glossary of terms used in the Gateway

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

A

abstract

The «abstract» element contains a summary of the content of the resource. [A sub-element (refinement) of the «description» element.]

academic standard

Standards: Rules, principles, or criteria by which levels or degrees of adequacy, acceptability, quantity, quality, or value are measured or judged; Academic Standards: criteria established by an educational institution to determine levels of student achievement. [ERIC] Resources that are designed to guide or outline either the material to be covered at certain levels or the skills and knowledge that students should demonstrate at certain levels. Examples include state curriculum guides, benchmarks, and standards documents. [ENC] See from standard (academic)

alternative

Any form of the title used as a substitute or alternative to the formal title of the resource being described is recorded in the «alternative» element. [A sub-element (refinement) of the «title» element.]

annotator

The «annotator» element is used to identify a person who writes manuscript annotations on a printed item. [A sub-element (refinement) of the «contributor» element.]

application profile

A form of compound metadata schema that includes one or more metadata elements drawn from one or more independent schemas and may include restrictions and guidelines regarding the use of those elements in a well-defined context. [adapted from NSDL]

artist

The «artist» element is used to identify a person (e.g., a painter) who conceives, and perhaps also implements, an original graphic design or work of art. [A sub-element (refinement) of the «contributor» element.]

assessment

The «assessment» element contains a designation of the student assessment method used by the resource. [A sub-element (refinement) of the «pedagogy» element.]

audience

The «audience» element contains words and phrases that describe a characteristic of the persons or groups of persons for whom the resource being described is intended or useful.

author

The «author» element is used to identify a person or corporate body chiefly responsible for the intellectual or artistic content of a work, usually printed text. This term may also be used when more than one person or body bears such responsibility. [A sub-element (refinement) of the «contributor» element.]

available

The «available» element contains a date (often a date range) that the resource will become or did become available. [A sub-element (refinement) of the «date» element.]

B

beneficiary

Words or phrases describing the ultimate beneficiary of the resource (e.g., "Learning disabled students") are included in the «beneficiary» element. For an example listing of «beneficiary» terms, see the GEM «beneficiary» Vocabulary. [A sub-element (refinement) of the «audience» element.]

C

cartographer

The «cartographer» element is used to identify a person responsible for the creation of maps and other cartographic materials. [A sub-element (refinement) of the «contributor» element.]

cataloging

The «cataloging» element contains information about the individual and/or agency that created the GEM catalog record.

composer

The «composer» element is used to identify a person who creates a musical work, usually a piece of music in manuscript or printed form. [A sub-element (refinement) of the «contributor» element.]

conditional

In GEM schema documentation, an obligation designation of "conditional" means that the existence of a value for an element or element refinement is conditioned upon the existence (or absence) of some other value in a different metadata element of the record in order for it to be included in The Gateway^SM. See also, mandatory and optional

conforms to

The «conformsTo» element contains a reference to an established standard to which the resource conforms (e.g., a state academic standard). [A sub-element (refinement) of the «relation» element.]

contributor

The «contributor» element describes an organization or person(s) responsible for making contributions to the content of the resource. Typically, the name of a contributor is used. In the GEM Gateway, the Dublin Core «creator» element is not used. Instead, the «creator» element refinement of «contributor» is used to identify this role.

correlator

The «correlator» element contains the name of a person or organization (or both) that has mapped (correlated) the resource being described to an academic standard. See also, «standard» element.

coverage

The «coverage» element describes the extent or scope of the content of the resource. Coverage will typically include spatial location (a place name or geographic coordinates), temporal period (a period label, date, or date range) or jurisdiction (such as a named administrative entity). Frequently terms are selected from a controlled vocabulary (for example, the Thesaurus of Geographic Names [TGN]) and that, where appropriate, named places or time periods be used in preference to numeric identifiers such as sets of coordinates or date ranges.

created

The «created» element describes the date of creation of the resource. [A sub-element (refinement) of the «date» element.]

creator

The «creator» element is used to identify a person or corporate body responsible for the intellectual or artistic content of a work. [A sub-element (refinement) of the «contributor» element.]

crosswalk

The process of translating metadata from one schema to another with the goal of relating elements from the two schemas that have more-or-less similar semantics. [adapted from NSDL] Also used to name the product of the crosswalking process. See from, metadata crosswalk

D

date

The «date» element contains information describing a date associated with an event in the life cycle of the resource.

description

The «description» element contains an account of the content of the resource. It may include, but is not limited to: an abstract, table of contents, reference to a graphical representation of content or a free-text account of the content.

duration

The «duration» element contains the recommended time or number of sessions needed to effectively use the entity being described in a learning experience.

