Pathlore First Major LMS Vendor Certified by E-Learning Standards Groups
“The ADL and AICC certification programs ensure that customers can validate a vendor’s claim of interoperability,” said Leonard Greenberg, chief technology officer at Pathlore. “Since 1997, we’ve lobbied for the adoption of standards across our industry because we want customers to know that the content they buy or build will run in a standard way on the LMS they choose.”
For ADL certification, Pathlore shipped its product to the ADL Certification Test Center at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division, Keyport, Washington. And the center’s staff ran the LMS through its paces. In January 2003, Pathlore announced that it adopted the ADL’s Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM) Version 1.2, an e-learning standards initiative sponsored by the U. S. Department of Defense. Until SCORM, there were no commonly accepted standards in e-learning systems. The Defense Department played a key role in creating the SCORM to ensure that e-learning and training tools run smoothly with one another.
The AICC certified Pathlore’s LMS in August 2003. After testing the software maker’s product, the group found Pathlore’s LMS compliant with the AICC’s Web-Based Computer Managed Instruction Systems (CMI) Guideline (AGR-010).
There are hundreds of vendors selling learning-management systems, but Pathlore was the first major LMS certified by the world’s two leading e-learning standards groups.
“While meeting these certifications won’t guarantee that all interoperability problems will go away,” said Carrie Picardi, research analyst with Stamford, Conn.-based META Group, “any software maker meeting the requirements of the ADL and AICC certification programs enables a higher degree of confidence in the product that will likely be a key influencing factor when making a purchasing decision.”
On October 27, 2003, the ADL, along with the Carnegie Mellon University Learning Systems Architecture Lab, hosted “Plugfest,” a series of annual events staged to discuss e-learning standards. During the four-day event in Pittsburgh at Carnegie Mellon University’s University Center, the ADL recognized Pathlore for not only adopting the SCORM but also meeting the standards group’s certification program.
About the ADL Co-Lab
The Office of the Secretary of Defense, the Department of Labor and the National Guard have established the ADL Co-Lab as a forum for cooperative research, development and assessment of new learning technology prototypes, guidelines and specifications. For more information, visit http://www.adlnet.org
About the AICC
The AICC’s mission is to provide and promote information, guidelines and standards that result in the effective implementation of computer-based and Web-based training. The AICC has long been an advocate of interoperable learning technology. More information is available at http://www.aicc.org/index.html
About Pathlore
Founded in 1995, Columbus, Ohio-headquartered Pathlore develops software that manages, tracks and reports on corporate training. Customers use Pathlore’s products to increase sales, comply with government regulations and adhere to quality initiatives. The privately held company’s client roster includes Delta Air Lines, NEC America Inc., Novartis, PNC Bank, Southwest Airlines, more than 100 hospitals and health care providers and government agencies in over 30 states including California, Ohio and Texas. Pathlore also has offices in Australia, Italy, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. For more information, go to http://www.pathlore.com.
Pathlore is a registered trademark of Pathlore Software Corporation. All other registered and unregistered trademarks and trade names are the property of their respective owners.
