ISO/IEC TR 29163-2:2009

TECHNICAL ISO/IEC
REPORT TR
29163-2
First edition
2009-12-15
Information technology — Sharable
Content Object Reference Model
(SCORM®) 2004 3rd Edition —
Part 2:
Content Aggregation Model Version 1.1
Technologies de l'information — Modèle de référence d'objet de
contenu partageable (SCORM®) 2004 3e édition —
Partie 2: Modèle d'agrégation de contenu Version 1.1

Reference number
©
ISO/IEC 2009
PDF disclaimer
This PDF file may contain embedded typefaces. In accordance with Adobe's licensing policy, this file may be printed or viewed but
shall not be edited unless the typefaces which are embedded are licensed to and installed on the computer performing the editing. In
downloading this file, parties accept therein the responsibility of not infringing Adobe's licensing policy. The ISO Central Secretariat
accepts no liability in this area.
Adobe is a trademark of Adobe Systems Incorporated.
Details of the software products used to create this PDF file can be found in the General Info relative to the file; the PDF-creation
parameters were optimized for printing. Every care has been taken to ensure that the file is suitable for use by ISO member bodies. In
the unlikely event that a problem relating to it is found, please inform the Central Secretariat at the address given below.

©  ISO/IEC 2009
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, no part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and microfilm, without permission in writing from either ISO at the address below or
ISO's member body in the country of the requester.
ISO copyright office
Case postale 56 • CH-1211 Geneva 20
Tel. + 41 22 749 01 11
Fax + 41 22 749 09 47
E-mail copyright@iso.org
Web www.iso.org
Published in Switzerland
ii © ISO/IEC 2009 – All rights reserved

Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) and IEC (the International Electrotechnical
Commission) form the specialized system for worldwide standardization. National bodies that are members of
ISO or IEC participate in the development of International Standards through technical committees
established by the respective organization to deal with particular fields of technical activity. ISO and IEC
technical committees collaborate in fields of mutual interest. Other international organizations, governmental
and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO and IEC, also take part in the work. In the field of information
technology, ISO and IEC have established a joint technical committee, ISO/IEC JTC 1.
International Standards are drafted in accordance with the rules given in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2.
The main task of the joint technical committee is to prepare International Standards. Draft International
Standards adopted by the joint technical committee are circulated to national bodies for voting. Publication as
an International Standard requires approval by at least 75 % of the national bodies casting a vote.
In exceptional circumstances, the joint technical committee may propose the publication of a Technical Report
of one of the following types:
— type 1, when the required support cannot be obtained for the publication of an International Standard,
despite repeated efforts;
— type 2, when the subject is still under technical development or where for any other reason there is the
future but not immediate possibility of an agreement on an International Standard;
— type 3, when the joint technical committee has collected data of a different kind from that which is normally
published as an International Standard (“state of the art”, for example).
Technical Reports of types 1 and 2 are subject to review within three years of publication, to decide whether
they can be transformed into International Standards. Technical Reports of type 3 do not necessarily have to
be reviewed until the data they provide are considered to be no longer valid or useful.
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of patent
rights. ISO and IEC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
ISO/IEC TR 29163-2, which is a Technical Report of type 3, was prepared by the Advanced Distributed ®
Learning (ADL) Initiative (as SCORM 2004 3rd Edition Content Aggregation Model Version 1.1) and was
adopted, under a special “fast-track procedure”, by Joint Technical Committee ISO/IEC JTC 1, Information
technology, in parallel with its approval by the national bodies of ISO and IEC.
ISO/IEC TR 29163 consists of the following parts, under the general title Information technology — Sharable ®
Content Object Reference Model (SCORM ) 2004 3rd Edition:
⎯ Part 1: Overview Version 1.1
⎯ Part 2: Content Aggregation Model Version 1.1
⎯ Part 3: Run-Time Environment Version 1.1
⎯ Part 4: Sequencing and Navigation Version 1.1

© ISO/IEC 2009 – All rights reserved iii

This page intentionally left blank.

iv © ISO/IEC 2009 – All rights reserved

Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL)

SCORM® 2004 3rd Edition
Content Aggregation Model (CAM)
Version 1.1
For questions and comments visit
Ask The Experts at ADLNet.gov
SCORM® is a registered trademark of the Department of Defense, an agency of the United States
government, located at The Pentagon, Washington, DC 20301.
SCORM® 2004 3rd Edition Content Aggregation Model (CAM) Version 1.1                                 v
© ISO/IEC 2009 – All rights reserved

