Specifications and Standards in E-Learning

E-learning deals with preparation, management and delivery of assets(e.g., learning content and tools) for learning using different learning technologies(Information and Communication Technologies and related technologies) and through which assets can be deployed either locally or globally. specifications and standards in E-learning enable different independent assets of learning to coexist for effective and better learning outcomes and also support properties like durability, accessibility, scalability etc. These specifications and standards allow people to work on enhancements and emphasizes on different learning aspects rather than struggling every time for the smooth preparation, management or delivery of the assets. Many organizations like IMS, IEEE, ARIADNE, and AICC are making standards in the field of e-learning and most of the standards made by them are becoming de facto standards in e-learning. These organizations are working on different aspects within elearning like LOM[1] for tagging learning content by IEEE, QTI for question and testing interoperability by IMS etc. SCORM from ADL initiative adopted and adapted many specifications and standards from other organization to deal with different aspects of elearning simultaneously. These specifications and standards are very useful to make transparent abstraction of the technology for those people who are not conversant but wants to enhance their teaching or learning. Thus, people’s (as learner or learning material provider) responsibilities increase to adhere to the specifications and standards.