E-Learning Standards: A Guide to Purchasing, Developing, and Deploying Standards-Conformant E-Learning

✍ Scribed by Carol Fallon, Sharon Brown

• Year: 2002
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 273
• Edition: 1
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

For the first time ever, clear, comprehensive information about the major e-learning standards has been brought together in a single resource. No more confusing patchworks of information gleaned from scattered Web sites and periodicals. No more frustrating searches through hundreds of pages of technical specifications to find the twenty pages that apply to you. No more sorting through the alphabet soup of acronyms trying to discern which of them you need. Written by the developers of the first Learning Management System (LMS) to be AICC-certified for Web-based interoperability, E-Learning Standards: A Guide to Purchasing, Developing, and Deploying Standards-Conformant E-Learning thoroughly covers this complex topic.The authors focus on those standards that are being successfully implemented such as the AICC and SCORM specifications for interoperable data tracking, searchable meta-data, and interchangeable course structures and the QTI specification for interoperable tests and test questions. They clearly explain the purpose of each standard and its application to the various components of e-learning such as learning management systems and learning content management systems, assessment systems, and courseware. The book provides practical advice on choosing and purchasing standards-based e-learning components and gives guidance on developing interoperable, interchangeable courseware that will work in any standards-based e-learning environment. Learning technology standards are still very new to the Web-based training world, leaving room for many potential pitfalls. There are distinct sets of standards available for Internet-delivered learning that enable all components of an e-learning system to communicate with each other. However, choosing which set of standards would best suit the system's needs, then understanding and following those specifications, can be a daunting task. E-Learning Standards: A Guide to Purchasing, Developing, and Deploying Standards-Conformant E-Learning provides a road map for anyone involved in the development of components for e-learning environments and a guide buyers can use to make well-informed decisions about their e-learning purchases.

✦ Table of Contents

Foreword......Page 6
Preface......Page 8
About the Authors......Page 10
Acknowledgments......Page 12
Dedication......Page 14
Contents......Page 16
1 The Vital Role of Standards in E-Learning Environments......Page 24
2 The Evolution of Standards for E-Learning......Page 52
3 Which Standards? Matching Standards to E-Learning Components......Page 64
4 Standards for Interoperable Data Tracking......Page 74
5 Standards for Self-Describing Learning Objects......Page 92
6 Standards for Importing and Exporting Entire Courses......Page 104
7 Standards for Tests and Test Questions......Page 120
8 Working with Standards: How to Author Standards-Based Content......Page 136
9 Creating Interoperable Learning Objects......Page 152
10 A Guide to Creating Meta-Data Files......Page 184
11 A Guide to Creating Course Structure Manifests and Interchange Files......Page 204
12 A Guide to Creating Standards-Based Test Items and Assessments......Page 228
Appendix A Code Listings......Page 244
Appendix B Some Useful Resources......Page 256
Glossary......Page 260
Index......Page 268