E

editor

The «editor» element is used to identify a person who prepares for publication a work not primarily his/her own, such as by elucidating text, adding introductory or other critical matter, or technically directing an editorial staff. [A sub-element (refinement) of the «contributor» element.]

element

A named component or portion of a metadata description, sometimes a field or facet, such as 'title' or 'contributor'. [NSDL] An Element is a property of a resource. As intended here, 'properties' are attributes of resources—characteristics that a resource may "have", such as a Title, Publisher, or Subject. [DCMI] See also, facet and property; See from, metadata element.

element refinement

An element refinement is a property of a resource that shares the meaning of a particular DCMI property but with narrower semantics. Since element refinements are properties, they can be used in metadata descriptions independently of the properties they refine. In DCMI practice, an element refinement refines just one parent DCMI property.[DCMI] See from, qualifier

encoding scheme

Encoding scheme is the generic term for vocabulary encoding scheme and syntax encoding scheme.

encoding scheme URI

An encoding scheme URI is a URI that identifies an encoding scheme.

essential resources

The «essential resources» element contains a brief free-text listing of materials essential to the successful use of the entity by the teacher as stated in the entity being described.

extent

The «extent» element contains a description of the size or duration of the resource. [A sub-element (refinement) of the «format» element.]

F

facet

A facet is a metadata element or property that the GEM Consortium has selected to use in the GEM retrieval engine for purposes of browsing. In GEM documentation, element names are enclosed in double angle brackets (« »)–e.g., «subject», «level», «keywords», and «price code» etc.

format

The «format» element contains a description of the physical or digital manifestation of the resource. Typically, «format» may include the media-type or dimensions of the resource. «format» may be used to determine the software, hardware or other equipment needed to display or operate the resource. Recommended best practice is to select a value from controlled vocabulary (for example, the list of Internet Media Types [MIME] defining computer media formats).

G

gem record

A GEM record is a set of metadata elements made of descriptive statements regarding the attributes of a single educational resource. See also element, facet.

grouping

The «grouping» element contains a description of any student grouping used in the process of teaching and learning. [A sub-element (refinement) of the «pedagogy» element.]

H

has bibliographic info

The «has bibliographic information» element contains a reference to a resource that contains bibliographic information for the resource being described. [A sub-element (refinement) of the «relation» element.]

has format

The described resource pre-existed the referenced resource, which is essentially the same intellectual content presented in another format. The «has format» element contains a reference to that resource. [A sub-element (refinement) of the «relation» element.]

has part

The described resource includes the referenced resource either physically or logically and the «has part» element contains a reference to that resource. [A sub-element (refinement) of the «relation» element.]

has version

The described resource has a version, edition, or adaptation and a reference to that version, edition, or adaptation is captured in the «has version» element. [A sub-element (refinement) of the «relation» element.]

I

identifier

The «identifier» element contains a string or number used to uniquely identify the resource. Examples for networked resources include URLs and URNs (when implemented). Other globally-unique identifiers, such as International Standard Book Numbers (ISBN) or other formal names would also be candidates for this element in the case of off-line resources.

illustrator

The «illustrator» element is used to identify a person who conceives, and perhaps also implements, a design or illustration, usually to accompany a written text. [A sub-element (refinement) of the «contributor» element.]

interviewee

The «interviewee» element is used to identify a person who is interviewed at a consultation or meeting, usually by a reporter, pollster, or some other information gathering agent. [A sub-element (refinement) of the «contributor» element.]

interviewer

The «interviewer» element is used to identify a person who acts as a reporter, pollster, or other information gathering agent in a consultation or meeting involving one or more individuals. [A sub-element (refinement) of the «contributor» element.]

is agency review

The resource being referenced in the «agency review» element is an agency review of the resource being described. [A sub-element (refinement) of the «relation» element.]

is child of

The described resource is lower in some arbitrary hierarchy than the resource being referenced. The «child of» element contains a reference to that resource. [A sub-element (refinement) of the «relation» element.]

is content rating

The resource referenced in the «content rating» element is, or contains, a rating of the content of the resource being described. [A sub-element (refinement) of the «relation» element.]

is critical review

The resource being referenced in the «critical review» element provides a review of the resource being described. [A sub-element (refinement) of the «relation» element.]

