PRE-WORKSHOP
XML: An Overview of eXtensible Markup Language
Jason Varghese, Office of Educational Development and Support, College of Medicine, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, USA
Hands-on. Limited to 8-10 people. All day.
Requirements for the XML preworkshop:
Basic HTML knowledge is required. It would also be useful to
have a basic understanding of the Web client-server architecture. Some
experience with a scripting or programming language such as Javascript or Java
is recommended, but not necessary.
ABSTRACT:
The XML family of standards has recently emerged as a powerful way to structure online information. Like HTML, XML (eXtensible Markup Language) is a new subset of the Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML). However, HTML has several limitations, as its static set of tags is more of a simple page layout language rather than a truly extensible markup language like SGML or XML. XML allows users to define their own discipline-specific tags that they may use to give meaning to their content. Through these custom ìelementî tags, documents can be given machine-readable context that will enable users powerful options view and manipulate content. Additionally, XML has the ability to separate style from data, which will allow media-independent portability (e.g., CD-ROM, hard copy, PDA). In these ways XML will bring more features to the web as it provides a more powerful framework to visualize, manage and share information.
XML is a more efficient way of delivering online educational content as it provides instructors the ability to define the content and scope of their web pages, allowing more precise searching and more advanced linking within and among courses. When fully implemented across the curriculum it will allow schools to better understand the information they are teaching by revealing discrepancies, duplications, and new relationships between courses and topics. Future applications could include tutorials that automatically create quiz questions based on their content and documents that enable students to view concepts from a variety of perspectives.
BENEFIT TO PARTICIPANTS ATTENDING SESSION:
This workshop will give interested participants a general overview of the XML language. Individuals will able to understand the basic structure of XML documents. In addition, participants will gain an increased understanding about the benefits of working with XML.
Jason Varghese
University of Oklahoma
Health Sciences Center
Office of Educational Development and Support College of Medicine
941 Stanton L. Young Blvd. Room 100
Basic Sciences Education Building
PO Box 26901
Oklahoma City, OK 73190
Phone: 405-271-9333 x48529
Fax: 405-271-9334
Email: Jason-Varghese@ouhsc.edu
Website: http://www.healcentral.org