In education, simulations have come to encompass children's simulation-games, curricula based on student modeling, lab simulations for science study to commercial and expensive flight simulators for teaching airline pilots how to fly. When targeted towards learning, well-designed simulations can have a high level of learning transference which is an ideal in education and training. Meaningful learning experiences require a partnership of tools used to represent meaningful problems where learning and activity are considered inseparable and learning is embodied in tool usage. One type of learning environment that supports meaningful learning is the simulation. However, to realize the effectiveness of broadly using simulations for online learning, shareable content objects (SCOs) and resources should support the complex interactions required.

SCORM 2004 currently has robust affordances for online learning such as the sequence and navigation model that will allow flexibility in the design of learning interactions. However, it is not being used to support the integration of simulations as learning activities other than at the SCO level or in using external systems. It may be possible, however, to utilize these affordances along with specific SCO and asset typologies to begin designing and integrating simulations. To begin to understand the possibilities of this and other approaches, simulations need to be abstracted into a typology with specific characteristics and analyzed against various aspects of the SCORM to determine the best approach to SCORM-Simulation integration. This paper discusses the results of an initial analysis and analysis protocol development as well as the possible steps forward.