Enabling technologies for developing next-generation learning object repository for construction

The development of learning objects which are smaller chunks of learning content is often time consuming and expensive. Recent efforts in producing learning objects that are reusable and sharable were not very successful due to the lack of interoperability between different learning systems. Semantic Web technologies together with ontologies provide rich medium for facilitating e-learning via the semantic annotated learning objects and shared repositories. However, Semantic Web technologies have not yet been applied widely to deliver learning objects. This paper introduces enabling technologies for developing next-generation learning object repository for construction. Semantic Web, ontology, reasoners, and associated technologies are discussed within the paper. This paper also demonstrates how the ontologies and Semantic Web technologies can be used to develop and deliver intelligent, sharable and dynamic learning objects. The paper also outlines the development of repository using the ontology-driven Semantic Web approach and discusses the construction education ontology and semantic databases.