Learning management system - LMS covers a wide area from the registration of new users, content delivery, distance communication and cooperation, security care, to automated knowledge testing. Many such systems have been created over time, and because of their complexity, and partly also because of the desire to come out into the market as soon as possible, no standards have been created which such systems should adhere to in order to become an LMS. Large proportion of mostly smaller solutions is based on a closed system and supports only their own data inscription form without the possibility to communicate with other systems.
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Why are standards important? |
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In order to be able to transfer the content you developed in one courseware into another system, these two tools have to comply with the same standard. This is why it is important to pay attention to the standards the tool you intend to use complies to. | | |
Since such systems are becoming increasingly important, and the need for a standard ever greater, several committees have been formed, with the goal to create a standard. Currently there are four organizations with the goal to develop a standard. Unfortunately not even they are unified and each is creating their own standard. Time will tell which one will prevail.
There are other efforts to standardize the systems, but these four are currently the most accepted on the market. In Croatia there is a tendency of accepting ADL/SCORM standard, mostly due to successful lobbying of several courseware manufacturers or their distributors.
AICC (Aviation Industry CBT Comitee) - www.aicc.org
Aviation Industry CBT (Computer-Based Training) Committee (AICC) is an international association working in the field of standardization of computer-based training. Since 1988 AICC has been defining guidelines for airline industry regarding the development, delivery and evaluation of computer-based training and similar technologies. Since AICC standards are not closely linked to airline industry, they can be used in a wider context for all types of computer-based training. It is also the only open standard system and it cooperates closely with other standardization organizations such as IMS, ADL, i IEEE/LTSC. It is currently considered a standard, since a great number of companies involved in computer-based training are using it.
IMS (Instructional Management System) - www.imsproject.org
IMS (Instructional Management System) is a world consortium with a great number of members from educational institutions, training institutions, service providers and government organizations. IMS is in the process of development and promotion of open support specifications for activities related to distributed online learning, such as locating the materials, monitoring student activities and interchange of information about students. All IMS specifications are based on XML-u, which is an open standard and as such it is easy to implement. IMS i AICC coordinate their actions with IEEE and these standards will probably be accepted as one.
IEEE/LTSC (Learning Technology Standards Comitee) - itsc.ieee.org This IEEE group is in charge of defining the standards, guidelines and recommendations in the area of computer-based training. The goal of the group is to enable communication between the content development programs and related services by defining standards. It cooperates with IMS and AICC.
ADL/SCORM (Advanced Distributed Learning Initiative) - www.adlnet.org ADL is an initiative started by the U.S. Department of Defence and White House Office of Technology Policy (OSTP). The goals of the initiative are to expedite standardization in the industry in order to develop more efficient learning management systems for army needs. The result of this initiative is SCORM (Shareable Courseware Reference Model), which includes a number of examples on how to implement a given specification. SCORM is based on the work of AICC, IMS and IEEE on development of a single standard.
