Emerging Technologies: Learning Objects: Scorn Or SCORM‪?‬

In the communities dealing with the design and implementation of on-line teaching and training (higher education, government, industry), SCORM is a hot topic these days. The "Sharable Content Object Reference Model" is a standard for the packaging and deployment of Web-based "learning objects," defined by Bob Banks as "a relatively small, reusable resource, through which a coherent, identifiable piece of learning can be achieved." Part of the debate surrounding SCORM derives from its origin, the United States Department of Defense, but for the most part relates to questions about its technical implementation and, even more, about its pedagogical implications, in which SCORM sometimes becomes the whipping boy for those who object to the idea of learning objects themselves. Despite concerns, wide-spread support for SCORM has developed in the past year among content developers and software companies, and with the recent release of a new version of SCORM, it seems an opportune moment to examine its use and importance for language professionals. Standards Development and the Path to SCORM