Today we release the first updates to EdMatrix based on the Data Standards United workgroup report. The taxonomy has been updated to match the recommendations and the existing standards have been recoded to the new data model.

There is still much to do. If you are interested in contributing, please view the How to Contribute page. Here are the upcoming tasks:

• Update the taxonomy description page to match the new vertical dimension of the matrix.
• Add filtering and sorting to the directory including making the matrix clickable.
• Create an additional directory of standards under development or revision and the corresponding workgroups - thereby helping people find where to participate.
• Create a reference page to directories of competency standards including The Achievement Standards Network, the IMS CASE Network, The Credential Registry, MedBiquitous and others.

In November and December 2022 we held a series of discussions around how EdMatrix should be updated and enhanced. Originally I planned to get a report out in January but it’s taken a little longer.

The draft report is now available and ready for review and comments.

The report is posted here.

For reference, the raw notes from the meetings are posted here.

Please consider reviewing the report and offering your feedback.

Today we completed our series of EdMatrix discussions. The meetings have been very successful.

Specific achievements are:

• We confirmed the four-layer framework (the x axis in the matrix) for data standards with no material changes.
• We had very productive discussions about the Learning Technology Taxonomy (the y axis in the matrix) and have refined it considerably from the prior version.
• We have some solid ideas on how to update the visualization of the matrix to accommodate a much larger pool of standards.

We will publish a report in late January and then make plans for deployment of the updates.

Many thanks to Larry Fruth and Data Standards United for organizing the meetings and recruiting an excellent set of experts to inform the work!

Today we held the first of four discussion group meetings to inform the next iteration of EdMatrix. The meetings are being organized by Data Standards United. The four meetings will bi-weekly.

Our goals are:

• Ensure that the EdMatrix directory serves the constituent audiences.
• Refine the taxonomy “buckets” through constructive input from an expert community.
• Develop a visualization that supports inclusion of a large number and variety of learning technology standards.

Today I’m pleased to announce the new Directory of Standards Organizations on EdMatrix. We now have a concise list of organizations that develop learning technology standards.

Selecting the “more” link after the organization description will take you to a dedicated page for that standards organization including a list of the standards listed on EdMatrix that are governed by that organization.

As always, if there’s a standard that you think should be included, or a description that needs improvement, please contribute!

Today, I have posted updated descriptions for A Taxonomy of Education Standards and the Four-Layer Framework for Data Standards. I also added an entry for IEEE LOM.

Coming soon will be a directory of education standards organizations. If you have suggestions, please post them in the issues forum on GitHub.

Today I am finally launching the EdMatrix news feature. Here you will find periodic updates about additions and improvements to the EdMatrix site. You can subscribe by email or RSS using the tools in the upper-right of the News Page. News will be infrequent, 6-8 times a year so you needn’t be worried about a barrage in your inbox.

This is a retrospective post since the news feature wasn’t added to EdMatrix until late August 2019.

No, this is not a solicitation for financial contributions (though I wouldn’t mind). Rather, I am pleased to announce that EdMatrix.org is ready for the community to contribute updates to the directory. Please check out the Contributing Updates page for instructions on how you can help ensure completeness and quality in the EdMatrix.

This is a retrospective post since the news feature wasn’t added to EdMatrix until August 2019.

On July 19 we added a greatly expanded standards table thanks to many peoples’ contributions from ICICLE, the Ed 3.0 Group, Project Unicorn and others. The downside of this is that there are now too many standards to fit on the matrix diagram. For the present, the diagram will represent the most commonly used standards and consolidate multiple standards under the organization that produces them.

The table is now automatically generated from raw data in the _stds folder on the GitHub Repository. A few more standards that require more research before publishing are listed in the stds drafts folder. All of this is designed to facilitate contributions from the Education Technology community.

Long term, I hope that we can dynamically generate the matrix and let users filter for the standards to be included. If you’re proficient at dynamically generating SVG using JavaScript and want to try your hand that this, please contact me in the issues forum.

This is a retrospective post since the news feature wasn’t added to EdMatrix until August 2019.

For the 2019 IEEE ICICLE Conference we coordinated a number of updates to EdMatrix. First, we updated the Taxonomy of Education Standards which makes up the vertical dimension. The new version focuses on data standards with major divisions for Organizational Data and Pedagogical Data and a special category for Foundational Standards. It also includes special categories for Competency & Achievement Standards and for Design & Practice Standards. These latter categories are not data standards but focus on other aspects of the learning experience.

The updates have been well-received but have provoked additional work.

This is a retrospective post since the news feature wasn’t added to EdMatrix until August 2019.

EdMatrix is based on two previous efforts. I developed the Four-Layer Framework for Data Standards in 2012 to support the CEDS Stakeholders’ Group. They were making decisions about the scope of Common Education Data Standards project.

Approximately a year later, I developed A Taxonomy of Education Standards which was used by SETDA in their publication Transforming Data to Information in Service of Learning. Shortly after that, someone asked if the two frameworks could be used and the EdMatrix diagram was born. In 2015 I created EdMatrix.org as a support site where the latest versions of these documents could reside.