Objective One: Organization
All the educational material in the world can be broken up into a hierarchical tree with multiple levels of subjects and sub-subjects and with specific topics at the very end like leaves on a branch. Each of these topics is composed of several �items� such as the primary statement of the topic, multiple alternative explanations, questions, hints, answers, and even multiple explanations for each of those answers. These are analogous to the parts of a leaf. All the educational material in the system needs to be broken up into these very small �items� of information. All those items need to be organized and classified so they can be put back together again in the form of topics while still retaining a standardized structure. This requires a file format which can separate the items while providing the means for organization and classification. It must allow multiple collections of items to be used together seamlessly as if they were one topic while also allowing individual items to be plucked out and used as needed. In addition, this file structure must provide for easy and simple distribution of material to any where in the world and to any level of computer from web servers to handheld computers. Finally, the file format must allow for the creation of syllabuses and various other files to indicate what material needs to be studied or to make the material easy to browse through using standard pre-existing software if necessary. This file structure is called the Distributable Educational Material Markup Language™ (DEMML�).
