ADL Vision

To provide access to the highest quality education and training that can be tailored to individual needs and delivered cost effectively, anywhere and anytime.

ADL Overview

The Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL) Initiative is a collaborative effort to harness the power of information technologies to deliver high-quality, easily accessible, adaptable, and cost-effective education and training. ADL uses structured and collaborative methods to convene multi-national groups from industry, academia, and government who help to define the specifications and standards for the learning industry and then develop tools and content to those standards.

ADL was established in 1997 to standardize and modernize the delivery of training and education. The Department of Defense (DoD) Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness (OUSD P&R) oversees the ADL Initiative. The vision of the ADL Initiative is to provide access to the highest-quality learning and performance aiding that can be tailored to individual needs and delivered cost-effectively, anytime and anywhere. The ADL Initiative developed the Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM®) and the ADL Registry.

ADL Relationships

Since its establishment in 1997, ADL has worked with military and government agencies, industry, academia, and professional organizations world-wide to accomplish its mission and realize its vision that learning experiences must be accessible to all online and on demand. ADL’s success is directly traceable to its early decision to work with others in a collaborative environment to research, evaluate, and validate specifications and standards that would advance the goals of the education and training communities.