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Standards
- SCORM: a brief background
- What are the SCORM components?
- What is the AICC?
- What is IMS?
- What is IEEE?
- What is ARIADNE?
SCORM: a brief background
With the growth on e-learning emerged significant problems of compatibility.
Different vendors developed systems that while effective were incompatible with other vendors.
Soon the government realized that it was spending millions of dollars just recreating existing content.
As a result President Clinton launched the Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL) initiative with the goal of having it produce a set of guidelines or standards for the industry.
Such standards were to allow systems (Learning Management Systems) to find, share, import, export, and reuse e-learning content with one another.
The effort was name SCORM (Sharable Content Object Reference Model).
What does SCORM do?
SCORM is a standard that allows systems to find, share, import, export, and reuse e-learning content.
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Presented with the ADL mission, staff soon realized that rather than start developing a standard from scratch, they could start by aggregating existing standards.
ADL then targeted IMS, AICC, IEEE and ARIADNE as their source.
What is SCORM?
SCORM is a collection of specifications from IMS, AICC, IEEE and ARIADNE.
These specifications aim to make it possible for Learning Management Systems (LMS), or other with LMS functions, to find, share, import, export, and reuse e-learning content.
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To many educators SCORM is transparent most of the time.
To vendors SCORM is very apparent as they have to incorporate it into their products.
How well SCORM works for you will depend on how much content your share and reuse with others and how well your online learning systems were engineered.
I have seen systems that populated SCORM fields automatically but often information was worthless, defeating the effort of being SCORM compliant.
I�ve seen other systems, �with a SCORM conscience�, that added great value. As a result, the advice here is test before you buy.
What are the SCORM components?
1. Overview: information and plan for SCORM
2. Content Aggregation Model: specifications stating how content needs to be put together so that it can be exported or reused in other systems.
3. Run Time Environment: specification about how content is launched and the learner progress tracked and reported.
4. Sequencing and Navigation: specifications on how content may be sequenced through learner-initiated or system-initiated navigation events.
From adlnet.org
What is the AICC?
The Aviation Industry CBT (Computer-Based Training) Committee (AICC) is an international association of technology-based training professionals.
The AICC develops guidelines for aviation industry in the development, delivery, and evaluation of CBT and related training technologies.
From aicc.org
In order to understand or even operate an SCORM compliant LMS you don't need to understand AICC, however, this information is here for those that develop an interest from the source of the SCORM guidelines.
What is IMS?
IMS stand for Instructional Management Systems. It is also known as IMS Global Learning Consortium Inc (IMS/GLC). IMS develops and promotes the adoption of open technical specifications for interoperable learning technology. Several IMS specifications have become worldwide de facto standards for delivering learning products and services. IMS specifications and related publications are made available to the public at no charge.
From IMSProject.org
If you are in the field of educational technology it is advisable you become familiar with the IMS Project, however, this is not required to run SCORM compliant systems. IMS does however shed light into the SCORM guidelines and many of the intentions when drafted. IMS is a major force in standard setting for education.
What is IEEE?
MISSION: The IEEE promotes the engineering process of creating, developing, integrating, sharing, and applying knowledge about electro and information technologies and sciences for the benefit of humanity and the profession.
IEEE Standards is a world leader in the development and dissemination of voluntary, consensus-based industry standards.
From IEEE.org
Unless you are in to engineering we don't suggest you go deeply into IEEE, however, since this is one of the sources of SCORM guidelines at least a broad statement about IEEE was in order.
What is ARIADNE?
A European Association open to the World, for Knowledge Sharing and Reuse, E-Learning for all, International Cooperation in Teaching, Serving the Learning Citizen.
From ariadne-eu.org
Given that ARIADNE was conceived to foster cooperation in learning it is worth becomeing familiar with its goals and approaches. I encourage you to look further as you might learn from ARIADNE's experience. Some Europeans are adopting SCORM (British government) because its not a substitute for ARIADNE but an addition to it.
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