Adaptive Digital Resource Modeling as Service Provider and Consumer

Abstract

Abstract-The increase in the production of heterogeneous and multi-source digital data over last years raises several issues regarding their management and use. Hence, users can face some difficulties in selecting the adequate digital resources and combining them to reach their objectives in a given activity. In this paper, we focus on digital resources design and management in order to enhance their retrieval, interoperability, adaptation and collaboration within an adaptive system. In practical terms, our work consists in a new method for digital resource design and management capable of enhancing their usability. It relies on RESTful web service-based methodology and platform thinking approach. We have implemented our method in an interactive and adaptive PLE to assist researchers in using and managing their digital resources, called PRISE for PeRsonal Interactive research Smart Environment. We have also undertaken some experiments with PRISE platform in our laboratory. The result showed that modeling digital resources with RESTful and platform thinking concept enhances digital resource usability in terms of retrieving, interoperability, adaptation and collaboration.Index Terms-Digital resource modeling, usability, interoperability, adaptation, learning platform. I. INTRODUCTIONRecent research studies prove that the rapid growth in the production of digital data gives rise to new issues regarding their management [1], [2]. Information system users face several major challenges in organizing and assessing the relevance of information retrieved from diverse data sources regarding interoperability, adaptation, and discovery. They express the need for a consistent environment with reliable information, which can handle data source multiplicity and heterogeneity. These data should be easy to find, easy to adapt to users' system models, activity contexts and profiles. Let us consider users with different profiles who have access to multiple and heterogeneous data sources. The main problem that arises here is: Can heterogeneous data, from various data sources be integrated into and used in a given user specific environment? In other terms, how to make these data useful in any digital resource management environment?Given that it is very difficult or even impossible for different users with different profiles and evolving in different contexts (system contexts) to have the same environment specification, we are aimed at providing a digital resource model that is easy to manage and integrate into user's environment. This means that each digital Manuscript received on December 5, 2015; revised February 23, 2016. The authors are with the L3i Laboratory of University of La Rochelle, 17000 La Rochelle, France (e-mail: daouda.sawadogo@univ-lr.fr, ronan.champagnat@univ-lr.fr, pascal.estraillier@univ-lr.fr).resource should be delivered and used according to user's characteristics and environment context. This is all the more true when it comes to digital learning environments such as LMS (Learning Management System), MOOC (M...