Innovation
IMS member organizations participate in or observe collaborative project groups that deliver descriptions of innovative new applications and interoperability standards in areas such as digital content, learning management platforms, assessment, classroom technology, and learning application interaction. These project groups are chartered and led by world-class technical experts representing organizations with a strong stake in the interoperability of applications and systems as the market develops.
Interoperability project groups may focus on an entirely new area, or may be looking at a revision of a work area previously addressed using a new technical approach or scope of application. The products of an interoperability project group typically include technical specifications, prototype products, and conformance testing requirements. Interested IMS Contributing Member organizations vote for approval of charters and finished works. Finished works may go on to Adoption activities and eventually through a formal international standardization process.
IMS interoperability standards may also be “profiled” for use within a region or specific industry segment. IMS provides tools and processes that are free and open to the public for developing and registering profiles. Contributing Member organizations may submit profiles for approval as accredited by IMS, including support for conformance testing.
Members of IMS’s Learning Technology Advisory Council (LTAC) play a key supporting role by helping to establish priorities in the end-user communities for IMS specifications. The LTAC provides guidance to the world’s leading suppliers of learning and educational technology from the perspective of how these products need to work together to improve performance toward institutional or district mission objectives.