Using facets in GEM (Seamark) navigation.
Facets Described
Facets are a particular kind of metadata element used as browsing categories in the GEM search engine. In general, metadata elements are named characteristics of the resource being described that educator's find useful such as «subject», «title», «publisher» and «audience», to name but a few. From all the metadata elements in GEM resource descriptions, a number have been selected to serve as browsing categories–we call those elements selected facets. Throughout GEM documentation, element names are enclosed in double angle brackets (« & »). Since facets are a form of metadata element, their names also appear within double angle brackets.
| Facet Name | Facet Description |
| «type» | The «type» facet 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. |
| «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"). |
| Audience Characteristics: Many educational resources are designed to meet the needs of a specific category of students or trainees–i.e., specific audiences. The «beneficiary», «mediator» and «level» facets noted below contain terms that describe select audience characteristics of a resource. |
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| «beneficiary» | Words or phrases describing the ultimate beneficiary of the resource (e.g., "Learning disabled students") are included in the «beneficiary» facet. For an example listing of «beneficiary» terms, see the GEM «beneficiary» Vocabulary. |
| «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» facet. For an example listing of «beneficiary» terms, see the GEM «mediator» Vocabulary. |
| «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» facet. For an example listing of «level» terms, see the GEM «level» Vocabulary. |
| Topical Characteristics: «subject» and «keyword» facets noted below contain words and phrases that express some aspect of the topic of the resource. |
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| «subject» | The «subject» facet 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. |
| «keywords» | Words or phrases assigned to the «keywords» facet denote specific topics including proper nouns that are taken freely from the resource itself by the indexer (e.g., "Christopher Columbus", "Pythagorean Theorem"). |
PRAXIS pressure?
