Featured FAQ

"My question relates to SCORM® and ADA…

Years ago, I seem to recall a major thrust to only let contracts for software development, which utilized the ADA programming language. This had clear compatibility (and share ability) benefits among operational embedded software modules; however, the requirement was also extended to include CBT development. As I recall, in some CBT development cases, this reduced the number of acceptable bidders from a dozen or so to just one.

There seem to be some similarities between that experience and perhaps the SCORM® implementation. My question is: Are we applying the lessons learned from the ADA implementation, where applicable, to the SCORM® implementation?"

– Major Greg Nichols, Chief Standards Officer, CF School of Aerospace Studies at 17 Wing Winnipeg

DLN's LCdr Roger St-Pierre responds…

While ADA was a computer language developed specifically to meet defence robustness requirements, it had little support from the general industry.

SCORM®, on the other hand, is a generic industry-wide set of specifications developed not by one, but rather several world-wide and industry-wide specification and standard organizations.

When the initial Courseware Object Model from which SCORM® evolved first emerged, the development of a defence-specific object oriented authoring language (such as ADA) was considered and rejected in light of the lessons learned with ADA and other similar defence-specific standards.

For that very reason, the ADL technical team specifically gathered the major competing courseware industries around the same table to develop what is now known as SCORM®.