is data for

The resource being referenced in the «data» element provides a data set or programs for the resource being described. [A sub-element (refinement) of the «relation» element.]

is derived from

The described resource is derived from the resource being referenced. The «derived from» element contains a reference to that resource. [A sub-element (refinement) of the «relation» element.]

is format of

The described resource has the same intellectual content as the referenced resource, but is presented in another format. The «is format of» element contains a reference to that resource. [A sub-element (refinement) of the «relation» element.]

is order info

The resource being referenced in the in the «order information» element contains ordering information for the resource being described. [A sub-element (refinement) of the «relation» element.]

is overview

The resource being described is overviewed in the resource referenced in the «overview» element. [A sub-element (refinement) of the «relation» element.]

is parent of

The described resource is higher in some arbitrary hierarchy than the resource being referenced. The «parent of» element contains a reference to that resource. [A sub-element (refinement) of the «relation» element.]

is part of

The described resource is a physical or logical part of the referenced resource and the «part of» element contains a reference to that resource. [A sub-element (refinement) of the «relation» element.]

is peer review

The resource being referenced in the «peer review» element is, or contains, a peer review or set of peer reviews of the resource being described. [A sub-element (refinement) of the «relation» element.]

is quality score

The cumulative score resulting from user feedback indicating the quality of the resource being described for its intended purpose is referenced in the «quality score» element. [A sub-element (refinement) of the «relation» element.]

is referenced by

The described resource is referenced, cited, or otherwise pointed to by the referenced resource. [A sub-element (refinement) of the «relation» element.]

is replaced by

The described resource is supplanted, displaced, or superceded by the referenced resource and the «replaced by» element contains a reference to that resource. [A sub-element (refinement) of the «relation» element.]

is required by

The described resource is required by the referenced resource, either physically or logically and the «required by» element contains a reference to that (requiring) resource. [A sub-element (refinement) of the «relation» element.]

is revision history

The resource being referenced in the «revision history» element provides a history of revisions made to the resource being described. [A sub-element (refinement) of the «relation» element.]

is sibling of

The described resource is at the same level in some arbitrary hierarchy as the referenced resource and the «sibling of» element contains a reference to that resource. [A sub-element (refinement) of the «relation» element.]

is site criteria

The resource being referenced in the «site criteria» element is the site criteria used in selecting the resource being described. [A sub-element (refinement) of the «relation» element.]

is source of

The resource being referenced in the «source of» element is the published source from which the resource being described is extracted or excerpted. [A sub-element (refinement) of the «relation» element.]

is sponsored by

The resource being referenced in the «sponsored by» element provides financial support for the resource or entity being described. [A sub-element (refinement) of the «relation» element.]

is user review

The resource being referenced in the «user review» element is a user review, or set of user reviews of the resource being described. [A sub-element (refinement) of the «relation» element.]

is version of

The «version of» element contains a reference to a version, edition, or adaptation of the referenced resource. Changes in version imply substantive changes in content rather than differences in format. [A sub-element (refinement) of the «relation» element.]

issued

The «issued» element contains the date of formal issuance (e.g., publication) of the resource. [A sub-element (refinement) of the «date» element.]

J

K

keywords

Words or phrases representing the subject or "aboutness" of the resource including proper nouns that are taken freely from the resource itself by the indexer (e.g., "Christopher Columbus", "Pythagorean Theorem"). Keywords are assigned to the «subject» element. Since keywords are freely assigned to the metadata, they are not drawn from any vocabulary encoding scheme.

L

language

The «language» element describes the language of the intellectual content of the resource.

level

Many educational resources are intended for use with students or trainees at a certain level in a formal educational or training system (e.g., "2nd grade", "higher education", or "vocational education"). Such designations of the intended level for a resource are included in the «level» element. For an example listing of «level» terms, see the GEM «level» Vocabulary. [A sub-element (refinement) of the «audience» element.]

license

A legal document giving official permission to do something with the resource.