This page intentionally left blank.

vi SCORM® 2004 3rd Edition Content Aggregation Model (CAM) Version 1.1
© ISO/IEC 2009 – All rights reserved

Chief Technical Architect
Philip Dodds
Technical Editor
Schawn E. Thropp
Acknowledgements
ADL would like to thank the following organizations and their members for their
continued commitment to building interoperable e-learning standards and specifications:
Alliance of Remote Instructional Authoring & Distribution Networks for
Europe (ARIADNE) (http://www.ariadne-eu.org/)

Aviation Industry CBT Committee (AICC)  (http://www.aicc.org/)

Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Learning
Technology Standards Committee (LTSC) (http://ltsc.ieee.org/)

IMS Global Learning Consortium, Inc. (http://www.imsglobal.org/)

ADL would also like to thank the ADL Community for their commitment and
contribution to the evolution of SCORM.

SCORM® 2004 3rd Edition documentation suite reprinted with permission from IEEE Std. 1484.11.1-2004 IEEE
Standard for Learning Technology – Data Model for Content to Learning Management System Communication,
Copyright 2004, by IEEE; IEEE Std. 1484.11.2-2003 IEEE Standard for Learning Technology – ECMAScript
Application Programming Interface for Content to Runtime Services Communication, Copyright 2003, by IEEE; IEEE
Std. 1484.12.1-2002 IEEE Standard for Learning Object Metadata, Copyright 2002, by IEEE; and IEEE Std.
1484.12.3-2005 IEEE Standard for Learning Technology – Extensible Markup Language (XML) Schema Definition
Language Binding for Learning Object Metadata, Copyright 2005, by IEEE. The IEEE disclaims any responsibility or
liability resulting from the placement and use in the described manner.
SCORM® 2004 3rd Edition documentation suite reprinted with permission from IMS Content Packaging v1.1.4
Copyright 2004, by IMS Global Learning Consortium Inc. and IMS Simple Sequencing v1.0 Copyright 2003, by IMS
Global Learning Consortium Inc. IMS Global Learning Consortium has made no inquiry into whether or not the
implementation of third party material included in this document would infringe upon the intellectual property rights of
any party. Recipients of this document are requested to submit, with their comments, notification of any relevant
patent claims or other intellectual property rights of which they may be aware that might be infringed by any
implementation of the document set forth in this document, and to provide supporting documentation to IMS. This
material is being offered without any warranty whatsoever, and in particular, any warranty of non-infringement is
expressly disclaimed. Any use of this material shall be made entirely at the implementer’s own risk, and neither the
IMS Global Learning Consortium, nor any of its members or submitters, shall have any liability whatsoever to any
implementer or third party for any damages of any nature whatsoever, directly or indirectly, arising from the use of this
material.
SCORM® 2004 3rd Edition Content Aggregation Model (CAM) Version 1.1 vii
© ISO/IEC 2009 – All rights reserved

This page intentionally left blank.

viii                                  ORM® 2004 3rd Edition Content Aggregation Model (CAM) Version 1.1
© ISO/IEC 2009 – All rights reserved

