defined metadata has already been activated.

  1. Open the Metadata tab.
  2. Click the Manage Metadata Records link below the tab.
  3. ILIAS opens a new page and presents the Custom Metadata Records table.
  4. Click the Import button.
  5. ILIAS opens a new page.
  6. Select the export file at hand and click the Import button.
  7. ILIAS imports the metadata record and reports, "A new record has been created."

Tagging objects with user-defined metadata

BOOKING POOL: Marking booking objects with user-defined metadata

You want to mark up a booking object with user-defined metadata.

The prerequisite is ALWAYS: The user-defined metadata has already been activated for your object.

Prerequisite for global metadata records: Your technical support has already created and activated the required records.

Prerequisite for local metadata records: You have already created and activated the required data records.

Booking pool: Marking out individual booking objects

  1. Open the tab Booking objects. This should already contain some booking objects. In the table row of an existing booking object, click on the Edit link in the Actions column.
  2. ILIAS opens the object in edit mode. Scroll to the end of the form.
  3. At the end of the form, you will find input fields for your metadata. The type of these fields depends on the existing metadata records you have created locally or globally.
  4. Click the Save button to apply your entries.

If you have tagged your booking objects with metadata, you can then filter them and display the metadata as separate columns in the list of booking objects.

Marking up courses with user-defined metadata

You want to mark up a course with user-defined metadata. This procedure is always the same - regardless of whether global or local user-defined records are involved.

The prerequisite is ALWAYS: Custom metadata has already been activated for your course.

Prerequisite for global metadata records: Your technical support already created and activated the required data sets. If you have administrator rights, you can also do this yourself.

Prerequisite for local metadata records: You have already created and activated the required data records.

  1. Open the Settings tab of your course.
  2. Click on the link Course info.
  3. Scroll to the bottom of the form. There you will find input fields for your metadata. The number and type of these fields depend on your existing metadata records, which you have created locally or globally.
  4. Make the desired entries.
  5. Click on the Save button.
  6. ILIAS will accept your entries. The metadata will now be visible to all course participants in the Info tab. Depending on your settings in the administration, they will also appear in the Repository below the course title.

Mark CATEGORIES with user-defined metadata

You want to mark up a category with user-defined metadata. This procedure is always the same - whether you are dealing with global or local user-defined records.

The prerequisite is ALWAYS: Custom metadata has already been enabled for your category.

Prerequisite for global metadata records: Your technical support has already created and activated the required records. If you have administrator rights, you can also do this yourself.

Prerequisite for local metadata records: You have already created and activated the required data sets.

  1. Open the Metadata tab of your category.
  2. ILIAS opens the page "User-defined metadata". There you will find input fields for your metadata. The number and type of these fields depends on your existing metadata records, which you have created locally or globally.
  3. Make the desired entries.
  4. Click on the Save button.
  5. ILIAS will accept your entries. The metadata will now be visible to all users in the Info tab. Depending on your settings in the administration, they will also appear in the Repository below the title of your category.

GLOSSARY: Mark up terms with user-defined metadata

You want to mark up a glossary term with user-defined metadata. This procedure is always the same - whether you are dealing with global or local user-defined records.

The prerequisite is ALWAYS: The user-defined metadata has already been activated for your wiki.

Prerequisite for global metadata records: Your technical support has already created and activated the required datasets. If you have administrator rights, you can also do this yourself.

Prerequisite for local metadata records: You have already created and activated the required data records.

  1. Open the glossary in the edit view and click on the Terms tab.
  2. Open the Actions menu to the right of a [could not resolve link target: il_6127_git_43] .
  3. Click the [could not resolve link target: il_6127_git_43] edit entry.
  4. Below the term and language, you can now enter any active metadata for your glossary.
  5. Make the desired entries by entering text or making a selection.
  6. Click on the Save button.
  7. ILIAS accepts your entries and reports: "Changes saved".

If you have marked glossary terms with metadata, you can filter them by these in the presentation mode. Thus, it is possible to easily find glossary terms or display groups of terms in a bundle.

WIKI: Mark up wiki pages with user-defined metadata

You want to mark up a wiki page with user-defined metadata. This procedure is always the same - whether you are dealing with global or local user-defined records.

The prerequisite is ALWAYS: The custom metadata has already been activated for your wiki.

Prerequisite for global metadata records: Your technical support has already created and activated the required datasets. If you have administrator rights, you can also do this yourself.

Prerequisite for local metadata records: You have already created and activated the required data records.

  1. Open the desired wiki page.
  2. You have two options for editing the metadata:
    Click on the small gear icon to the right of the page content in the associated metadata block. Click on the Edit entry.
    Note: This function is only available if the metadata for this wiki page is displayed and the desired metadata record is active. You can edit your metadata records.
    Open the Metadata tab.
  3. ILIAS opens the metadata editing page for the selected wiki page. The metadata set(s) activated for this wiki and their respective properties with text entry fields or drop-down lists are displayed.
  4. Make the desired entries by entering text or making a selection.
  5. Click on the Save button.
  6. ILIAS accepts your entries, returns to the associated wiki page, and displays the corresponding information in the metadata block on the right.

Note: If you have marked wiki pages with metadata, you can display all pages with the same metadata bundled together. This is done with the help of so-called page lists, which you can insert anywhere on a wiki page.

WIKI: Editing custom metadata records

You want to change the user-defined metadata records in your wiki.

Prerequisite: custom metadata is already created and activated.

  1. Click on the Settings link in the Wiki Functions block.
  2. ILIAS opens a new page.
  3. Open the Metadata tab.
  4. ILIAS displays the Custom metadata records table.
  5. You have several editing options:

Edit the record

(title, description, and active):

  1. Click the Edit link in the table row of the desired record.
  2. ILIAS opens the Edit record table.
  3. Make your settings.
  4. Click Save.

Change the order of the records:

  1. Click the sort arrow of a table heading.
  2. Click Save.

Edit individual fields

(Searchable, title, description, and field type specifics):

  1. Click the Edit Fields link in the table row of the desired record.
  2. ILIAS opens the Edit Fields table.
  3. Make your settings optionally using the Edit link in the table row of the desired field.
    Note: The field type cannot be changed. If you want to change the field type, add a new field.
  4. Click Save.

Change the order of the fields:

  1. Click the Edit Fields link in the table row of the desired record.
  2. ILIAS opens the Edit Fields table.
  3. Adjust the order by entering appropriate numbering in the text entry fields in the Position column (for example, "01" through "10" for ten titles) or click the sort arrow of a heading.
  4. Click Save.

WIKI: Show and hide custom metadata

You want to show or hide the custom metadata on a wiki page.

Note: You can only show or hide the entire metadata. You cannot show or hide the individual metadata blocks individually.

Prerequisite: Custom metadata has already been created and activated.

You want to hide the custom metadata of a wiki page.

  1. Open the desired wiki page.
  2. Click the small gear icon to the right of the page content in the associated metadata block.
  3. Click on the Hide entry.
  4. ILIAS reloads the page and hides all metadata blocks of the page. ILIAS reports, "The settings have been saved".

You want to show the custom metadata of a wiki page.

  1. Open the desired wiki page.
  2. In the Wiki Functions block, click the Actions link for the page.
  3. ILIAS opens a selection menu.
  4. Click on the entry Show extended metadata.
  5. ILIAS reloads the page and shows all metadata blocks of the page. ILIAS reports, "The settings have been saved".