Exploring eLearning Standards And How They Improve eLearning
As the world of eLearning evolves, new standards emerge to establish a framework for its design and development. You have certainly heard of acronyms such as SCORM, AICC, or xAPI. Although there are many reasons why you should be using them, the main one is that regardless of the authoring tool or Learning Management System (LMS) you are using, an eLearning course must be accessible to all learners and compatible with one another. Using standards and specifications that are widely accepted and used by eLearning professionals ensures just that. But what are the eLearning standards you need to know about? In this article, we will explore 6 eLearning specifications as well as 5 benefits of using them.
What Are The Most Common eLearning Standards?
Standards, in general, are guidelines or specifications for products and services that industry experts or government bodies may create and enforce. In the case of eLearning, these specifications determine the best way to design, develop, and deliver an eLearning course. The ultimate purpose of eLearning standards is to ensure that your online learning course is accessible, effective, and scalable no matter who it is made for and the platform they will use to access it. Before we delve deeper into the benefits of using eLearning standards, let’s explore the most common ones.
AICC (Aviation Industry Computer-based Training Committee)
Although its roots go back to the aviation industry, AICC is one of the earliest eLearning standards adopted. What it does is specify how your eLearning course transfers information to the LMS based on its HTTP Communication Protocol. It’s a highly secure and easy-to-implement standard, making it very popular in the industry. Although AICC officially disbanded in 2014, numerous organizations still use older LMSs that are AICC-compliant.
SCORM (Sharable Content Object Reference Model)
SCORM is a widely used eLearning standard that ensures online learning content is compatible with different LMSs and platforms. eLearning developers who use SCORM can create content that is accessible not only at any time but also across different platforms. Moreover, it enables progress tracking, as it monitors and stores useful data, such as scores, time spent learning, and more. SCORM has been revised many times, with its latest version—SCORM 2004 4th Edition—enhancing its flexibility and usability.
Experience API (xAPI)
Experience API, also known as xAPI or Tin Can API, is a newer eLearning standard that enables instructors to track and record learner experiences outside of the LMS environment. As a result, xAPI is particularly useful in today’s diverse eLearning landscape. xAPI carries additional features, such as real-time tracking and reporting, interoperability, analytics, and multi-device support. The latest version, xAPI 2.0, was released in 2023, and it remains as relevant as ever for businesses that utilize eLearning.
LTI (Learning Technology Integration)
LTI enables the integration of external eLearning tools and applications, such as video-conferencing platforms, into a single learning environment, typically an LMS. This standard benefits learners by enabling the connection of multiple learning platforms and allowing access to external content without leaving the LMS environment, all while keeping their data secure. The latest version, LTI Advantage, offers eLearning professionals improved security features and more intuitive integration of third-party tools.
IMS Common Cartridge
This eLearning standard is similar to SCORM in the sense that it specifies how eLearning content must be packaged and shared among different LMSs. This way, it ensures that eLearning developers will not have to reformulate or redesign content for it to be compatible with learning platforms that use different systems. IMS Common Cartridge is particularly suited to educational institutions, EdTech companies, and content providers that want to ensure the interoperability of online learning content.
CMI5
CMI5 is a modern eLearning standard that combines the flexibility of xAPI with the traditional structure of SCORM to provide a framework for tracking and exchanging data and information regarding the learner experience. It integrates effectively with modern tech that supports HTTP and xAPI, operates offline, and offers rich data and analytics that instructors can use to optimize the online course. Although not as popular as SCORM or xAPI, CMI5 is gaining traction, especially among organizations looking to modernize their systems while maintaining LMS integrations.
What Are The Benefits Of Using eLearning Standards?
1. Interoperability
eLearning courses are used by businesses, educational institutions, freelance professionals, and other individuals. It is only natural that these different user groups will have access to online learning platforms and LMSs that function in distinct ways. What eLearning standards like SCORM, xAPI, and LTI do is that they ensure that eLearning systems, tools, and content can communicate seamlessly with one another to enhance the overall learning experience.
2. Reusability
Creating eLearning courses is a long and costly process if you want to produce quality content. Using eLearning standards makes it so your content can be reused across different learning environments or adjusted to fit new contexts or audiences. This way, eLearning developers are saving valuable time and effort that they can devote to researching and developing new content.
3. Consistency And Quality Assurance
When online learners decide to take an eLearning course, they expect a certain level of quality, whether that means correct formatting, easy integration with widely used platforms, or a consistent structure throughout. An important benefit of following eLearning specifications is the development of content that meets these quality standards. As a result, learners receive the most value from the training materials they access.
4. Tracking And Analytics
Apart from the benefits that directly affect the learner experience, there are others that make things easier for eLearning developers and enhance the overall experience indirectly. We are talking about the ability to track learner activities and progress, which eLearning standards achieve in a straightforward and mostly automated way. Furthermore, the resulting analytics reports give instructors valuable insights for identifying necessary changes and improvements to optimize the learning journey.
5. Scalability
The needs of your audience may change, and it is important for your content to keep up. For example, your company may need to onboard a large number of employees, or you may have a training course that needs to be tailored for a niche, smaller audience. eLearning standards allow you to do just that by making it possible to easily scale your content up or down and use it across different platforms and LMSs with minimal reconfiguration.
Conclusion
In this article, we explored some of the eLearning standards that have defined the industry these past decades, as well as the benefits that they have brought to eLearning professionals around the world. With their help, these eLearning experts have managed to continuously produce content that is not only of high quality but also reusable, easily accessible, and scalable. As the field of eLearning grows and evolves, it is possible that more standards will emerge to further enhance its flexibility, interoperability, accessibility, and security. Until then, learn more about current eLearning standards and how to make the most of them.