With the proliferation of online learning in all sectors of education and training, one of the most vital issues in the development of LMSs is going to be compliance with uniform, industry-wide standards for delivering and supporting learning and teaching materials.

Proprietary learning resources (commonly known as “learning objects”) generally do not operate across different platforms, making them difficult and expensive to use easily. To nable learning objects to be reused and managed across various learning management systems, the online-learning industry has embarked on initiatives for the development of industry-wide standards and specifications.

A widely known initiative in setting such industry-wide standards for the sharing of digital learning resources is SCORM (Shareable Content Object Reference Model. SCORM is a widely accepted framework for defining learning objects that has been developed by the United States Department of Defense to promote the use of digital learning objects across different learning management systems (see also http://searchwebservices. techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid26_gci796793,00.html).

As these standards continue to push for wider recognition and adoption, developers of LMS and LCMS, and learning resources who comply with their specifications are going to strengthen user confidence. See chapter 5 in this guide on “digital learning objects” and their implications for emerging LMSs.