Table of Contents
SECTION 1  SCORM® CONTENT AGGREGATION MODEL (CAM) OVERVIEW. 1-1
1.1.  INTRODUCTION TO THE SCORM CONTENT AGGREGATION MODEL (CAM) BOOK. 1-3
1.1.1.  What is Covered in the SCORM Content Aggregation Model (CAM) Book?. 1-3
1.1.2.  Using the SCORM CAM Book . 1-4
1.1.3.  Relationship with Other SCORM Books. 1-5
1.2.  THE SCORM CONTENT AGGREGATION MODEL . 1-8
SECTION 2  THE SCORM® CONTENT MODEL. 2-1
2.1.  SCORM CONTENT MODEL COMPONENTS . 2-3
2.1.1.  Asset. 2-3
2.1.2.  Sharable Content Object (SCO) . 2-4
2.1.3.  Activities . 2-5
2.1.4.  Content Organization. 2-6
2.1.5.  Content Aggregation . 2-7
SECTION 3  SCORM® CONTENT PACKAGING . 3-1
3.1.  CONTENT PACKAGING OVERVIEW . 3-3
3.2.  CONTENT PACKAGE COMPONENTS . 3-4
3.2.1.  Package. 3-5
3.2.2.  Manifest. 3-5
3.2.3.  Package Interchange File (PIF) . 3-6
3.3.  COMPONENTS OF A MANIFEST . 3-7
3.3.1.  Metadata . 3-7
3.3.2.  Organizations. 3-8
3.3.3.  Resources. 3-15
3.3.4.  Content . 3-16
3.4.  BUILDING CONTENT PACKAGES. 3-17
3.4.1.  Manifest File. 3-17
3.4.2.  Content Package Manifest Extensions. 3-45
3.4.3.  Content Package Manifest Href Handling. 3-45
3.5.  SCORM CONTENT PACKAGE APPLICATION PROFILES . 3-52
3.5.1.  Resource Content Package . 3-52
3.5.2.  Content Aggregation Content Package. 3-55
3.5.3.  SCORM Content Package Application Profile Requirements. 3-57
3.6.  BEST PRACTICES AND PRACTICAL GUIDELINES . 3-59
3.6.1.  Multiple Organizations for a Single Course . 3-59
3.6.2.  Using the Element. 3-59
SECTION 4  METADATA. 4-1
4.1.  METADATA OVERVIEW. 4-3
4.2.  LOM METADATA CREATION . 4-5
4.2.1.  Element. 4-7
4.2.2.  Element . 4-9
4.2.3.  Element. 4-18
4.2.4.  Element. 4-25
4.2.5.  Element. 4-34
4.2.6.  Element. 4-46
4.2.7.  Element . 4-56
4.2.8.  Element . 4-59
4.2.9.  Element . 4-65
4.2.10.  Element . 4-68
4.2.11.  Common Data Types. 4-76
SCORM® 2004 3rd Edition Content Aggregation Model (CAM) Version 1.1 ix
© ISO/IEC 2009 – All rights reserved

4.3.  LOM XML SCHEMA VALIDATION APPROACHES . 4-81
4.3.1.  Strict Schema Validation Approach. 4-81
4.3.2.  Custom Schema Validation Approach. 4-82
4.3.3.  Loose Schema Validation Approach. 4-82
4.4.  METADATA EXTENSIONS. 4-83
4.4.1.  Data Element Extension. 4-84
4.4.2.  Vocabulary Extension. 4-85
4.5.  METADATA AND SCORM CONTENT MODEL COMPONENTS . 4-86
4.5.1.  Metadata Describing Content Aggregations. 4-87
4.5.2.  Metadata Describing Content Organizations . 4-88
4.5.3.  Metadata Describing Activities. 4-89
4.5.4.  Metadata Describing SCOs. 4-90
4.5.5.  Metadata Describing Assets. 4-91
SECTION 5  SCORM® SEQUENCING AND PRESENTATION. 5-1
5.1.  SEQUENCING AND PRESENTATION. 5-3
5.1.1.  Element. 5-3
5.1.2.  Element. 5-5
5.1.3.  Element. 5-7
5.1.4.  Element. 5-16
5.1.5.  Element . 5-18
5.1.6.  Element. 5-19
5.1.7.  Element . 5-26
5.1.8.  Element. 5-34
5.1.9.  Element. 5-36
5.1.10.  Element . 5-37
5.1.11.  Element . 5-39
5.1.12.  Element . 5-41
5.2.  PRESENTATION/NAVIGATION INFORMATION. 5-43
5.2.1.  Element . 5-43
5.3.  RELATIONSHIP TO CONTENT PACKAGING. 5-47
APPENDIX A  ACRONYM LISTING. A-1
ACRONYM LISTING . A-3
APPENDIX B  REFERENCES. B-1
REFERENCES . B-3
APPENDIX C  DOCUMENT REVISON HISTORY. C-1
DOCUMENT REVISION HISTORY. C-3

x SCORM® 2004 3rd Edition Content Aggregation Model (CAM) Version 1.1
© ISO/IEC 2009 – All rights reserved

