European Association for Semantic Web Education e.V.

EASE Newsletter November 2007

Content

1. Introduction to EASE
2. REASE - the EASE repository for learning resources about Semantic Web topics

Introduction to EASE

EASE, the European Association for Semantic Web Education, is a non-profit association according to paragraph 52 I of German fiscal code, which was established in June 2007 and is seated in Hannover, Germany. Its overall objective is to promote education and continuing education in the area Semantic Web and to support science and research in this area.

The main activities of EASE are currently hosting REASE, the repository of EASE for learning resources around Semantic Web topics (more details below), and the European Academy for Semantic Web Education, an initiative to create a European joint master degree about Semantic Web.

EASE was initiated jointly by the European research projects KnowledgeWeb and REWERSE and comprises members from Germany (Leibniz University Hannover, Free University Berlin, University of Karlsruhe), UK (University of Manchester, Open University), Portugal (Universidad Nova Lisbon, Technical University Lisbon), Italy (University of Trento, Free University Bolzano), among others. Any natural or legal person from any country of the world can become a member of EASE, if this person supports the objectives of the association and acknowledges the statutes of the association.

REASE - the EASE repository for learning resources about Semantic Web topics

REASE comprises a unique and diverse collection of more than 160 high-quality learning resources about Semantic Web topics, including slide sets from lectures, tutorials, videos, or pointers to educational activities for both Higher Education as well as for industrial education.

REASE - What you can expect

Learning resources available in the REASE catalogue, which builds upon the Semantic Web Topic Hierarchy, cover a broad range of topics, including

• Ontology engineering (e.g., ontology mapping and ontology engineering tools)
• Knowledge representation (e.g., Logics)
• Basic Semantic Web topics (e.g., RDF, OWL, SPARQL)
• Advanced techniques such as Rules, Natural Language Processing, or Semantic Web Services.
• Domains where Semantic Web techniques have been applied
  • Knowledge Management
  • Data integration
  • Semantic Search
  • Bioinformatics

The most popular resources as of 2007-11-07 are (names in parenthesis denote the author(s)):

1. Semantic Web Tutorial (York Sure)
2. Semantic Web Lecture - Logics (Nicola Henze)
3. Ontological Engineering (Oscar Corcho, Asuncion Gomez-Perez, Mariano Fern)
4. OWL - Web Ontology Language (Monika Lanzenberger)
5. Fundamental Research Challenges Generated by the Semantic Web (Frank van Harmelen)
6. Semantic Web Lecture - Basic building blocks (Nicola Henze)
7. Semantic Web Use Cases (Lyndon Nixon)
8. Semantic Web Lecture - Introduction and Overview (Nicola Henze)
9. A Short Tutorial on Semantic Web (York Sure, Andreas Hotho)
10. Ontology Engineering Best Practices - Building and Applying the SWRC Ontology (York Sure)
11. Web and Semantic Web Query Languages: A Survey (James Bailey, Francois Bry, Tim Furche, Sebastian Schaffert)

(cf. also the current list)

REASE - How to use

REASE is open to any member of the academic, research, or professional community and has attracted more than 500 users from more than 250 registered Institutions from all over the world.

REASE can be used as follows:

• Browse the REASE catalogue; You can also filter the results, e.g., according to the target audience (academics vs. professionals from industry) or start from the list of most popular resources.
• Perform a full text search as available on the main page or using or the Advanced Search dialogue
• Provide and edit your own learning resources (Registration required)

Resources on REASE can be reused according to the licenses, associated with each resource by the author of the resource. It is recommended to register to be able to access all resources or to provide your own educational materials and activities (the registration is free). After approval of the registration request, new learning resources can be added and all those resources from the repository that are available to registered users only become accessible.

REASE has been created as a joint effort of the European Projects KnowledgeWeb and REWERSE. It will be continued under the auspicies of EASE, the European Association for Semantic Web Education, a non-profit organization that has been established in June 2007.