ABOUT OUR STANDARDS

Tools and publications to help guide VPDE contractors and partners can be found online. Authorized contractors seeking to access regulations, specifications and guidance should use the DEVELOPERS PORTAL.

POC FOR TADLP DEVELOPERS:

Please Note: This is not the contact number for elearning students, but for VPDE developers only. Students should contact the Army Training Help Desk (ATHD) for help with DL courseware by using the ATHD icon in the footer below.

VPDE Office via email:
usarmy.jble.tradoc.mbx.au-tadlp@mail.mil

VPDE Office via Telephone:
757 878-4516

Office of the Vice Provost for Digital Education (VPDE)
Building 2112, Pershing Avenue
Fort Eustis, VA 23604-5166

GUIDANCE FOR EVERY STEP OF THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

QUICK REFERENCE OVERVIEW

Army distributed learning follows a series of technical standards and specifications throughout the design, development, and implementation process. Army guidance as presented in TRADOC Regulation 350-70 and associated pamphlets. This guidance is part of the Army’s centralized contract and are presented here for a quick reference check by process. Links to current versions of this guidance is found in REFERENCES page in this website.

STEP 1: ANALYSIS

Task analysis follows Army guidance TRADOC Pamphlet 350-70-14. Guidance for analysis unique to distributed learning is found in TRADOC Pamphlet 350-70-12 and is DOD Data Item Description (DID) DI-SESS-81518C. Analysis of learning objectives is covered in the same guidance.

STEP 2: DESIGN

Design of Army distributed learning is presented in the Instructional Media Design Plan. Elements of the plan which is considered to be the technical and instructional blueprint for interactive multimedia instruction (IMI), is presented in the DOD Data Item Description DI-SESS-81520B. Other design elements with associated DIDs are:

STEP 3: DEVELOP COURSEWARE/CONTENT

Courseware and content development is an iterative process. Compliance with standards and specifications listed on this page should be tested by the developer to ensure error free implementation once the product is complete. For contracted development, there are paid deliverables associated with each of these steps.

The first part of this compliance process encourages a “test early”, “test often” pattern recommended for the complete development of the product. These tests are to be conducted in the test environment of the delivery platform. Checklists titled CONTENT INTEGRATION for this process vary by product type. Samples of these checklists can be found here. If there is not a checklist that is appropriate for your product development, contact VPDE.

INDIVIDUAL AND GROUP TRIALS DI-SESS-81524C
Individual and group trials are part of the educational and technical validation of the developed courseware/content. Guidance for validation unique to distributed learning is found in TRADOC Pamphlet 350-70-12. Requirements for the planning of and implementation of both trials is covered in this DID. (See Implementation: Documentation for additional steps).

PACKAGING (ALMS delivery only)
Guidance for the packaging of files for submission to the Government for group trials on the ALMSis found in TRADOC Pamphlet 350-70-12. Guidance is also found in this document ARMY DL Product Specifications 201909129.

COMPLIANCE TESTING
Army requires compliance testing for all products intended for delivery on Army systems. These process steps are identified in the Army Acceptance Criteria for SCORM 2004, 3rd Edition.

STEP 4: IMPLEMENT

Implementation is the final step in our process indicating the product has been developed and tested and is on its way to functional testing before fielding or making the product discoverable for registration. The documentation below are required as part of this process.

DOCUMENTATION (ALMS only)
Course details form assists in the structuring the courseware on the ALMS. Updated forms are available here:
https://www.pdmatis.army.mil/ALMS_Courseware_Developer.html

LETTER OF INSTRUCTION
A Letter of Instruction (LOI) is required by VPDE policy. This LOI is the first required object in the lesson and alerts the learner to any known issues with the courseware. Updated forms are available here:
https://www.pdmatis.army.mil/ALMS_Courseware_Developer.html

Note: Data Item Descriptions (DID)s are published by the DoD Defense Standardization Program Office and are available for download using the DoD Quick Search tool.