QTI2/APIP Alliance

IMS Alliances are for the purpose of ensuring interoperability in practice and keeping implementing organizations current on the evolution of a specific set of IMS standards. Alliances were established at the request of the IMS members.  The IMS members wanted support to make reliable interoperability a reality and wanted to avoid the need for every implementing organization to reinvest in the tools, processes, and interactions to integrate with every platform. In the Alliance IMS provides this support at a fraction of the cost and, most importantly, steps in on an ongoing basis to resolve issues that arise.

Under the Alliances, IMS provides extensive support to implement conformant products. When testing is completed, IMS issues a conformance mark that IMS stands behind. What this means is that IMS will get involved directly in any issues that arise and work across organizations to resolve. 

Joining in the Alliance and working through the process in the only way to achieve official IMS conformance. Conformance seals are only issued to and maintained with current IMS Alliance, Affiliate and Contributing Members. IMS does this in order to deliver on interoperability in practice on an ongoing basis. This benefits large and small organizations alike in creating and maintaining a vital, innovative, and open marketplace for educational technology products! 

The QTI2/APIP Alliance has been created as a high value community for those involved in implementing Question and Test Interoperability (QTI2) and Accessible Portable Item Protocol (APIP) through a primarily online engagement with experts from the IMS member organizations, IMS staff, and a large variety of resources shared by the participants. 

Joining the QTI2/APIP Alliance provides tremendous leverage because it is extremely low cost and the resources made available through the alliance are 98% subsidized by the IMS Contributing Member organizations. Joining the alliance is a great way to show your support for the work of IMS without a large expenditure of money or resources. In fact, the return on investment from the provided resources and support is large.

 

QTI2/ APIP Conformance

 

Membership in the QTI2/ APIP Alliance is the only way to achieve official conformance to the Question and Test Interoperability (QTI2) and Accessible Portable Item Protocol (APIP) standards. Digital content or learning platforms must pass conformance testing and be listed on the official IMS conformance website at http://www.imscert.org

 

Conformance Certification for APIP
IMS Global Learning Consortium is establishing a conformance testing and certification program for APIP. Conformance testing and certifications will be available for content, delivery platforms, and authoring tools. IMS provides conformance certification and development support through its “Alliance” developer communities. IMS is in the process of establishing an “QTI2/APIP Alliance” for this purpose. In addition, IMS manages the ongoing evolution of the underlying QTI (Question & Test Interoperability) specifications. To test APIP packages, you can use the beta validator at http://validator.imsglobal.org/apip/

 

Conformance Certification for QTI2

IMS Global Learning Consortium is beginning to explore a conformance testing and certification program for QTI2. Conformance testing and certifications will be available for content, delivery platforms, and authoring tools. IMS will provide conformance certification and development support through its “Alliance” developer communities.

 

Those organizations wishing to receive conformance support or get involved in the specification evolution are invited to send an email to APIP@imsglobal.org, stating your specific interests, so that IMS can help.

 

Alliance Activities


In addition to notices issued by IMS Global Learning Consortium (e.g. press releases or the IMS monthly Dispatch), the Alliance exploits four communication channels:

  1. QTI2/APIPI Alliance Forums: These are where much of the exciting work among IMS member organizations takes place. The forums are actively supported by IMS staff. Current topics in the forums include:
    1. Announcements & discussion of alliance activities
    2. Discussion of implementation and testing issues relating to achieving compliance
    3. Discussion area for all things relating to QTI2
    4. Discussion area for all things relating to APIP
    5. Learn about the IMS Product Directory, how to find products, add your product, and locate conformance
    6. CEO’s corner – updates from Rob Abel
  2. QTI2/APIP Alliance website: this has a public area offering access to the specifications and th APIP test tool, as well as introductory information on APIP and the conformance program. The participants area provides access to (a) a wider range of APIP tools, test data and sample packages, (b) a corresponding area dedicated to the QTI specification, and (c) details of the conformance program.
  3. Member-only Webinars & Workshops: Hands-on and informational update sessions, both virtual and at IMS scheduled meetings throughout the year.
  4. Testfest: These events are co-located with the IMS quarterly meetings and the annual Learning Impact conference. Testfests are often open to the public, offering an opportunity for newcomers to get a taste of the Alliance activities and meet other participants. The meetings provide a platform for demonstrating new implementations of APIP, conducting ad-hoc interoperability testing and discussing common issues.
  5. QTI2/APIP News Update: An occasional publication distributed to Contributing Members, Affiliate Members, Alliance participants and the IMS Community, offering news on events, new tools available and adoption activities.

 

Goals

  • Encourage supply of QTI2/APIP compatible products and services in the marketplace
  • Facilitate adoption of QTI2 and APIP products by a worldwide community of education and training organizations
  • Provide tools and content to enable interested organizations to develop QTI2 and APIP-enabled products that meet the conformance requirements set out by the IMS GLC membership.

Benefits of QTI2/APIP Alliance Membership

  • Participation in the support community for implementation of QTI2 or APIP.
  • Participation in the conformance community for implementation of QTI2 or APIP.
  • Participate in the Accredited Profile Management Group which manages maintenance, evolution, and new releases of these specifications (Note: voting in the APMG is restricted to IMS Contributing Members).
  • APIP and QTI2 news updates of new tools and meetings and a discussion forum.
  • Listing as an Alliance member on IMS GLC web site.
  • Use of QTI2/APIP Alliance logo on web and in literature.
  • Opportunity to participate in APIP/ QTI 2 Alliance presence at conferences and exhibitions.

 

Join the QTI2/APIP Alliance


Join the QTI2/APIP Alliance and begin taking advantage of the benefits described above. Sign up now online.