ISO/IEC 19780-1:2015

INTERNATIONAL ISO/IEC
STANDARD 19780-1
Second edition
2015-10-15
Information technology —
Learning, education and training
— Collaborative technology
— Collaborative learning
communication —
Part 1:
Text-based communication
Technologies de l’information — Apprentissage, éducation et
formation — Technologie collaborative — Communication
d’apprentissage collaboratif —
Partie 1: Communication à base de texte
Reference number
©
ISO/IEC 2015
© ISO/IEC 2015, Published in Switzerland
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ii © ISO/IEC 2015 – All rights reserved

Contents Page
Foreword .iv
Introduction .v
1 Scope . 1
1.1 Statement of scope . 1
1.2 Excluded subjects and aspects . 1
2 Normative references . 1
3 Terms and definitions . 1
4 Abbreviated terms and acronyms . 2
5 Text-based communication Data Model . 2
5.1 Overview . 2
5.2 Expression Data Model specification . 3
5.3 Supplemental information for the expression Data Model. 9
5.3.1 Data element EX_ID . 9
5.3.2 Data element EX_Title . 9
5.3.3 Aggregating element EX_B-Ref . 9
5.3.4 Data element EX_B-Ref_source . 9
5.3.5 Data element EX_B-Ref_value . 9
5.3.6 Aggregating element EX_A-Ref . 9
5.3.7 Data element EX_A-Ref_source .10
5.3.8 Data element EX_A-Ref_value .10
5.3.9 Data element EX_Time_Date .10
5.3.10 Data element CG_Role_name .10
5.3.11 Data element CG_Role_holder_IDRef .10
5.3.12 Data element CW_ID-Ref .10
5.3.13 Aggregating element EX_Function .11
5.3.14 Data element CE_Tool_name .11
5.3.15 Data element CE_Function_name .11
5.3.16 Data element EX_Reply-to_ID-Ref .11
5.3.17 Data element EX_Relation .11
5.3.18 Data element EX_Relation_ID-Ref.11
5.3.19 Data element EX_Relation_type-source . .11
5.3.20 Data element EX_Relation_type .11
6 Conformance .11
Annex A (informative) Use cases.13
Annex B (informative) Alphabetical list of terms .15
Bibliography .16
© ISO/IEC 2015 – All rights reserved iii

Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) and IEC (the International Electrotechnical
Commission) form the specialized system for worldwide standardization. National bodies that are
members of ISO or IEC participate in the development of International Standards through technical
committees established by the respective organization to deal with particular fields of technical
activity. ISO and IEC technical committees collaborate in fields of mutual interest. Other international
organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO and IEC, also take part in the
work. In the field of information technology, ISO and IEC have established a joint technical committee,
ISO/IEC JTC 1.
The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are
described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular the different approval criteria needed for
the different types of document should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the
editorial rules of the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www.iso.org/directives).
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject
of patent rights. ISO and IEC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent
rights. Details of any patent rights identified during the development of the document will be in the
Introduction and/or on the ISO list of patent declarations received (see www.iso.org/patents).
Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users and does not
constitute an endorsement.
For an explanation on the meaning of ISO specific terms and expressions related to conformity
assessment, as well as information about ISO’s adherence to the WTO principles in the Technical
Barriers to Trade (TBT) see the following URL: Foreword - Supplementary information
The committee responsible for this document is ISO/IEC JTC 1, Information technology, Subcommittee
SC 36, Information technology for learning, education and training.
This second edition cancels and replaces the first edition (ISO/IEC 19780-1:2008), of which it constitutes
a minor revision.
ISO/IEC 19780 consists of the following parts, under the general title Information technology — Learning,
education and training — Collaborative technology — Collaborative learning communication:
— Part 1: Text-based communication
iv © ISO/IEC 2015 – All rights reserved

