Restrictions and Abilities of SCORM: A Path to Adaptive Course Development

The growth of the Internet and with it e-learning, has led to the appearance of Learning Management Systems (LMSs), which provide a variety of features and operations including the development, management, distribution, diffusion, and presentation of educational material, as well as tools for both user and course management. However, many researchers (Conlan et al. 2002; Bouras et al. 2003; Jui-Lin Lu and Chen 2006) have raised questions in regards to the accessibility and reusability of the educational material, the interoperability between different systems and their durability over time. As a solution to the aforementioned problems, research proposes the use of technological standards for the creation of educational material (Bouras et al. 2003; Brusilovsky 2004; Jui-Lin Lu and Chen 2006; Casella et al. 2007). Some of the most well-known standards for the creation of educational material are: SCORM (Sharable Content Object Reference Model) (ADL 2009), LOM, IMS, AICC, etc. The most widespread standard, in the last years, has been SCORM which is based on SCOs (Sharable Content Objects). The exploitation of this technology not only allows the use of educational material in multiple LMSs but also facilitates the discovery and reusability of such material (Duval 2001; Krull et al. 2006). Due to the nature of the Internet, some problems do however, arise. The courses distributed by LMSs, are available to a wide number of users, with different characteristics, cultures, learning needs and previous knowledge of the domain. Therefore, a course that is appropriate for one particular learner may not be suitable for the needs of other learners. What is more, learners have the ability to navigate freely within a