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