2   Principles

The Technical Specification is used to assess whether The Le@rning Federation's content conforms to the following six principles:

• accessibility
• useability
• interoperability
• flexibility
• durability
• scalability.

2.1   Accessibility

The first principle aims to ensure that The Le@rning Federation's online content and services are inclusive of a range of teaching and learning capacities, contexts and environments. It aims to ensure content conforms to Commonwealth laws concerning accessibility, and State and Territory policy regarding inclusive education provision. This accessibility principle informs The Le@rning Federation specifications on technical content, accessibility and educational soundness.

2.2   Useability

The Le@rning Federation's content must be useable by a range of teachers and students. That is, the content's interface must be learnable, efficient, memorable, have a low error rate and be pleasant to use.

2.3   Interoperability

The aim of this principle is to ensure that The Le@rning Federation's content can be used on and shared between a wide range of software and hardware platforms. It assumes that the content will be used within operating environments that support internationally adopted standards and specifications.

2.4   Flexibility

This principle relates to mixing and reusing learning content from a range of sources into multiple applications and environments. It is realised by ensuring learning content and its constituent components is adequately described and packaged so that it can be found and re-contextualised.

2.5   Durability

This principle aims to ensure that The Le@rning Federation's online content can withstand technology changes without requiring redesign or recoding. The principle is often realised by encoding content in formats that can be easily interpreted and translated into future technologies. For example, images may need to be provided in both low- and high-resolution formats. The low-resolution format is for inclusion in the content, and the high-resolution format would be used for possible future translations.

2.6   Scalability

This principle relates to using technologies that allow The Le@rning Federation to benefit from both growth in demand for its services and an increase in new inputs, such as technologies that may enhance the re-use of the resources collected.

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