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MIT Open Knowledge Initiative, ADL Co-Laboratory,
and IMS Cooperate to Advance Learning Technology
June 29, 2001
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. and WASHINGTON, D.C. - July 11,
2001 - Leaders of the MIT's Open Knowledge Initiative (O.K.I.), the
Advanced Distributed Learning Co-Lab (ADL), and the IMS Global Learning
Consortium (IMS) today announced their intention to cooperate to
close the gap between innovative pedagogical technology and production
learning resources. O.K.I., IMS, and ADL will collaborate where appropriate
to accelerate the development and deployment of innovative as well
as practical online learning tools, systems and techniques.
By working together to facilitate the development
of a general technical framework, the groups will pursue complementary
work plans and improve the impact of their unique resources and
capabilities. Work is underway to develop architectural frameworks
and project structures that allow each group to devote its resources
to individual objectives and increase the collective impact of its
results. The strategic interaction between the organizations will
involve representation in advisory bodies and cross participation
in each other's on-going technical activities.
"We recognize that each of us confronts the
same complex problem from different perspectives. By sharing our
results and working together where possible, each of us can focus
our time and resources on critical tasks. Obviously, we can't promise
specific interactions in advance. The purpose of announcing our
intention at this early stage of the O.K.I. project is to set the top
bit for cooperation and start the process of interacting,"
said Vijay Kumar, Assistant Provost at MIT and Principal Investigator
of O.K.I..
"The overall objective of ADL's 'Plugfest'
demonstrations and successive releases of SCORM is to consolidate
advances in the functionality and interoperability of learning technology
and to test the potential impact of delivered learning resources,
" said Paul Jesukiewicz, Director of the ADL Co-Laboratory.
"Collaborating with the IMS consortium and the O.K.I. project
to develop technical specifications, accelerate technology transition,
and provide evaluative feedback that links researchers and technology
developers is essential to accomplishing that mission."
Ed Walker, Chief Executive Officer of IMS, stated
that "answering the urgent global requirement for practical,
high quality learning resources involves both innovation and delivery
of learning technology. IMS Working Groups and other activities
provide a forum for O.K.I. and ADL participants to share their requirements
and results with each other and with IMS members who set public
policy and develop advanced learning tools and systems. Our agreement
to cooperate signifies the basic technical consensus and growing
will to produce results for learners that motivates all the parties
engaged in delivering on-line learning."
The MIT Open Knowledge Initiative is a collaborative
project with Stanford University, Dartmouth College, Harvard University,
North Carolina State University, University of Michigan, University
of Pennsylvania, and the University of Wisconsin. The project is
funded in part by a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
More information on O.K.I. may be found at its website: http://web.mit.edu/oki/.
The ADL Co-Lab is an open, collaborative test
bed for sharing learning technology research, development, and assessments.
The CO-Lab is integrating work from IMS and other sources into the
Sharable Courseware Object Reference Model (SCORM). A download version
of SCORM and more information on the ADL initiative are available
at the ADL web site: http://www.adlnet.org.
The IMS Global Learning Consortium develops open
technical specifications to support distributed learning. All specifications
developed by IMS are available to the public without charge through
the IMS web site. IMS is a non-profit organization supported by
members of a worldwide consortium that currently includes more than
40 Contributing members and over 200 Developers Network subscribers.
The IMS in Europe foundation supports IMS activities among European
members. Information about IMS specifications, on-going activities,
and membership applications are available at IMS website at http://www.imsglobal.org.
For more information contact:
Paul Jesukiewicz, ADL, +1 703-578-2971
Vijay Kumar, MIT, +1 617-253-8004
Ed Walker, IMS, +1 978-312-1082
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