[QTI] Re: QTI 2.1 draft specification withdrawn

[Wilbert Kraan]

Hello,

In order to get QTI 2.1 finalised as a public spec, we at JISC-CETIS  
have pressed hard for the re-formation of the IMS QTI working group,  
and we participate actively in it. At no point, however, was the  
withdrawal of the current QTI 2.1 draft discussed or even mentioned.

Since the public draft was approved by the IMS membership in the  
regular process, it is hard to see the reason behind the unprecedented  
withdrawal. Especially since, as some of you noted, there are many  
implementations, and little negative feedback from the implementors on  
the spec. Moreover, IMS' process suggests that a new, non-backward  
compatible version would require a new charter. No such charter exists.

For those reasons, we are seeking clarification from IMS for the  
reasons behind the withdrawal.

Bear in mind, however, that there is no established consensus in the  
IMS WG to make a completely new QTI spec, and that the WG operates  
under the QTI 2.1 charter. It is therefore still possible (if not  
guaranteed) that what will be finalised as a public spec is a mildly  
tweaked version of the draft.

We'll certainly be working towards such a goal. I'm thinking that the  
best possible argument we could have for pursuing this line is to have  
a public demonstration of interoperability between the various  
existing QTI 2.1 implementations. We'll try to get something like that  
together as soon as we can.

Cheers,

Wilbert