List of Figures
Figure 1.1a:  The SCORM Content Aggregation Model Book as Part of the SCORM Bookshelf . 1-3
Figure 2.1.1a:  Examples of Assets . 2-3
Figure 2.1.2a:  Conceptual Makeup of a SCO. 2-4
Figure 2.1.3a: Conceptual Representation of Activities. 2-5
Figure 2.1.4a:  Conceptual Illustration of a Content Organization. 2-6
Figure 2.1.5a:  Conceptual Illustration of a Content Aggregation. 2-8
Figure 3.2a:  Content Package Conceptual Diagram. 3-4
Figure 3.3a:  Components of a Manifest . 3-7
Figure 3.3.2.3.1a:  IMS Content Hierarchy Terminology . 3-12
Figure 3.3.3a:  Conceptual Illustration of Manifest Resources . 3-15
Figure3.5.1a:  Example of an Asset Represented as a Element. 3-53
Figure 3.5.1b:  Example of an Asset Represented as a Element. 3-54
Figure 3.5.1c:  Example of a SCO Represented as a Element. 3-55
Figure 3.5.2a:  Example of a Content Aggregation Content Package and its Components. 3-56
Figure 4.5.1a:  Application of Metadata Describing a Content Aggregation . 4-87
Figure 4.5.2a:  Application of Metadata Describing a Content Organization . 4-88
Figure 4.5.13a:  Application of Metadata Describing an Activity. 4-89
Figure 4.5.4a:  Application of Metadata Describing a SCO. 4-90
Figure 4.5.5a:  Application of Metadata Describing Assets. 4-91
Figure 5.3a:  Sequencing Rules and Content Packaging Structure Relationship. 5-47

List of Tables
Table 3.3.2.3a:  Example of Curricular Taxonomy Models . 3-11
Table 3.4.1a:  SCORM Content Packaging Application Profile Table Format. 3-18
Table 3.4.1b:  Explanation of Content Packaging Application Profile Multiplicity Requirements. 3-18
Table 3.5.3a:  SCORM Content Package Application Profile Manifest Element Requirements . 3-57
Table 4.2a:  Explanation of Multiplicity Requirements . 4-5

SCORM® 2004 3rd Edition Content Aggregation Model (CAM) Version 1.1                                 xi
© ISO/IEC 2009 – All rights reserved

This page intentionally left blank.

xii SCORM® 2004 3rd Edition Content Aggregation Model (CAM) Version 1.1
© ISO/IEC 2009 – All rights reserved

SECTION 1
SCORM® Content Aggregation Model
(CAM) Overview
From IEEE Std. 1484.11.1-2004 IEEE Standard for Learning Technology – Data Model for Content to Learning Management System
Communication, Copyright 2004 IEEE; IEEE Std. 1484.11.2-2003 IEEE Standard for Learning Technology – ECMAScript
Application Programming Interface for Content to Runtime Services Communication, Copyright 2003 IEEE; IEEE Std. 1484.12.1-
2002 IEEE Standard for Learning Object Metadata, Copyright 2002 IEEE; and IEEE Std. 1484.12.3-2005 IEEE Standard for Learning
Technology – Extensible Markup Language (XML) Schema Definition Language Binding for Learning Object Metadata, Copyright
2005 IEEE. All rights reserved.
From IMS Content Packaging v1.1.4 Copyright 2004, by IMS Global Learning Consortium Inc. and IMS Simple Sequencing v1.0
Copyright 2003, by IMS Global Learning Consortium Inc. All rights reserved.
SCORM® 2004 3rd Edition Content Aggregation Model (CAM) Version 1.1 CAM-1-1
© ISO/IEC 2009 – All rights reserved

This page intentionally left blank.

CAM-1-2 SCORM® 2004 3rd Edition Content Aggregation Model (CAM) Version 1.1
© ISO/IEC 2009 – All rights reserved

1.1. Introduction to the SCORM Content Aggregation
Model (CAM) Book
The Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM) is often described as a set of
books on a bookshelf. The Content Aggregation Model (CAM) book is one of a set of
books (refer to Figure 1.1a: The Content Aggregation Model Book as Part of the SCORM
Bookshelf). More information on the other SCORM books and their relationships to one
another can be found in the SCORM 2004 3rd Edition Overview book. The SCORM
CAM book describes the components used in a learning experience, how to package
those components for exchange from system to system, how to describe those
components to enable search and discovery and how to define sequencing information for
the components. The SCORM CAM promotes the consistent storage, labeling,
packaging, exchange and discovery of learning content.

