The Next Generation of SCORM: Innovation for the Global Force

This paper summarizes the current progress and future direction of a research effort on the next generation of the Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM). While the SCORM was successful in addressing high-level requirements to solve the challenges within military training systems, it was engineered prior to the widespread use of mobile devices, intelligent tutors, virtual worlds, games, and other new technologies that augment today’s learner beyond formal training scenarios. The DoD training community now requires support of a next generation solution to allow for the delivery and tracking of digital learning content on any device or platform. The approach detailed in this paper uses Activity Streams, a technology widely used in social media. Activity Streams are composed of three elements: an actor, a verb, and an activity, such as “John.Doe@acme.com completed Information Assurance 101”. This paper will reveal research findings for a future capability to support the tracking and delivery of digital learning content on any device or platform. This capability is not simply a replacement for SCORM, but it will further enhance the other types of learning opportunities that can be made available for the military training and education community.