ISO/IEC TR 29163-3:2009

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

Reference number
©
ISO/IEC 2009
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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 29163-3, which is a Technical Report of type 3, was prepared by the Advanced Distributed ®
Learning (ADL) Initiative (as SCORM 2004 3rd Edition Run-Time Environment 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
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iv © ISO/IEC 2009 – All rights reserved

Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL)

SCORM® 2004 3rd Edition
Run-Time Environment (RTE)
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.
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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, 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.
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Table of Contents
SECTION 1  THE SCORM® RUN-TIME ENVIRONMENT (RTE) . 1-1

1.1.  INTRODUCTION TO THE SCORM RUN-TIME ENVIRONMENT (RTE) BOOK. 1-3

1.1.1.  What is Covered in the SCORM RTE Book?. 1-3

1.1.2.  Using the SCORM RTE Book. 1-4

1.1.3.  Relationship with other SCORM Books. 1-4

1.2.  RUN-TIME ENVIRONMENT OVERVIEW . 1-7

SECTION 2  MANAGING THE RUN-TIME ENVIRONMENT (RTE). 2-1

2.1.  RUN-TIME ENVIRONMENT (RTE) MANAGEMENT . 2-3

2.1.1.  Run-Time Environment Temporal Model . 2-4

2.1.2.  Launching Content Objects . 2-7

2.1.3.  Taking Content Objects Away. 2-9
SECTION 3  APPLICATION PROGRAMMING INTERFACE (API) . 3-1
3.1.  APPLICATION PROGRAMMING INTERFACE (API). 3-3
3.1.1.  API Overview . 3-3
3.1.2.  API Methods and Syntax . 3-5
3.1.3.  Session Methods . 3-6
3.1.4.  Data-Transfer Methods. 3-7
3.1.5.  Support Methods. 3-9
3.1.6.  Communication Session State Model . 3-11
3.1.7.  API Implementation Error Codes . 3-13
3.2.  LMS RESPONSIBILITIES. 3-27
3.2.1.  API Instance. 3-27
3.3.  SCO RESPONSIBILITIES . 3-30
3.3.1.  Finding the API Instance . 3-30
3.3.2.  API Usage Requirements and Guidelines. 3-33
SECTION 4  SCORM® RUN-TIME ENVIRONMENT DATA MODEL. A-1
4.1.  DATA MODEL OVERVIEW. A-3
4.1.1.  SCORM Run-Time Environment Data Model Basics. A-4
4.2.  SCORM RUN-TIME ENVIRONMENT DATA MODEL . A-19
4.2.1.  Data Model Version. A-22
4.2.2.  Comments From Learner . A-23
4.2.3.  Comments From LMS . A-30
4.2.4.  Completion Status. A-36
4.2.5.  Completion Threshold . A-40
4.2.6.  Credit . A-41
4.2.7.  Entry . A-43
4.2.8.  Exit. A-45
4.2.9.  Interactions . A-48
4.2.10.  Launch Data. A-85
4.2.11.  Learner Id . A-87
4.2.12.  Learner Name . A-88
4.2.13.  Learner Preference. A-89
4.2.14.  Location . A-95
4.2.15.  Maximum Time Allowed. A-97
4.2.16.  Mode. A-98
4.2.17.  Objectives . A-100
4.2.18.  Progress Measure. A-120
4.2.19.  Scaled Passing Score . A-122
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4.2.20.  Score. A-124
4.2.21.  Session Time . A-129
4.2.22.  Success Status. A-131
4.2.23.  Suspend Data. A-135
4.2.24.  Time Limit Action. A-137
4.2.25.  Total Time .A-139
APPENDIX A  ACRONYM LISTING. A-1
ACRONYM LISTING. A-3
APPENDIX B  REFERENCES.B-1
REFERENCES.B-3
APPENDIX C  DOCUMENT REVISION HISTORY .C-1
DOCUMENT REVISION HISTORY .C-3

List of Figures
Figure 1.1a:  The SCORM Run-Time Environment Book as Part of the SCORM Bookshelf. 1-3
Figure 1.2a:  SCORM Conceptual Run-Time Environment. 1-8
Figure 2.1a:  Conceptual Content Structure Illustration. 2-3
Figure 2.1.1.1a:  Single Learner Attempt with one Learner Session. 2-6
Figure 2.1.1.1b:  Learner Attempt Spread Over Several Learner Sessions . 2-6
Figure 2.1.1.1c:  Successive Learner Attempts, Spread Over Several Learner Sessions . 2-6
Figure 3.1.1a:  Illustration of API, API Instance and API Implementation. 3-4
Figure 3.1.6a:  Conceptual API Instance State Transitions .3-12
Figure 3.2.1a:  Permitted DOM Locations of an API Implementation. 3-28
Figure 3.3.1a:  Illustration of Finding the API . 3-31
Figure 4.1.1a:  Illustration of Using the Data Model with the API . A-3
Figure 4.2.9a:  Interactions and Interaction Data . A-48