Figure 1.1a:  The SCORM Content Aggregation Model Book as Part of the SCORM Bookshelf
1.1.1. What is Covered in the SCORM Content Aggregation
Model (CAM) Book?
There are several key concepts that are introduced in the SCORM CAM book. The book
describes responsibilities and requirements for building content and content organizations
(e.g., course, lessons, modules, etc.). The book contains information on creating content
packages, applying metadata to the components in the content package and applying
sequencing and navigation details in the context of a content package. SCORM Content
Packaging, as described in this book, provides a consistent form for describing content
structures, learning content, the metadata that describes the various components of the
content structures and sequencing and navigation rules. This consistency facilitates
SCORM® 2004 3rd Edition Content Aggregation Model (CAM) Version 1.1 CAM-1-3
© ISO/IEC 2009 – All rights reserved

search and discovery of content packages and their resources (helping facilitate reuse of
SCORM conformant content), building of content organizations that will behave in a
similar manner from system to system and standard understanding of the contents of the
content package. General subjects discussed include:
• Content Model: Definition of common terminology used throughout the CAM
book.
• Content Packaging: Descriptions and requirements for aggregating and bundling
learning content.
• Metadata: Descriptions and requirements for describing SCORM components.
• Sequencing and Navigation: Descriptions and requirements for defining
sequencing and navigation information.
1.1.2. Using the SCORM CAM Book
This book will assist authoring tool vendors, content developers and anyone else wishing
to create, edit or use:
• SCORM Content Model Components (Assets, Sharable Content Objects (SCOs),
Activities, Content Organizations and Content Aggregations),
• SCORM Content Packages (with or without sequencing and navigation
information), or
• Metadata
Various requirements are defined throughout the book that describes how to create, edit
or use content packages, metadata and content model components.
Early portions of this book, Section 1: The SCORM® Content Aggregation Model (CAM)
Overview through Section 2: The SCORM® Content Model, cover general SCORM
CAM-related concepts. These sections are recommended reading for those seeking an
introduction to the concepts behind the SCORM CAM and who may not wish to delve
into its technical details. Others who may find these sections useful include those
wishing to learn about updates to the SCORM CAM. Section 2.1.3: Content
Organization, for instance, discusses how Activities affect the SCORM CAM.
Section 3: SCORM® Content Packaging is the first section of this book providing
technical details specific to the CAM. It describes Manifests, Content Packages,
SCORM Content Aggregation Content Package Application Profile, SCORM Resource
Content Package Application Profile and Best Practices and Practical Guidelines. This
section covers not only the technical details about the various individual components of
SCORM Content Packages, but it also covers how to assemble content packages,
showing code illustrations of manifests with explanations.
Section 4: Metadata covers all aspects of creating metadata for labeling purposes, to
include Learning Object Metadata (LOM) Extensible Markup Language (XML)
validation approaches and metadata extensions. The section also describes how to
associate metadata to SCORM Content Model Components in a content package.
CAM-1-4 SCORM® 2004 3rd Edition Content Aggregation Model (CAM) Version 1.1
© ISO/IEC 2009 – All rights reserved

Section 5: SCORM® Sequencing and Navigation covers ways in which the introduction
of sequencing and navigation information affects the SCORM CAM. The section also
outlines how to build sequencing and navigation information in XML and how to place
those rules in a content package manifest. The section describes the requirements for
building XML that represents the desired sequencing strategies.
1.1.3. Relationship with Other SCORM Books
While the various SCORM books are intended to stand alone, there are areas of overlap
or mutual coverage. For instance, while this book focuses primarily on elements of
SCORM content such as SCOs and Assets, those objects are launched by SCORM
conformant Learning Management Systems (LMSs), and so the SCORM Run-Time
Environment (RTE) book [2], covering content launch is mentioned numerous times.
Similarly, while the Sequencing and Navigation (SN) book covers the details of SCORM
sequencing and navigation processes, including detailed coverage of how an LMS
evaluates navigation requests and related activities, this book deals with manifests which
contain the sequencing information described by the SCORM SN book, and so some of
the basics of sequencing and navigation are touched on.
To help clarify areas of overlap, Section 1.1.3.1: The SCORM Run-Time Environment
Book and Section 1.1.3.2: The SCORM Sequencing and Navigation Book provides brief
descriptions of the contents of these SCORM books.
1.1.3.1. The SCORM Run-Time Environment Book
The purpose of the SCORM RTE book is to provide a means for interoperability between
SCOs and LMSs. SCORM provides a means for learning content to be interoperable
across multiple LMSs regardless of the tools used to create the content. For this to be
possible, there must be a common way to launch content, a common way for content to
communicate with an LMS and predefined data elements that are exchanged between an
LMS and content during its execution. The three components of the SCORM RTE are
defined in this document as Launch, Application Program Interface (API) and Data
Model. The technical details of these elements are described in the SCORM RTE book,
but a brief overview of each of these elements of the RTE follows.
Launch includes defining the relationship between LMSs and SCORM content such that
all SCORM conformant content is dependant upon a SCORM conformant LMS to be
delivered and displayed to the learner. In addition, LMSs have the responsibility to
determine which SCORM content is to be delivered next. These new responsibilities,
described in the SCORM SN book, are also touched on in the SCORM RTE book.
The SCORM API, as described in the SCORM RTE book, provides a set of predefined
methods that are agreed upon by both LMS vendors and content authoring tool vendors to
be made available for purposes of communication between an LMS and the SCOs it
launches. These functions complete the launch process by providing a means to establish
a “handshake” between the SCO and the LMS that launched it, and to break that
SCORM® 2004 3rd Edition Content Aggregation Model (CAM) Version 1.1 CAM-1-5
© ISO/IEC 2009 – All rights reserved

