ISO/IEC TR 29163-1:2009

TECHNICAL ISO/IEC
REPORT TR
29163-1
First edition
2009-12-15
Information technology — Sharable
Content Object Reference Model
(SCORM®) 2004 3rd Edition —
Part 1:
Overview Version 1.1
Technologies de l'information — Modèle de référence d'objet de
contenu partageable (SCORM®) 2004 3e édition —
Partie 1: Exposé général Version 1.1

Reference number
©
ISO/IEC 2009
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Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) and IEC (the International Electrotechnical
Commission) form the specialized system for worldwide standardization. National bodies that are members of
ISO or IEC participate in the development of International Standards through technical committees
established by the respective organization to deal with particular fields of technical activity. ISO and IEC
technical committees collaborate in fields of mutual interest. Other international organizations, governmental
and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO and IEC, also take part in the work. In the field of information
technology, ISO and IEC have established a joint technical committee, ISO/IEC JTC 1.
International Standards are drafted in accordance with the rules given in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2.
The main task of the joint technical committee is to prepare International Standards. Draft International
Standards adopted by the joint technical committee are circulated to national bodies for voting. Publication as
an International Standard requires approval by at least 75 % of the national bodies casting a vote.
In exceptional circumstances, the joint technical committee may propose the publication of a Technical Report
of one of the following types:
— type 1, when the required support cannot be obtained for the publication of an International Standard,
despite repeated efforts;
— type 2, when the subject is still under technical development or where for any other reason there is the
future but not immediate possibility of an agreement on an International Standard;
— type 3, when the joint technical committee has collected data of a different kind from that which is normally
published as an International Standard (“state of the art”, for example).
Technical Reports of types 1 and 2 are subject to review within three years of publication, to decide whether
they can be transformed into International Standards. Technical Reports of type 3 do not necessarily have to
be reviewed until the data they provide are considered to be no longer valid or useful.
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of patent
rights. ISO and IEC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
ISO/IEC TR 29163-1, which is a Technical Report of type 3, was prepared by the Advanced Distributed ®
Learning (ADL) Initiative (as SCORM 2004 3rd Edition Overview Version 1.1) and was adopted, under a
special “fast-track procedure”, by Joint Technical Committee ISO/IEC JTC 1, Information technology, in
parallel with its approval by the national bodies of ISO and IEC.
ISO/IEC TR 29163 consists of the following parts, under the general title Information technology — Sharable ®
Content Object Reference Model (SCORM ) 2004 3rd Edition:
⎯ Part 1: Overview Version 1.1
⎯ Part 2: Content Aggregation Model Version 1.1
⎯ Part 3: Run-Time Environment Version 1.1
⎯ Part 4: Sequencing and Navigation Version 1.1

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iv
Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL)

Sharable Content Object Reference
Model (SCORM)® 2004 3rd Edition

Overview Version 1.1
For questions and comments visit the
Ask The Experts at ADLNet.gov
SCORM® is a registered trademark of the Department of Defense, an agency of the United States
government, located at The Pentagon, Washington, DC 20301.
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Chief Technical Architect
Philip Dodds
Technical Editor
Schawn E. Thropp
Acknowledgements
ADL would like to thank the following organizations and their members for their
continued commitment to building interoperable e-learning standards and specifications:
Alliance of Remote Instructional Authoring & Distribution Networks for
Europe (ARIADNE) (http://www.ariadne-eu.org/)

Aviation Industry CBT Committee (AICC) (http://www.aicc.org/)

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Learning
Technology Standards Committee (LTSC) (http://ltsc.ieee.org/)

IMS Global Learning Consortium, Inc. (http://www.imsglobal.org/)

ADL would also like to thank the ADL Community for their commitment and
contribution to the evolution of SCORM.

