Media Release

K4605 19 May 1999 

Australia’s role in helping to develop technology standards for global on-line learning has received a major boost with the announcement today of $525,000 in special funding by the Minister for Education, Training and Youth Affairs, Dr David Kemp.

The funding will enable the University of New England to establish a coordinating centre and allow Australia to take part in the Instructional Management Systems (IMS) project as a full member for another three years.

The IMS is an international project to develop standards allowing online educational content and applications from diverse sources to work together smoothly.

Australia’s participation places it alongside 36 member corporations worldwide, from Australia, Singapore, the UK and the US. IMS’s network of organisations involved in creating IMS compliant materials and environments has another 184 members.

In making the funding announcement, Dr Kemp said that Australia’s involvement in the IMS initiative recognised the need for universally accepted standards for online learning that are flexible enough to cater for local requirements.

"As a full member of the IMS alongside organisations such as the United Kingdom’s Joint Information Systems Committee, Australia is in a strong position to exert a real influence over the direction of future IMS developments," said Dr Kemp.

As part of the funding arrangement, UNE will establish and operate the Australian IMS Centre for an initial period of 18 months. The Centre will spearhead Australian involvement in the development of IMS standards, co-ordinate IMS activities being conducted around Australia, disseminate information about IMS developments to the Australian educational community and promote the use of IMS standards in Australia.

The Centre will act on behalf of the education and training communities and report to a managing committee comprising Government, education and training sectors and industry representatives.

Additional information on the IMS project can be found at http://www.imsproject.org

Media contact: Samantha Herron 02 6277 7460 or 0412 639 754

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