handshake when the learning session with the SCO is terminated. In addition, they
provide the means for SCORM content to “set” and “get” data on the LMS, such as
assessment results, and to check for and warn the user about any errors that may occur
during these processes.
The SCORM RTE Data Model, as described in the SCORM RTE book, provides the data
elements that can be used to “get” and “set” data from and to an LMS. For instance,
when passing a test score from a learner, a SCO would use the SCORM RTE Data Model
element known as cmi.score.scaled to inform the LMS how a user performed in the
test. This and all other SCORM Run-Time Environment Data Model elements are
described in detail in the SCORM RTE book.
Various concepts described in the SCORM CAM book have impacts on the SCORM
RTE. Data defined in a content package manifest impact some initial values for some of
the SCORM Run-Time Environment Data Model elements. Data from the manifest is
used in the process of delivering and launching content to the learner and impacts the
run-time environment. These and other relationships are described throughout the CAM.
1.1.3.2. The SCORM Sequencing and Navigation Book
The SCORM SN book is based on the IMS Simple Sequencing (SS) Specification
Version 1.0, which defines a method for representing the intended behavior of an
authored learning experience such that any SCORM conformant LMS will sequence
discrete learning activities in a consistent way.
The SCORM SN Model defines how IMS SS applies and is extended in a SCORM
environment. It defines the required behaviors and functionality that SCORM
conformant LMSs must implement to process sequencing information at run-time. More
specifically, it describes the branching and flow of learning activities in terms of an
Activity Tree, based on the results of a learner’s interactions with launched content
objects and an authored sequencing strategy. An Activity Tree is a conceptual structure
of learning activities managed by the LMS for each learner.
The SCORM SN book describes how learner-initiated and system-initiated navigation
events can be triggered and processed, resulting in the identification of learning activities
for delivery. Each learning activity identified for delivery will have an associated content
object. The SCORM RTE book describes how identified content objects are launched.
The sequence of launched content objects, for a given learner and content structure,
provides a learning experience (learner interaction with content objects); the SCORM
RTE model describes how the LMS manages the resulting learning experience and how
that learning experience may affect the Activity Tree.
Various concepts described in the SCORM CAM book have relationships to the SCORM
SN book. The SCORM CAM describes how to build sequencing information and
represent that information in Extensible Markup Language (XML). The SCORM CAM
then describes how to build onto the existing manifest to apply the sequencing
information. The SCORM SN book contains more details on the relationship between
CAM-1-6 SCORM® 2004 3rd Edition Content Aggregation Model (CAM) Version 1.1
© ISO/IEC 2009 – All rights reserved

the XML binding of the sequencing information and the processes and behaviors of that
information.
SCORM® 2004 3rd Edition Content Aggregation Model (CAM) Version 1.1 CAM-1-7
© ISO/IEC 2009 – All rights reserved

1.2. The SCORM Content Aggregation Model
The SCORM CAM represents a learning taxonomy neutral means for designers and
implementers of instruction to aggregate learning resources for the purpose of delivering
a desired learning experience. A learning resource is any representation of information
that is used in a learning experience. Learning experiences consist of activities that are
supported by electronic or non-electronic learning resources.
One activity in the process of creating and delivering learning experiences involves the
creation, discovery and gathering together, or aggregation, of simple assets into more
complex learning resources and then organizing the resources into a predefined sequence
of delivery. The SCORM CAM supports this process and is made up of the following:
• Content Model: Nomenclature defining the content components of a learning
experience.
• Content Packaging: Defines how to represent the intended behavior of a learning
experience (Content Structure) and how to aggregate activities of learning
resources for movement between different environments (Content Packaging).
• Metadata: A mechanism for describing specific instances of the components of
the content model.
• Sequencing and Navigation: A rule-based model for defining a set of rules that
describes the intended sequence and ordering of activities. The activities may or
may not reference learning resources to be delivered to the learner.

