scope:

This standard specifies a high-level architecture for information technology-supported learning, education, and training systems that describes the high-level system design and the components of these systems. This standard covers a wide range of systems, commonly known as learning technology, education and training technology, computer-based training, computer assisted instruction, intelligent tutoring, etc. This standard is pedagogically neutral, content-neutral, culturally neutral, implementation-neutral, and platform-neutral. This standard provides a framework for understanding existing and future systems, promotes interoperability and portability by identifying abstract, high-level system interfaces, and incorporates a technical horizon (applicability) of at least 5-10 years while remaining adaptable to new technologies and learning technology systems. This standard will facilitate the development of configuration guidelines (e.g., profiles) for general learning technology systems. This standard is neither prescriptive nor exclusive.

Purpose

In general, the purpose of developing system architectures is to create high-level frameworks for understanding certain kinds of systems, their subsystems, and their interactions with related systems, i.e., more than one architecture is possible.

An architecture is not a blueprint for designing a single system, but a framework for designing a range of systems over time, and for the analysis and comparison of these systems, i.e., an architecture is used for analysis and communication.

By revealing the shared components of different systems at the right level of generality, an architecture promotes the design and implementation of components and subsystems that are reusable, cost-effective and adaptable, i.e., abstract, high-level interoperability interfaces and services are identified.

The architectural framework developed in this standard does not address the specific implementation details necessary to create learning technology system components.