Introduction
Collaborative communication in general
Collaborative learning that is supported with information and communication technologies (ICTs)
can involve the use of a range of media, including audio (e.g. IP telephony), video (e.g. video over IP),
graphics (e.g. shared whiteboard) and text (e.g. chat, computer conferencing). Combinations of these
media (e.g. audio telegraphics) can also be used in collaborative learning activities. ISO/IEC 19780
focuses on messages and events arising in the course of collaborative learning activities, using a range
of collaborative tools and media types. ISO/IEC 19780 understands and defines these communicative
actions and events as being sent and received by participants and within environments, as these are
conceptualized and defined in ISO/IEC 19778.
This part of ISO/IEC 19780 focuses on text-based communications and messages. Future editions
or parts of ISO/IEC 19780 may address communications using other media (e.g. audio or video), or
communications independent of any particular medium. Experience and feedback deriving from
this part of ISO/IEC 19780 and from work with evolving communication media are likely to play an
important role in determining the shape and direction of this future standardization work.
In this context, “text” can be defined in terms provided by the Oxford English Dictionary: “the wording
of anything expressed; the structure formed by the words in their order; the very words, phrases, and
sentences as written.” Text is further understood here as that which can be expressed using a specified
character set (here the “coded character sets” defined in ISO 10646). The use of markup languages
derived from the specified character set used is also admissible.
Some of the most common forms of ICT-supported collaborative learning involve the exchange of
messages or text-based expressions. As defined here, text-based collaboration and communication
is characterized by relatively brief messages or “small” expression bodies (e.g. a single word to a few
paragraphs), and by relatively short time intervals between such expressions (fractions of a second
to days). The result is that content generated through this type of communication tends to be
highly context-dependent, with any one textual expression often gaining its meaning from complex
relationships to others. This makes the portability and potential reconstruction of these relationships
and of this context of great significance.
Within the general parameters described above, the length of and time intervals between discrete
communicative actions or messages can vary. Collaborative technologies and activities with the
smallest intervals between messages are often labelled “synchronous”, and tend to be associated with
the term “chat”. Those with longer intervals and more sizeable expression bodies are often labelled
“asynchronous”, and tend to be associated with terms such as “discussion” or “conferencing”. In the
terminology defined in ISO/IEC 19778, both synchronous (chat) and asynchronous (discussion)
represent particular collaborative services, composed of collaborative tools (ICQ, Windows Messenger,
etc.), which provide collaborative functions (e.g. instant messaging). These functions, in turn, contribute
to particular collaborative effects (e.g. facilitating the gradual achievement of consensus).
NOTE Italicized terms in the paragraphs above and throughout this part of ISO/IEC 19780 are defined in
Clause 3 or in ISO/IEC 19778-1.
Text-based communication in particular
This part of ISO/IEC 19780 presents a Data Model for text-based expressions.
A collaborative workplace is defined as an instantiated independent entity, consisting of the collaborative
activities of a collaborative group, which works together by means of a collaborative environment
(ISO/IEC 19778-1 to ISO/IEC 19778-3).
As these definitions indicate, collaborative workplaces are associated with two major kinds of components:
— collaborative service components;
— collaborative group components.
© ISO/IEC 2015 – All rights reserved v

This part of ISO/IEC 19780 provides a Data Model to accommodate the data constituted by and
associated with text-based messages or expressions, which are exchanged among collaborative group
members within a collaborative environment.
Expressions are composed by and exchanged among collaborative group members within a collaborative
workplace. Collaborative environment components (collaborative services, tools and functions) facilitate
these collaborative activities, resulting in various collaborative effects. Typical effects can include, for
example, “reaching a compromise on a controversial issue”, “exploring arguments for and against a
particular decision item” or “getting to know students in a class”. The classification and definition of
particular collaborative effects is outside of the scope of this part of ISO/IEC 19780. Expression Data
Model instantiations are associated by reference to collaborative group Data Model and collaborative
environment Data Model instantiations.
This can be illustrated through the example of a mailing list considered as a collaborative workplace.
Such a collaborative workplace is instantiated as an independent entity by associating a particular list
of email addresses (each address being associated with a participant) with a particular email service
(or with specific aspects of such a service). Collaborative group members (being identified in the system
by their email addresses) interact with each other and with the email service by composing, sending,
receiving, reading and responding to email messages or expressions. The email service accepts emails
from collaborative group members only, and forwards or reflects them to all other collaborative group
members as specified in the email address list of the collaborative group.
Naturally, such a collaborative context, as an abstract entity, does not encompass the holders of the
email addresses nor the email server, the email clients or the computers of the participants.
Expressions are composed, sent and received by members of the collaborative group. These collaborative
activities are made possible through the email service provided through the collaborative environment.
vi © ISO/IEC 2015 – All rights reserved

INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO/IEC 19780-1:2015(E)
Information technology — Learning, education and
training — Collaborative technology — Collaborative
learning communication —
Part 1:
Text-based communication
1 Scope
1.1 Statement of scope
This part of ISO/IEC 19780 specifies the Data Model for text-based expressions.
It provides a standardized way of isolating and describing textual expressions composed and
communicated by collaborative group members.
1.2 Excluded subjects and aspects
For the purposes of simplicity, the following media and contexts have been excluded from this part of
ISO/IEC 19780.
— Communication involving media other than text.
— Contexts and associated requirements in which one or more participants are intended to receive a
given expression are identified individually, apart from the collaborative group (e.g. “whispering” or
“private messaging” in chat contexts).
— Permissions and privacy information associated with individual participants.
2 Normative references
The following documents, in whole or in part, are normatively referenced in this document and are
indispensable for its application. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For undated
references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
1)
ISO/IEC 19778-1:— , Information technology — Learning, education and training — Collaborative
technology — Collaborative workplace — Part 1: Collaborative workplace data model
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the terms and definitions given in ISO/IEC 19778-1 and the
following apply.
NOTE The terms defined here are closely interrelated. When a term is utilized elsewhere in this part of
ISO/IEC 19780, as defined in this list or as defined in ISO/IEC 19778-1, that term is italicized.
1) To be published.
© ISO/IEC 2015 – All rights reserved 1

