Frequently Asked Questions

1. How important is compliance with e-learning standards?

High and consistent standards are crucial for achieving high quality e-learning applications. However, in talking about e-learning standards it is important to distinguish between learning standards and technical standards.

There is a major difference here, and most important of all, the two types of standards are far from being compatible.

Technical standards:

At the present time, most of the attention in e-learning standards discussion is being placed on the development of technical standards - such as SCORM (The Sharable Content Object Reference Model). Learning Management Systems and technology companies have taken the lead here to create a consistency across the e-Learning marketplace to facilitate low cost delivery and sharing of learning objects to their clients. The aims have been primarily administrative. (It is important to remember that SCORM originally developed from technology specifications demanded by the US Department of Defense for e-learning supplies - to define the smallest possible units of learning that would allow consistent classification, sharability and wide reusability.) In the view of many industry observers, while the quality of learning is obviously seen as an important consideration, for the most part it has taken a back seat to the development of the technical requirements for consistent delivery and sharability.

One of the biggest problems stems from the fact that the drive to produce standardized, sharable content 'objects' by reducing them to the smallest possible components reduces the room for a sophisticated learning dimension in the learning objects thus defined. Learning designers struggling to achieve technical certification thus often face a direct trade-off between producing learning objects that deliver superb performance from a learning point of view and the ability to get certified from a technology / sharability / administrative point of view!

This creates a major dilemma for e-learning content producers, and for the end users. After all, what benefit derives from creating and delivering learning experiences that deliver disappointing end results? What's the point of having consistent, shareable learning objects that are guaranteed to work on any technology platform anywhere in the world, if they are going to deliver a poor learning product and disappointing return on investment?

There is an emerging view, in some quarters, that it is probably premature to lock into too many predetermined technical standards when the whole e-learning industry is in such a state of infancy. To take an analogy, in comparison with the automobile industry, the e-learning sector is still in the Ford "Model T" phase of development. Why, therefore, try to shape, and likely constrain future development with "Model T" standards? These restrictive standards will work well for certain types of simple e-learning, but will likely cause problems elsewhere. The debate continues and no easy resolution is yet in sight.

Learning standards:

The ASTD (American Society for Training and Development) has taken a lead role in championing learning standards (as opposed to strictly technical standards) through its Certification Institute, especially in North America. It is in the process of doing a great job of ensuring that e-learning products are 'learning friendly,' not just 'technology friendly.' The focus on the learning certification process, in contrast with the technology certification process under systems like SCORM, is on general course and content library certification rather than on individual learning object certification. Major issues are likely to emerge in relation to the definition of learning standards, as they have with technical standards like SCORM. For example, many learning standards encourage a "learn and test the learning" approach, which works well for content memorization or tightly controlled technical learning where carefully sequenced progress is desirable and possible. But they are not so well suited for encouraging informal, job-based learning where improved performance or increased reflectivity and personal understanding is the aim. This is particularly true in the area of soft-skills development and we can expect major new learning standards to emerge here as the e-learning industry continues to evolve.

The NewMindsets view -- and the advice that we give to our clients -- is to see standards as important in setting high expectations for the ultimate performance of e-learning products, but not to fall into the trap of pursuing standards as ends in themselves. It is crucial to ask why standardization is important, in what respects, and what benefits it will bring. For example, is the aim to ensure global consistency, promote cost-saving by rationalizing purchase decisions across the organization, promote sharing of learning objects and reusability, to satisfy the standardization requirements of your Learning Management system, or what?

It is also important to ask about the costs, benefits and direct ROI from standardization. For a large global company that has to have sharable learning objects that can be purposed and re-purposed to deliver e-learning experiences uniformly throughout the world the benefits may well be significant. But for the vast majority of organizations they are likely to be quite marginal and prevent them from adopting or experimenting with some of the most innovative and powerful learning content currently available.

At this stage of development of the e-leaning industry it seems that most of the technical standards serve the needs of Learning Management System companies that have to insist on consistent learning products to be able to offer their services -- not on the needs of the final clients! Our view is that there is a danger that the tail is wagging the dog and that the real interests of end-customers for e-learning are not necessarily being well-served by this development.

Back to main list of FAQ

print this screen


About Us \| Products & Services \| e-Learning Solutions \| Partners \| Resources
HOME \| CONTACT \| LOGIN \| DEMO \| FAQ \| SITEMAP
Copyright © 2001-2005 NewMindsets Inc. Privacy Policy.