The International Federation for Learning, Education, and Training Systems Interoperability (LETSI) is an international
nonprofit organization
A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...
focused on enabling technical interoperability for computer-based
learning
Learning is the process of acquiring new understanding, knowledge, behaviors, skills, value (personal and cultural), values, Attitude (psychology), attitudes, and preferences. The ability to learn is possessed by humans, non-human animals, and ...
,
education
Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...
, and
training systems. Comprising
e-learning
Educational technology (commonly abbreviated as edutech, or edtech) is the combined use of computer hardware, software, and educational theory and practice to facilitate learning and teaching. When referred to with its abbreviation, "EdTech" ...
vendors, adopters, standards bodies, associations, and policy makers, LETSI's primary activity is to support the adoption of open software standards in learning systems. The LETSI community formed around an international planning effort for the next generation of the
Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM), which was originally created by the U.S.
Advanced Distributed Learning Initiative. LETSI was founded in March 2008 to serve the international SCORM community.
History
In 1997, the
U.S. Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and supervising the six U.S. armed services: the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, t ...
founded the
Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL) Initiative, with the mission of improving "access to education, training, and performance aids, tailored to individual needs, delivered cost effectively, anytime and anywhere".
In January 2000, the ADL released the first edition of the Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM), a technical framework designed to facilitate interoperability of computer-based education and training materials. Though developed for use within the DoD, SCORM became widely adopted in commercial, educational, government, and international projects.
Recognizing that SCORM had acquired an international constituency across a broad spectrum of markets, the ADL in 2005 determined that an "international collaborative approach" was required in order to meet the needs of the SCORM user base, and resolved that "an international stewardship organisation shall be established and become fully functional within a three-year period."
In March 2007, representatives from Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hungary, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Norway, Singapore, Switzerland, Tunisia, the United Kingdom, and the United States assembled at the London Institute for Education to discuss the formation of LETSI.
In March 2008, the LETSI founding sponsors signed a Memorandum of Understanding in Seoul, Korea about their common goals and principles and approved LETSI’s Operating Procedures Pro Tem.
In August, 2008, LETSI held the first SCORM 2.0 conference, in Pensacola, Florida.
[LETSI]
Inaugural SCORM 2.0 Workshop Jump-Starts LETSI
(PDF), Retrieved on 2009-02-03
Governance
LETSI adheres to an open development process. The public may view meeting minutes, committee decisions, and materials related to work in progress at no cost through the LETSI wiki. Nonmembers may contribute comments, case studies, and other inputs to LETSI through the wiki. Voting, however, requires membership, which involves an annual fee.
Outputs of LETSI, such as a new SCORM reference model, are planned to be public and non-proprietary.
LETSI currently operates under IEEE Industry Standards and Technology Organization (
ISTO) interim procedures. The Sponsors' Executive Committee (SEC), which is composed of sponsors, serves as LETSI’s governing body.
Working groups
LETSI activities are organized into the following working groups, each responsible for a different area of the next SCORM:
* Architecture Working Group
* Business Requirements Working Group
* Orchestration (Sequencing) Working Group
* Teaching and Learning Strategies Working Group
Software outputs
To increase consistency of adoption and to decrease time-to-market for innovation, LETSI plans to develop enabling software components (for example, code for
RESTful
REST (Representational State Transfer) is a software architectural style that was created to describe the design and guide the development of the architecture for the World Wide Web. REST defines a set of constraints for how the architecture of ...
and
SOAP
Soap is a salt (chemistry), salt of a fatty acid (sometimes other carboxylic acids) used for cleaning and lubricating products as well as other applications. In a domestic setting, soaps, specifically "toilet soaps", are surfactants usually u ...
-based web services) and other tools for developers. These tools will be available to developers free of charge.
See also
*
Advanced Distributed Learning Initiative (ADL)
*
Aviation Industry Computer-Based Training Committee (AICC)
References
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Educational technology non-profits
Distance education institutions based in the United States
Information technology organizations
Standards organizations in the United States