Update 2003-02-17: The OASIS Education XML Technical Committee was formed in 2003-02. See the announcement "Education XML Technical Committee Formed at OASIS."

Affiliates of OpenVES, Sun Microsystems, Computer Associates, and Fujitsu Software Corporation have organized a discussion list for a proposed OASIS edXML Technical Committee. According to the proposal's statement of scope, the edXML group would "embark on a number of initiatives to fast-track the documentation of PK12 educational requirements for XML based markup, controlled vocabularies, ontologies, web services and protocols. It will pursue areas not currently being addressed in other standards communities, and will coordinate with IMS and other groups where important foundation specifications relevant to PK12 are being developed. The edXML community will explore the relationships between other important emerging XML specifications, like ebXML, DSML, SAML, WSRP, WSXL, and PK12 requirements, and create liaisons between them." The group would coordinate and collaborate with other important PK12 initiatives such as OpenVES, EdNA, EUN SchoolNet, CanCore, APEC, Prometeus, CETIS, USoeC, and Achieve.org. It would also "create implementation strategies for web services deployment of PK12 education applications, tools, resources, services, and content, publishing and documenting XML based pattern languages for Collaborative Patterns, Pedagogical Patterns, Learning Patterns and Assessment Patterns for PK12."

Proposed edXML TC activities:

• Coordinate and collaborate with other important PK12 initiatives: OpenVES, EdNA, EUN SchoolNet, CanCore, APEC, Prometeus, CETIS, USoeC, Achieve.org, etc.
• Provide a set of international registries for PK12 subject taxonomies, controlled vocabularies, ontologies, schemas, and best practices
• Work on specifications for Federated PK12 Content Repositories, Subject and Content gateways, and the protocols to support them
• Work on strategies for deep classification of curriculum standards, semantic metadata, and extending the metadata model for PK12 education
• Work on a realization of an XML version of a PK12 directory schema based on DSML and other standards work
• Publish an XML version of the US Department of Education Data Handbooks
• Create implementation strategies and best practices for use and extension of OASIS ebXML specifications for purposes of PK12 eduCommerce
• Create, in coordination with other communities, PK12 specifications for digital rights management, content licensing, and content distribution to support PK12 digital content
• Recommend strategies for exchange protocols for Curriculum, Instruction, Assessment, and Content objects based on SOAP protocols and web services (WSDL)
• Create Implementation strategies for web services deployment of PK12 education applications, tools, resources, services, and content
• Publish and document XML based pattern languages for Collaborative Patterns, Pedagogical Patterns, Learning Patterns and Assessment Patterns for PK12
• Coordinate with the Education Markup Language work of the IMS Learning Design Workgroup to assure that it is extended to address and fully support PK12 requirements
• Assure that embedded educational research and information collection needs are addressed in the design and specification of PK12 markup specifications, ontologies, and vocabularies
• Provide implementation strategies for the integration of the features of the IEEE 1484.7 Tool Agent Protocol into PK12 education specifications
• Create accessibility, personalization, and affinity group XML profiles for PK12 education systems
• Document an implementation of a PPP privacy model for PK12 education
• Document specifications for a modular, portable, and configurable Acceptable Use Policy markup and service definition for use in PK12 education
• Extend existing InetPerson, and EduPerson, user profile specifications to create a k12Person specification for use in PK12 education systems
• Assure that embedded decision support and data collection needs are addressed in the design and specification of PK12 markup specifications, ontologies, and vocabularies

"VES Educational Collaborative is a non profit educational collaborative established in April 2001 under the provisions of Chapter 40 of the General Laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, for the purpose of improving teaching and learning in Massachusetts, through the development, evaluation, and research of the Virtual Education Space (VES) Project in partnership with the Massachusetts Department of Education. VES has been designed by public educators, state education officials, and technical experts to provide teachers, student, and parents with a Web portal containing an integrated suite of tools that will improve their ability to teach students in a standards-based, high-stakes environment." [from the January 16, 2002 PR]