M

mandatory

In GEM schema documentation, an obligation designation of "mandatory" means that a valid value for an element or element refinement is required in a metadata record in order for that record to be included in The Gateway^SM. See also, optional and conditional

mediator

On occasion, a resource requires a person in the form of a teacher or trainer to mediate between the resource and the ultimate beneficiary (e.g., a "lesson plan" is intended to be used by a teacher for the benefit of students and not by students directly). Words or phrases characterizing such intermediaries are included under the «mediator» element. For an example listing of «beneficiary» terms, see the GEM «mediator» Vocabulary. [A sub-element (refinement) of the «audience» element.]

medium

The material or physical carrier of the resource such as a CD-ROM or a floppy disk. (Not to be confused with the «format» of the resource such as an HTML or a .gif image file). [A sub-element (refinement) of the «format» element.]

metadata

Metadata are standardized descriptions of resources, whether digital or physical, that aid in the provision of digital library services and the administration of those resources. [NSDL]

metadata crosswalk

See, crosswalk

metadata distribution

The deliberate act by which the GEM Administrative Group or a third party makes all or a substantial part of a compilation of metadata records making up the GEM metadata repository digitally available to others through any means of aggregate (batch) dissemination of metadata records now known or later devised, including the Open Archives Initiative (OAI) protocol for metadata harvesting. [adapted from NSDL]

metadata element

A metadata element is a named component or portion of a metadata description, sometimes a field or facet, such as 'title' or 'contributor'. [NSDL] Within DCMI, element is typically used as a synonym for property. However, it should be noted that the word element is also commonly used to refer to a structural markup component within an XML document.

metadata schema

See schema

modified

The «modified» element contains a date on which the resource was changed. [A sub-element (refinement) of the «date» element.]

N

name authority file

A file containing records of contact information for agents («contributor», «publisher», «creator», «cataloging organization» etc.) described in a GEM record that can be referenced by means of a URI.

narrator

The «narrator» element is used to identify a speaker who relates the particulars of an act, occurrence, or course of events. [See from, «marc_narrator»]

O

obligation

In GEM schema documentation, an "obligation" is one of the categories of information used to describe an element or element refinement in an application profile. The "obligation" information states whether the existence of the element or a valid element value is mandatory, optional, or conditional for that record to be compliant with the application profile.

optional

In GEM schema documentation, an obligation designation of "optional" means that an element or element refinement is not required in a metadata record in order for that record to be included in The Gateway^SM. See also, mandatory and conditional

P

pedagogy

The «pedagogy» element contains a description of the teaching methods and procedures explicitly used in the resource being described.

photographer

The «photographer» element is used to identify a person or organization responsible for taking photographs, whether they are used in their original form or as reproductions. [See from, «marc_photographer»]

placed online

The «placed online» element contains the date the resource being described was placed online. [A sub-element (refinement) of the «date» element.]

platform

The «platform» element contains a description of the computing platform of the content (e.g., the required operating system or computer application for the resource). [A sub-element (refinement) of the «format» element.]

prerequisite

The «prerequisites» element contains statements of knowledge, skills or habits of mind that the audience for the resource must demonstrate in order to be successfully engaged by the resource. On occasion, the prerequisite knowledge may be framed in terms of academic content standards promulgated by a national, state, or local organization—e.g., the Principles and Standards for School Mathematics promulgated by the National Council of the Teachers of Mathematics. [A sub-element (refinement) of the «audience» element.] For knowledge or habits of mind that are the achievement goals of the resource being described, see academic standards.

price code

Not all resources described in GEM can be accessed from the publisher's Web site free of charge. The «price code» contains a description of the fee status of the resource (e.g., "Free", "Partially free", "Not free"). [A sub-element (refinement) of the «rights» element.]

property

An attribute or characteristic of the resource being described. In Resource Description Framework (RDF), a property is equivalent to an element in the context of the Dublin Core Metadata Initiative.

provenance

A statement of any changes in ownership and custody of the resource since its creation that are significant for its authenticity, integrity and interpretation.

public identifier (public ID)

The «public Id» element contains any publicly recognized designation that serves to uniquely identify the resource (e.g., ISBN, ISSN, etc.). [A sub-element (refinement) of the «identifier» element.]

publisher

The «publisher» element contains the name of an entity responsible for making the resource available.

Q

qualifier

See element refinement

R

record created

The «record created date» element contains the date the metadata record was created or last modified. [A sub-element (refinement) of the «date» element.]

references

The described resource references, cites, or otherwise points to the referenced resource and the «references» element contains a reference to that resource. [A sub-element (refinement) of the «relation» element.]

related external resource

A document on an external Web site that is related through keywords to the document being viewed.

related local resource

A document on the GEM site that is related through keywords to the document being viewed.

relation

The «relation» element contains a reference to a related resource.

replaces

The described resource supplants, displaces, or supersedes the referenced resource and the «replaces» element contains a reference to that supplanted, displaced, or superseded resource. [A sub-element (refinement) of the «relation» element.]

