15 March 2006 i PENS v1.0.0
Specification for Learning Technology—
Package Exchange Notification Services (PENS)
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Abstract:
This specification describes a protocol to support a notification service to announce the loca-
tion of content package(s) that are available for transport. The intent is to automate the notifi-
cation, transfer and delivery confirmation of content packages between tools or systems that
generate content and systems that manage, publish or deliver content. The scope of the speci-
fication is specifically constrained to the notification request, package transfer and related re-
sponses. Specifically outside the scope of this specification are mechanisms for physical
deployment of content packages, content management, version control, publication or revoca-
tion of content.
Keywords:
CBT, CMI, CMS, content management, content package, e-learning, LCMS, LMS, notifica-
tion service, package exchange, PENS.
Introduction
The purpose of this specification is to fill a gap that currently exists between the creation of
content packages by “content authors” and the deployment of those content packages on
LMSs by “LMS administrators” where learners may ultimately have access to them. Without
a specification that addresses this gap, the concept of shared content is incomplete: LMSs do
not have a means to obtain newly developed, revised or updated content.
This specification aims to provide a mechanism whereby content that is capable of being
shared can be deployed and thus actually shared in practice. It describes a notification scheme
that will enable a content creator’s authoring system to announce that a content package is
available and ready for transport from a location that it will provide.
The acronym for this specification is PENS: Package Exchange Notification Services. The
PENS data model may be extended in the future to include commands in addition to the cur-
rent “collect” command, which is the first service to be defined. Data elements and value
spaces can be extended as driven by needs and determined in the future by the community of
users.
The scope of the specification is specifically constrained to the notification request, package
transfer and related responses. PENS addresses neither version control nor content manage-
ment; there are no PENS commands to require the recipient to remove, replace, or update ex-
isting packages or elements of packages. PENS provides a contact URI (e.g., email address)
for the recipient to contact the requestor, but PENS does not prescribe a specific workflow for
processing of the transferred package. PENS does not require notifications to the requestor,
other than the specific obligatory confirmation. For illustrative purposes, consider a courier
service as a conceptual model for PENS. Two parties may use the courier service as a means
of requesting pick-up, performing transfer, and confirming delivery. However, it is not incum-
bent on the courier to enforce particular post-processing by the recipient. The recipient may
decide to use the parcel as notification to remove something, add the parcel to stock, or replace
Copyright 2005, 2006 by AICC. All rights reserved.
CMI010 Revision 1.0a i