Abstract
Learning technology standards aim to provide answers to some of the problems faced by institutions who wish to manage and facilitate online learning and teaching activities. When learning content and user data are packaged and sequenced in a standardised format they can then be transferred more easily between platforms and environments. Standard ways of describing educational materials allows them to be searched for more easily by learners. There needs to be a consensus between developers of administrative systems, virtual learning environments and other online learning tools about what information to transfer and how to format it. The IMS Global Consortium Inc. (www.imsproject.org) and others are developing specifications to enable this vision of interoperability of systems to be achieved. This briefing session gives an overview of the work taking place and examines how successful they has been so far.