CAM-1-8 SCORM® 2004 3rd Edition Content Aggregation Model (CAM) Version 1.1
© ISO/IEC 2009 – All rights reserved

SECTION 2
The SCORM® Content Model
From IEEE Std. 1484.11.1-2004 IEEE Standard for Learning Technology – Data Model for Content to Learning Management System
Communication, Copyright 2004 IEEE; IEEE Std. 1484.11.2-2003 IEEE Standard for Learning Technology – ECMAScript
Application Programming Interface for Content to Runtime Services Communication, Copyright 2003 IEEE; IEEE Std. 1484.12.1-
2002 IEEE Standard for Learning Object Metadata, Copyright 2002 IEEE; and IEEE Std. 1484.12.3-2005 IEEE Standard for Learning
Technology – Extensible Markup Language (XML) Schema Definition Language Binding for Learning Object Metadata, Copyright
2005 IEEE. All rights reserved.
From IMS Content Packaging v1.1.4 Copyright 2004, by IMS Global Learning Consortium Inc. and IMS Simple Sequencing v1.0
Copyright 2003, by IMS Global Learning Consortium Inc. All rights reserved.
SCORM® 2004 3rd Edition Content Aggregation Model (CAM) Version 1.1 CAM-2-1
© ISO/IEC 2009 – All rights reserved

This page intentionally left blank.

CAM-2-2 SCORM® 2004 3rd Edition Content Aggregation Model (CAM) Version 1.1
© ISO/IEC 2009 – All rights reserved

2.1. SCORM Content Model Components
The SCORM Content Model describes the SCORM components used to build a learning
experience from learning resources. The Content Model also defines how these lower-
level sharable, learning resources are aggregated and organized into higher-level units of
instruction. The SCORM Content Model is made up of Assets, Sharable Content Objects
(SCOs), Activities, Content Organization and Content Aggregations.
2.1.1. Asset
The Asset is the basic building block of a learning resource. Assets are an electronic
representation of media, such as text, images, sound, assessment objects or any other
piece of data that can be rendered by a Web client and presented to a learner (refer to
Figure 2.1.1a). More than one asset can be collected together to build other assets. In
some cases, Assets may be launched as part of the learning experience.

Figure 2.1.1a:  Examples of Assets
An Asset can be described with metadata (Refer to the Asset Metadata definition below)
to allow for search and discovery within repositories, thereby enabling opportunities for
reuse and facilitating maintenance.
SCORM® 2004 3rd Edition Content Aggregation Model (CAM) Version 1.1 CAM-2-3
© ISO/IEC 2009 – All rights reserved

2.1.2. Sharable Content Object (SCO)
A SCO is a collection of one or more Assets that represent a single launchable learning
resource that uses the SCORM RTE to communicate with an LMS. A SCO represents
the lowest level of granularity of a learning resource that is tracked by an LMS using the
SCORM Run-Time Environment Data Model. The only difference between a SCO and
an Asset is that the SCO communicates with an LMS using the Institute for Electrical and
Electronics Engineers (IEEE) ECMAScript Application Programming Interface for
Content to Runtime Services Communication standard [1]. Figure 2.1.2a below shows an
example of a SCO composed of several Assets.
To improve reusability, a SCO should be independent of its learning context. For
example, a SCO could be reused in different learning experiences to fulfill different
learning objectives. In addition, an Activity may aggregate more than one SCO resource
(and/or Asset resource) to form a higher-level unit of instruction or training that fulfills
higher level learning objectives.
SCOs are intended to be subjectively small units, such that potential reuse across multiple
learning contexts is feasible. SCORM does not impose any particular constraints on the
exact size of a SCO. During content design and authoring activities, when determining
the size of a SCO, thought should be given to the smallest logical size of content to be
tracked by an LMS at run-time. Reuse requirements for an organization will impact
decisions about the size of SCOs. Other factors that may impact the decisions about the
size of SCOs include how much information is required to achieve a learning outcome
and the point where a branching decision is required for sequencing.
A SCO can be described with metadata (refer to the SCO Metadata definition below) to
a
...