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Table of Contents
SECTION 1  SCORM® 2004 OVERVIEW. 1-1
1.1.  ABOUT THIS DOCUMENT. 1-3
1.2.  INTRODUCTION TO THE SHARABLE CONTENT OBJECT REFERENCE MODEL . 1-4
1.2.1.  The “ilities” – Conceptual Starting Point for SCORM. 1-5
1.2.2.  Learning Management Systems (LMSs) . 1-6
1.2.3.  SCORM and Other Standards Activities . 1-7
1.3.  SCORM 2004 3RD EDITION. 1-8
1.3.1.  The Organization of SCORM. 1-10
1.3.2.  The SCORM 2004 3rd Edition Content Aggregation Model Book. 1-11
1.3.3.  The SCORM 2004 3rd Edition Run-Time Environment Book . 1-13
1.3.4.  The SCORM 2004 3rd Edition Sequencing and Navigation Book . 1-14
1.3.5.  SCORM 2004 3rd Edition Conformance Requirements . 1-14
1.3.6.  SCORM Conformance Test Suite . 1-15
1.3.7.  SCORM 2004 3rd Edition Sample Run-Time Environment . 1-16
1.4.  COMMONLY USED TERMS IN SCORM. 1-17
APPENDIX A  ACRONYM LISTING. A-1
ACRONYM LISTING. A-3
APPENDIX B  REFERENCES.B-1
REFERENCES.B-3
APPENDIX C  DOCUMENT REVISION HISTORY .C-1

List of Figures
Figure 1.2.2a: Highly generalized model of an LMS . 1-6
Figure 1.3a: SCORM 2004 Evolution . 1-9
Figure 1.3.1a: SCORM Bookshelf . 1-10
Figure 1.3.3a: Conceptual Content Package. 1-12
Figure 1.3.5a: Conceptual Activity Tree and Clusters . 1-14

List of Tables
Table 1.3.1a: SCORM Book Coverage . 1-11

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SECTION 1
SCORM® 2004 Overview
SCORM® 2004 3rd Edition Overview Version 1.1 SCORM-1-1
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SCORM-1-2 SCORM® 2004 3rd Edition Overview Version 1.1
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1.1. About This Document
The United States Department of Defense (DoD) and the White House Office of Science
and Technology Policy (OSTP) launched the Advanced Distributed Learning Initiative
(ADL) in November 1997. The vision of the ADL Initiative is to provide access to the
highest quality learning and performance aiding, that can be tailored to individual needs,
delivered cost-effectively anytime and anywhere. The ADL Initiative aims to accelerate
large-scale development of dynamic and cost-effective learning software and systems and
to stimulate the market for these products.
As a foundation for accomplishing those goals, ADL’s Sharable Content Object
Reference Model (SCORM) aims to foster the creation of reusable learning content as
"instructional objects” within a common technical framework for computer-based and
Web-based learning. SCORM describes that technical framework by providing a
harmonized set of guidelines, specifications and standards based on the work of several
distinct e-learning specifications and standards bodies. These organizations continue to
work with ADL, developing and refining their own e-learning specifications and
standards, and helping to build and improve SCORM.
This document provides an overview of the SCORM 2004 3rd Edition documentation
suite, the SCORM 2004 3rd Edition Conformance Test Suite and SCORM 2004 3rd
Edition Sample Run-Time Environment. It is written at an intentionally high level. The
technical details of SCORM can be found in three stand-alone documents, or books that
cover the Content Aggregation Model (CAM), the Run-Time Environment (RTE) and
Sequencing and Navigation (SN).
This third edition is released in response to enhancements identified by the ADL
Technical Team and the ADL Community at large, as well as updates to specifications
and standards work that have taken place since the release of SCORM 2004 2nd Edition,
in July 2004.
SCORM® 2004 3rd Edition Overview Version 1.1 SCORM-1-3
© ISO/IEC 2009 – All rights reserved

1.2. Introduction to the Sharable Content Object
Reference Model
"SCORM" stands for "Sharable Content Object Reference Model." A "reference model"
is something that shows what kinds of services will be needed to solve a particular
problem, how they can be put together, the relevant standards that apply, and how they
might be used.
There are three primary criteria for a reference model such as SCORM. First, it must
articulate guidelines that can be understood and implemented by developers of learning
content. Second, it must be adopted, understood and used by as wide a variety of
stakeholders as possible -- especially learning content and tool developers and their
customers. Third, it must permit mapping of any stakeholder’s specifi
...