requires

The described resource requires the referenced resource to support its function, delivery, or coherence of content and the «requires» element contains a reference to that required resource. [A sub-element (refinement) of the «relation» element.]

resource type

See type.

reviewer

The «reviewer» element is used to identify a person or corporate body responsible for the review of book, motion picture, performance, etc. [A sub-element (refinement) of the «contributor» element.]

rights

The resource being referenced in the «rights» element contains information about rights held in the resource being described as well as information regarding limitations on access to that recource. Typically, a «rights» element will contain a rights management statement for the resource, or reference a service providing such information. Rights information often encompasses intellectual property rights (IPR) and various property pights. If the Rights element is absent, no assumptions can be made about the status of these and other rights with respect to the resource.

rights holder

A person or organization owning or managing rights over the resource.

S

schema

A [metadata] schema is a bounded set of clearly defined and clearly named metadata elements together with rules or constraints regarding their use and syntax. For example the 15 elements of the Dublin Core Metadata Element Set, the GEM element set and the IEEE Learning Object Metadata (LOM) are metadata schemas. [adapted from NSDL] See from metadata schema

sdn

See site document number

sid

See source identifier.

site document number

The «site document number» element contains a Consortium member's unique identifier for the resource in the Consortium member's collection. See from «sdn». [A sub-element (refinement) of the «identifier» element.]

source identifier

The «source identifier» element contains a unique identifier assigned by the GEM Consortium to a Consortium member source of resources. See from «sid». [A sub-element (refinement) of the «identifier» element.]

spatial

The «spatial» element contains information describing geographic characteristics of the intellectual content of the resource; e.g., "France" or "New York City", and, as such, are a specialized form of subject description. [A sub-element (refinement) of the «coverage» element.]

sponsor

The «sponsor» element is used to identify the person or agency that issued a contract or under the auspices of which a work has been written, printed, published, etc. [A sub-element (refinement) of the «contributor» element.]

standard

The «standard» element contains information describing a state (USA), national, or local academic standard mapped (correlated) to the entity being described.

standard (academic)

See academic standard

subject

The «subject» element contains words or phrases assigned by the indexer from controlled subject vocabularies such as the GEM Subject Vocabulary and the Thesaurus of ERIC Descriptors. For an example listing of «subject» terms, see the GEM «subject» Vocabulary. See also, keywords» element.

syntax encoding scheme

A syntax encoding scheme indicates that the value string is formatted in accordance with a formal notation, such as "2000-01- 01" as the standard expression of a date.

T

table of contents

The «table of contents» element contains a list of subunits of the content of the resource. [A sub-element (refinement) of the «description» element.]

teaching method

The «teaching method» element contains a description of the teaching method. [A sub-element (refinement) of the «pedagogy» element.]

temporal

The «temporal» element contains words and phrases that describe temporal (time) characteristics of the intellectual content of the resource; e.g., "16th century", and, as such, are a specialized form of subject description. [A sub-element (refinement) of the «coverage» element.]

title

The «title» element contains a name given to the resource. Typically, a title will be a name by which the resource is formally known.

type

The «type» element contains words and phrases that identify the resource in terms of its kind or genre. Examples include "Lesson plan", "Activity", "Project". For an example listing of «type» terms, see the GEM «type» Vocabulary. Information for the «type» element includes terms describing general categories, functions, genres, or aggregation levels for content. For information about the physical or digital manifestation of the described resource, see «format» element.

U

V

valid

The «valid» element contains a date (often a date range) of validity of a resource. [A sub-element (refinement) of the «date» element.]

value

A value is the physical or conceptual entity that is associated with a property when it is used to describe a resource. [DCMI]

value

A value representation is a surrogate for (i.e. a representation of) the value. [DCMI]

value string

A value string is a simple text string that represents the value of a property. In general, a value string should not contain any marked-up text. Thus, in the metadata expression "title=Gone with the Wind", "Gone with the Wind" is the value for the «title» element. [Adapted from DCMI]

value URI

A value URI is a URI that identifies the value of a property. [Adapted from DCMI]

vocabulary encoding scheme

A vocabulary encoding scheme is a class that indicates that the value of a property is taken from a controlled vocabulary (or concept-space), such as the the Library of Congress Subject Headings. [DCMI]

W

webulated

A "webulated" vocabulary is one that is capable of being managed such that term definitions, identity, relationships to other terms, and revision lifecycles can be declared and parsed by the applications that use them.

X

Y

Z