Tools to support teachers and learning technologists in the creation of effective learning designs are currently in their infancy. This paper describes a metadata model, devised to assist in the conception and design of new learning activities, that has been developed, used and evaluated over a period of three years. The online tool that embodies this model was not originally intended to produce runtime executable code such as IMS-LD, but rather focussed on assisting teachers in the thought processes involved in selecting appropriate methods, tools, student activities and assessments to suit the required learning objectives. Subsequently, we have modified the RELOAD editor such that the output from our tool can be translated into IMS-LD. The contribution of this paper is the comparison of our data model with that of IMS-LD, and the analysis of how each can inform the other.