3.1
expression
instantiation of the Data Model for text-based expressions including the expression body and possible
expression attachments
Note 1 to entry: See ISO/IEC 19778-2.
3.2
expression attachment
additional data associated with a given expression
3.3
expression body
principle message or communicative substance of the expression shared among participants in a
collaborative environment, related through reference to the expression Data Model instance
3.4
text
data in the form of characters, symbols, words, phrases, paragraphs, sentences, tables or other
character arrangements, intended to convey a meaning and whose interpretation is essentially based
on the reader’s knowledge of some natural language or artificial language
Note 1 to entry: The interpretation of text in collaborative communication is also based on the communicative
context.
Note 2 to entry: The use of tables and complex character arrangements might not always be possible in text-
based collaborative communication.
4 Abbreviated terms and acronyms
NOTE Some of these abbreviated terms or acronyms represent terms defined in Clause 3.
CE Collaborative Environment
CG Collaborative Group
CT Collaborative Technology
CW Collaborative Workplace
EX expression
ID identifier
ITLET Information Technology for Learning, Education and Training
Ref Reference
URI Uniform Resource Identifier
URL Uniform Resource Locator (world wide web address)
5 Text-based communication Data Model
5.1 Overview
The expression entity and Data Model is related through reference (using ID-Refs) to the other entities
constituting the collaborative workplace as indicated in Figure 1. Each expression is related in this way
both to the tool with which it is sent, read and received (the collaborative tool and its collaborative
function), and also to the group member who generated it (as both participant and role holder).
2 © ISO/IEC 2015 – All rights reserved

Figure 1 — Collaborative environment, collaborative group, and expression entities located and
interrelated within a collaborative workplace
The general approach for formulating identifiers in this part of ISO/IEC 19780 is the same as that put
forward in ISO/IEC 19778. In order to support more than a single identifier format, both International
Standards utilize a “source” — “value” approach for identifier Data Elements, in which the value of sub-
element “source” specifies a URI (Uniform Resource Identifier, e.g. the URL where the specification
for the identifier format is found), and the sub-element “value” carries the identifier value itself,
which is compliant to the earlier format description. It is the responsibility of the users of this part
of ISO/IEC 19780 to assure that their identifiers are unique at least within a particular domain or
application context.
5.2 Expression Data Model specification
The table-based Expression Data Model representation used here corresponds to the specification
provided in ISO/IEC 19778-1:—, 5.1.
© ISO/IEC 2015 – All rights reserved 3

4 © ISO/IEC 2015 – All rights reserved
Table 1 — Expression Data Model
Identifier Designation Definition Obligation Multiplicity Datatype Examples
1 EX_ID The identifier of this expression Data Model mandatory 1 ISO/IEC 11404:2007, 10.1.5 0241
instantiation. Identifies this Data Model “Character string (ISO/
instantiation uniquely in the context of the IEC 10646)”
collaborative workplace, in which the asso-
Supported Length = 250
ciated expression has been communicated.
characters
2 EX_Title Name or subject given to this expression. optional 1 ISO/IEC 11404:2007, 10.1.5 Re: Welcome to
“Character string (ISO/ the course
The title of this expression can be inherited
IEC 10646)”
from a previous expression to which it is
related. Supported Length =
100 characters
3 EX_B-Ref Reference to the body of this expression. mandatory 1
3.1 EX_B-Ref_source The name or URI of the identification scheme optional 1 ISO/IEC 11404:2007, 10.1.5 http://refreg.org/
used to generate the value for the expression “Character string (ISO/ id=192837
body reference. A namespace scheme. IEC 10646)”
Supported Length =
250 characters
3.2 EX_B-Ref_value Value of the expression body reference. mandatory 1 ISO/IEC 11404:2007, 10.1.5 8693073_ss22
“Character string (ISO/
In exceptional cases, the expression body may
IEC 10646)”
not contain any text; however, a reference to
this “null” or “empty” body is still required. Supported Length =
The manner in which this empty body is 250 characters
...