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List of Tables
Table: 3.1.1b:  Categories of API Methods . 3-5
Table 3.1.7a: Error Code Categories and Range. 3-13
Table 4.1.1.6a: Reserved Property Delimiters. A-9
Table 4.1.1.6b: Reserved Separator Delimiters . A-12
Table 4.2a: SCORM Run-Time Environment Data Model Elements Summary . A-19
Table 4.2b: Data Model Element Table Explanation.A-20
Table 4.2.1a: Dot-notation Binding for the Data Model Version Data Model Element . A-22
Table 4.2.2a: Dot-notation Binding for the Comments from Learner Data Model Element . A-23
Table 4.2.3a: Dot-notation Binding for the Comment from LMS Data Model Element . A-30
Table 4.2.4a: Dot-notation Binding for the Completion Status Data Model Element . A-36
Table 4.2.4.1a: GetValue() Evaluation of Completion Status . A-38
Table 4.2.5a: Dot-notation Binding for the Completion Threshold Data Model Element. A-40
Table 4.2.6a: Dot-notation Binding for the Credit Data Model Element. A-41
Table 4.2.7a: Dot-notation Binding for the Entry Data Model Element. A-43
Table 4.2.8a: Dot-notation Binding for the Exit Data Model Element. A-45
Table 4.2.9a: Dot-notation Binding for the Interactions Data Model Element. A-49
Table 4.2.9.1a: Correct Response Pattern Format Requirements . A-68
Table 4.2.9.2a: Learner Response Format Requirements . A-78
Table 4.2.10a: Dot-notation Binding for the Launch Data Data Model Element . A-85
Table 4.2.11a: Dot-notation Binding for the Learner ID Data Model Element . A-87
Table 4.2.12a: Dot-notation Binding for the Learner Name Data Model Element. A-88
Table 4.2.13a: Dot-notation Binding for the Learner Preference Data Model Element . A-89
Table 4.2.14a: Dot-notation Binding for the Location Data Model Element . A-95
Table 4.2.15a: Dot-notation Binding for the Max Time Allowed Data Model Element . A-97
Table 4.2.16a: Dot-notation Binding for the Mode Data Model Element . A-98
Table 4.2.16.1a: Mode and Credit Values . A-99
Table 4.2.17.1a: Scenarios for Storing Collection Data . A-101
Table 4.2.17a: Dot-notation Binding for the Objectives Data Model Element. A-103
Table 4.2.18a: Progress Measure relationship with Completion Status. A-120
Table 4.2.18b: Dot-notation Binding for the Progress Measure Data Model Element . A-120
Table 4.2.19a: Dot-notation Binding for the Scaled Passing Score Data Model Element. A-122
Table 4.2.20a: Dot-notation Binding for the Score Data Model Element. A-124
Table 4.2.21a: Dot-notation Binding for the Session Time Data Model Element . A-129
Table 4.2.22a: Dot-notation Binding for the Success Status Data Model Element . A-131
Table 4.2.22.1a: GetValue() Evaluation of Success Status. A-133
Table 4.2.23a: Dot-notation Binding for the Suspend Data Data Model Element. A-135
Table 4.2.24a: Dot-notation Binding for the Time Limit Action Data Model Element. A-137
Table 4.2.25a: Dot-notation Binding for the Total Time Data Model Element. A-139

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SECTION 1
The SCORM® Run-Time Environment
(RTE)
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.
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1.1. Introduction to the SCORM Run-Time Environment
(RTE) Book
The Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM®) is often described as a set of
books on a bookshelf. The Run-Time Environment (RTE) book is one of a set of books
(refer to Figure 1.1a: The Run-Time Environment 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 Overview. The SCORM RTE book describes
the Learning Management System (LMS) requirements in managing the run-time
environment (i.e., content launch process, standardized communication between content
and LMSs and standardized data model elements used for passing information relevant to
the learner’s experience with the content). The RTE book also covers the requirements
of Sharable Content Objects (SCOs) and their use of a common Application
Programming Interface (API) and the SCORM Run-Time Environment Data Model.

