An observatory for e-learning technology standards

Uptake of learning technology standards is increasing, with numerous commercial products under development, and many R&D projects exploring the issues in this area. However, there is widespread confusion and misunderstanding about the relationships between the relevant standards and specifications, as well as between the organizations that develop, define, profile or implement them. Especially in Europe, it is crucial that communication on these aspects increases both in quality as well as in accessibility, as there is a danger that only a specific centric point of view will be widely disseminated otherwise. This is the rationale that led the European Committee of Standardization's Workshop on Learning Technologies (CEN/ISSS WS-LT) to establish an accessible and sustainable web based repository that acts as a focal access point to projects, results, activities and organizations that are relevant to the development and adoption of e-learning technology standards: the Learning Technology Standards Observatory (LTSO). The objective of this paper is to summarise the current state of Learning Technology standardisation following the guidance of the LTSO in a easy-to-follow readable path. LT standardisation is of crucial importance in any educational related field and it is also essential for Web-based Intellingent e-Learning Systems.