IMS Learning Design
IMS Learning Design (IMS LD) is a specification which enables the modelling of learning processes. The specification is maintained by IMS.
Background
IMS LD has its origins in the Educational Modelling Language developed at the Open University of the Netherlands, with the IMS LD specification being released by the IMS Technical Board in February 2003.
Description
IMS Learning Design is a meta-language for describing learning designs and is pedagogically neutral (it does not mandate a specific pedagogical approach). The specification can be likened to a stage-play:
- People act in different roles
- Roles work towards specific objectives by performing learning and/or support activities
- Activities are conducted within an environment consisting of learning objects and services
IMS LD is made up of three levels (A, B and C), with each level extending and encorporating the previous.
- Level A contains the core elements of the meta language
- Level B enables the use of generic properties and conditions
- Level C provides the ablility to use notifications (enables activities to be set dynamically)
Use
The specification is a method for describing teaching strategies (pedagogical models) and educational goals. The language is represented in XML which makes it machine readable; an IMS LD-aware tool is able to play a unit of learning.
Although it is a relatively new specification (published in 2003), IMS LD has an active support base with a wide range of research and experimentation being conducted around its application, particularly in Europe.
Support
The Open University of the Netherlands has developed an IMS LD engine for playing LD called CopperCore[1], and a number of tools have been developed which support LD such as the Reload[2] editor.