XML Automated Systems

The following figure describes a content authoring/delivery system for both online and hard copy training deliverables. In this example, light blue indicates tools from Adobe, orange Macromedia, yellow Microsoft, and purple for open source components or outputs. This is only one of many equivalent solutions.

The structured approach to instructional design is seen to have the following benefits[6]:

• The same courses are delivered across multiple media and delivery environments. Just because it happened to be developed by X with Y, this doesn't stand in the way of it being reused in a completely different environment or with different tools.

• The structured development model supports a consistent instructional design and development process. Designers have many new options that come from an efficient production design.

• XML content can be analyzed and repurposed much more efficiently than legacy content. The content does not hide in a forest of words. When needed, new and legacy content can be efficiently blended to create educational tools to suit different needs of different student audiences.

• Learning content is organized for use. Related content is accessible. Related procedures and policies are obvious - as are conflicts and inconsistencies.

• Because the relationships between concepts and ideas are mapped according to the taxonomy by which the content was chunked, identifying content for reuse and the updating of legacy materials is streamlined significantly.

• Conforms to Information Technology standards to ensure portability and long-term use.

There are three steps in the process of implementing an XML content reuse system: 1) Analysis, 2) Chunking, 3) Operation. The process is very simple, in theory:

• A DTD is selected and tested.
• The repository is created using tables that mirror the DTD.
• Legacy content is converted to XML.
• XML content is placed in the repository.
• Users query the database to construct new documents
• Users add new content to the repository as needed.

As mentioned before, the initial analysis is perhaps the most difficult stage of the implementation and it is the one stage that has the most persistent effects. Having once decided upon the one and only way the content will be parsed, staff members are trained carefully in how to accomplish the chunking of legacy content into the system.