This Draft for Development provides general information about the
DD 8788-3 (UKLeaP) specification to help decision makers to develop,
select or implement software making use of learner information. It
provides those responsible for managing development and
implementation of such software with guidance on how to make
effective use of DD 8788-2.
This guide identifies how DD 8788-3 can be used to support simple
implementations and how these may be further developed to meet more
complex needs, such as the emerging need for lifelong learner records,
referring to DD 8788-2.
NOTE 1 This guide takes specific account of the need to ensure that initial
implementations form an effective basis for meeting long term needs.
This guide provides contextual information and recommendations for
how to deploy DD 8788-2 and DD 8788-3, including the circumstances
when each will be most relevant.
DD 8788-1 covers:
— the means by which learner information can be packaged in
order to be exchanged with disparate systems using DD 8788-3;
— the flexible use of DD 8788-2 to support the development of
both simple and complex learner information packages;
— the extensibility offered by the specification;
— the use of bindings;
— the policy and business cases for the use of the specification.
NOTE 2 DD 8788-3 specifies the information model to provide a normative structure
which learner information packages can follow. The XML bindings used in the examples
throughout this standard are not part of the specification, are not normative and do not
exclude the use of other bindings, such as a web services binding, which may be best
adapted to some implementations.
DD 8788-1 does not address:
— the structure of the server system providing learner
information;
— the processing of learner information, other than for
exchange;
— possible and probable future developments such as web
services;
— accessibility issues;
— vocabulary issues, beyond those required for initial
implementations.
NOTE 3 Although future developments are not explicitly addressed in this guide, the
specification in DD 8788-3 is expressed in a way which is intended to facilitate the
incorporation of likely developments, such as implementation within a web services
architecture, into the specification and therefore into implementations of the
specification. DD 8788-2, A.2 reviews current IMS developments.
NOTE 4 DD 8788-2 and DD 8788-3 express structures using the conventions provided
by UML [3] since these same conventions will be used by the other specifications with
which this standard will interoperate to support complex learner information packages,
such as are required for e-portfolio. This also facilitates the development of a web
services binding for the specification. This does not imply that users of DD 8788 are
required to follow UML conventions.
NOTE 5 DD 8788-2, Annex E provides information and a simple code of practice to
support initial implementations. The same controlled vocabularies required to make
effective use of the specification will often also be used by other standards and
specifications. This issue is not addressed by DD 8788.