Figure 1.1a:  The SCORM Run-Time Environment Book as Part of the SCORM Bookshelf
1.1.1. What is Covered in the SCORM RTE Book?
There are several key concepts that are introduced in the SCORM RTE book. The book
covers the essential LMS responsibilities for sequencing content objects (SCOs or
Assets) during run-time and allowing SCOs to indicate navigation requests. In addition,
guidance is offered for providing navigation controls to learners. General subjects
discussed include:
• RTE Management: Launching of content objects – SCOs and Assets,
Management of communications with a SCO, Run-time environment data model
management
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• Application Programming Interface (API): LMS API requirements, SCORM
communication requirements, communication error conditions
• SCORM Run-Time Environment Data Model: Data model management and
behavior requirements, Data type requirements
1.1.2. Using the SCORM RTE Book
This book should prove useful to LMS, SCO and authoring tool vendors wishing to
support SCORM in their products, and to anyone wishing to understand the
communications relationship between content and LMSs, such as SCORM content
developers.
Section 1: The SCORM® Run-Time Environment (RTE) and Section 2: Managing the
Run-Time Environment (RTE) of this book cover general RTE-related concepts. These
sections are recommended reading for those seeking an introduction to the concepts
behind the SCORM RTE 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
RTE. Section 2.1: Run-Time Environment (RTE) Management, for instance, discusses
how the new Sequencing and Navigation book impacts the SCORM RTE.
Section 3: Application Programming Interface (API) is the first section providing
technical details about the RTE. This section explains every SCORM API method and
error message available to content developers, and even provides sample code as well as
API Usage Requirements and Guidelines.
Section 4: SCORM® Run-Time Environment Data Model covers every SCORM data
model element in detail, which includes a listing of specific LMS and SCO behavior
requirements in relation to a given element.
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 communication
between learning content and LMSs, it frequently refers to SCOs that conduct that
communication. SCOs are discussed in some detail in the SCORM Content Aggregation
Model (CAM) book.
Similarly, while the SCORM 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 content
delivery, and as such, lightly touches on how an LMS determines which piece of content
to deliver at any given time.
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1.1.3.1 The SCORM Content Aggregation Model (CAM) Book
The SCORM CAM book [18] defines responsibilities and requirements for building
content aggregations (i.e., the process of assembling, labeling and packaging content).
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. Several dependencies span from the SCORM CAM book
to the SCORM RTE book.
Metadata is “data about data”. Metadata can be used to describe the different
components of the SCORM content model (Content Aggregations, Content
Organizations, Activities, SCOs and Assets). Metadata, a form of labeling, enhances
search and discovery of these components. At this time, there are no defined
relationships between metadata and the SCORM Run-Time Environment Data Model.
For these reasons, metadata is not discussed in detail in the SCORM RTE book. This
relationship may change as SCORM evolves.
A Content Package, in a general sense, bundles content objects with a content structure
that is described by a manifest. A SCORM Content Package may represent a SCORM
course, lesson, module or may simply be a collection of related content objects that may
be stored in a repository. The manifest, an essential part of all SCORM Content
Packages, is contained in an Extensible Markup Language (XML)-based file named
imsmanifest.xml. This file, similar in many ways to a “packaging slip”, describes the
contents of the package and may include an optional description of the content structure.
SCORM Content Packages may include additional information that describes how an
LMS is intended to process the Content Package and its contents. Some of these
elements are utilized by the SCORM RTE model.
• Content object launch locations and launch parameters are also described as
elements in a SCORM Content Package. These elements are essential to the
launch and delivery of content objects. The SCORM RTE book details these
elements and their effects on launching content objects.
• Several elements in a SCORM Content Package affect initialization and
management of a content object’s run-time data model. The SCORM RTE book
details these data model elements and the required LMS behaviors.
• Other elements in a SCORM Content Package describe initial values for specific
elements of a content object’s run-time data model. The SCORM RTE book
details these data model elements and their initialization behavior.
• When a SCORM Content Package includes a description of content structure,
sequencing information elements may be added to define an intended approach to
sequencing the package’s content objects. A SCORM Content Package may
include User Interface (UI) elements that are intended to provide guidance to an
LMS on how certain UI navigation controls are to present, enabled or hidden.
When a content object is launched, as defined in this book, these elements may be
used, in conjunction with sequencing information (refer to the SCORM SN book),
to present the correct (at the time of rendering) UI navigation controls (e.g.,
“Continue” or “Previous” user interface controls).
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For a better understanding of how all of the elements described above are specified in a
SCORM Content Package, refer to the SCORM CAM book.
1.1.3.2 The SCORM Sequencing and Navigation (SN) Book
The SCORM SN book is based on the IMS Simple Sequencing (SS) Specification [17],
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 consistently.
The SCORM SN model defines how the IMS SS specification is applied and it 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- 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 model 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.
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1.2. Run-Time Environment Overview
This book defines the SCORM RTE model, which details the requirements for launching
content objects, establishing communication between LMSs and SCOs, and managing the
tracking information that can be communicated between SCOs and LMSs. In the context
of SCORM, content objects are either:
• SCOs, which communicate during run-time, or
• Assets, which do not communicate during run-time.
The SCORM RTE book describes a common content object launch mechanism, a
common communication mechanism between content objects and LMSs, and a common
data model for tracking a learner’s experience with content objects. These aspects create
an environment where several of the ADL “-ilities” are satisfied. For example, content
objects that communicate through the standardized communication mechanism can be
moved from LMS to LMS without modification to their communication attempts; this
increases learning object portability and durability, thereby lowering the cost of
development, installation and maintenance.
The SCORM RTE defines a model that picks up at the point when a specific content
object has been identified for launch. The actual identification of the content object to be
launched is out of scope of this book and can be found in the SCORM SN book [11].
This book only deals with the management of the run-time environment, which includes:
• The delivery of a content object to the learner’s Web browser (i.e., launch);
• If necessary, how a content object communicates with the LMS; and
• What information is tracked for a content object and how the LMS manages that
information.
The following sections explain the relationships between the SCORM RTE book and the
remaining SCORM books. In addition, frequently used terminology will be introduced at
a high level to eliminate the need for the reader to become an expert in the entire
SCORM to understand this book. This, however, is not an effective method to learn and
apply SCORM and its concepts as a whole. It is strongly recommended that each
SCORM book be read to more fully understand the purpose, details, relationships and
advantages of all of the SCORM concepts.
SCORM was developed to enable the development of content objects that are reusable
and interoperable across multiple LMSs. For this to be possible, there must be a common
way to launch and manage content objects, a common mechanism for content objects to
communicate with an LMS and a predefined language or vocabulary forming the basis of
the communication. As illustrated in Figure 1.2a, these three aspects of the RTE are
Launch, API and Data Model.
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Figure 1.2a:  SCORM Conceptual Run-Time Environment.
The Launch process defines a common way for LMSs to start Web-based content objects.
The term “content object” is used generically here to describe any piece of content that
can be launched for a learner. In SCORM, there are two types of content objects: SCOs
and Assets. The launch process defines procedures and responsibilities for the
establishment of communication between the launched content object and the LMS. The
communication mechanism is standardized with a common API.
The API is the communication mechanism for informing the LMS of the conceptual
communication state between a content object and an LMS (e.g., initialized, terminated
and/or in an error condition), and is used for retrieving and storing data (e.g., score, time
limits, etc.) between the LMS and the SCO.
A Data Model is a standard set of data model elements used to define the information
being tracked for a SCO, such as the SCO’s completion status or a score from an
assessment such as a quiz or a test. In its simplest form, the data model defines data
model elements that both the LMS and SCO are expected to “know about.” The LMS
must maintain the state of SCO’s data model elements across learner sessions, and the
SCO must utilize only these predefined data model elements to ensure reuse across
multiple systems.
RTE-1-8 SCORM® 2004 3rd Edition Run-Time Environment (RTE) Version 1.1

