Connecting Connexions: Organizing and Integrating Open Learning Content with Topic Maps

In this paper we propose utilizing of topic maps as an integration tool for Connexions1 content aiming at creating more subject-oriented, knowledgebased ways of connecting resources in the Connexions repository. We discuss to what extent and how open content, including metadata, may be extracted from Connexions e-learning modules and mapped onto topic maps using XSLT transformations and how this may be done in a topic map editor to facilitate further processing, enrichment and merging of subject-oriented learning content. The proposed approach is implemented in the educational topic maps