Est. 2001 — The Standard That Built eLearning
SCORM.ing
A living history of the standards that power online learning.
explore --from 1988 --to present
what_is_scorm.txt
What is SCORM?
SCORM (Sharable Content Object Reference Model) is a set of technical standards that tells eLearning content how to talk to a Learning Management System (LMS). Think of it as the USB standard for online courses — it ensures that any SCORM-compliant course works in any SCORM-compliant LMS.
Created by the U.S. Department of Defense's ADL Initiative in 1999, SCORM defines three things:
Packaging
How course files are bundled together with a manifest (imsmanifest.xml) that describes the structure.
Runtime
How the course communicates with the LMS — reporting scores, completion, and learner progress.
Sequencing
How the LMS determines which content to show next based on rules and learner activity.
The Evolution of eLearning Standards
1988AICC
2001SCORM 1.2
2004SCORM 2004
2013xAPI
2016cmi5