D6.1.4

=Students and staff are informed of the use of standards to guide e-learning technology deployment. =

Evidence
Expanding on the problem of e-learning ‘standards’, (Hirumi, 2005) notes that these are rarely true standards, rather, they are usually ‘guidelines, specifications, or statements of good practice’ (p. 320) such as those used in the e-Learning Guidelines for New Zealand (http://elg.massey.ac.nz). One that is close to becoming a standard is the Shareable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM), which concerns the capability of learning materials to be shared and reused. The generic standard used by many creators of specifications is the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Learning Technology Standards Committee (LTSC) P1484, which is working towards International Standards Organisation (ISO) accreditation for learning technology (p. 321). The Aviation Industry’s involvement in computer-based training also gives it some sway over learning technology specifications. Reporting on his analysis of six major industry specifications, Hirumi identifies two main variables; learning content, and systems operating environment. Learning content is now focused on attaining high levels of time and information efficiency, resulting in the ‘disaggregation of content into smaller instructional units [thereby] providing smaller chunks of instructions (referred to as learning objects) at the moment and location of need through the use of modern telecommunication technologies’ (p. 322). Definitions of learning objects vary, problematically, from ‘any entity digital or non-digital that may be used for learning, education, or training’ to ‘the smallest stand-alone piece of instruction that contains an objective, an activity, and an assessment, wrapped by descriptive metadata’ (p. 322). Metadata being the indexing information used to describe the object’s nature and purpose. According to Hirumi, good progress is being made on technical specifications that govern systems matters such as interoperability. However, he perceives difficulties in the separation of guidelines and specifications into educational areas (courses and programmes) and industrial items (objects and assets), and suggests that the conversations occurring in the quest for quality e-learning may be as, or even more, helpful than the standards they seek to determine.

Heddergott (2006) describe the purpose and process by which international standards are created. It is important for digital products to be interoperable and standardized in order that consumers are able to evaluate the functionality and applicability of e-learning resources. Standards serve several purposes. They unify relevant terms, define procedures and ideal production processes, assist with quality assurance, describe quality criteria, provide instruments and methods for reusability, and promote transparency to the market. Heddergott notes, however, that standards still require quality e-learning content in order to deliver a quality learning product.