© ISO/IEC 2009 – All rights reserved

SECTION 2
Managing The Run-Time Environment
(RTE)
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 Run-Time Environment (RTE) Version 1.1 RTE-2-1

© ISO/IEC 2009 – All rights reserved

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RTE-2-2 SCORM® 2004 3rd Edition Run-Time Environment (RTE) Version 1.1

© ISO/IEC 2009 – All rights reserved

2.1. Run-Time Environment (RTE) Management
While the learner interacts with content objects (the learning experience), the LMS
evaluates learner performance and navigation requests (refer to the SCORM SN book).
When the LMS identifies an activity for delivery to the learner, the activity has a content
object associated with it. The LMS will launch the content object and present it to the
learner. Figure 2.1a depicts how the content structure (organization section of a
manifest) can be interpreted in a tree (i.e., activity tree). The tree representation is just a
different way of presenting the content structure found in the manifest (refer to the
SCORM CAM book).
Figure 2.1a:  Conceptual Content Structure Illustration
A common launch model addresses delivery of Web-enabled content objects in the form
of SCOs and Assets within the context of a learning experience. This launch model
enables consistency of content object launch behavior across LMSs without specifying
the underlying LMS implementation. In this context, the term “LMS” is used to describe
any system that provides the launch of content objects.
SCORM® 2004 3rd Edition Run-Time Environment (RTE) Version 1.1 RTE-2-3

© ISO/IEC 2009 – All rights reserved

2.1.1. Run-Time Environment Temporal Model
A learner becomes engaged with the content object once an activity with the associated
content object (i.e., SCOs or Asset) has been identified for delivery and the content object
has been launched in the learner’s browser-environment. Several key aspects need to be
defined to aid in the tracking of the learner during the learning experience. The following
terms are defined by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
1484.11.1 Standard for Learning Technology – Data Model for Content Object
Communication [1] and are referenced throughout this document:
Learner Attempt – A tracked effort by a learner to satisfy the requirements of a learning
activity that uses a content object. An attempt may span one or more learner sessions and
may be suspended between learner sessions [1].
Learner Session – An uninterrupted period of time during which a learner is accessing a
content object [1].
Communication Session – An active connection between a content object (i.e., SCO)
and an application programming interface [1].
Login Session – A period of time during which a learner begi
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