The specification was maintained by IMS Global Learning Consortium.
IMS Learning Design was a metalanguage for describing learning designs that claims to be pedagogically neutral (according to their authors, it does not mandate a specific pedagogical approach).
The specification can be likened to a stage-play: IMS LD is made up of three levels (A, B and C), with each level extending and incorporating the previous: The specification was a method for describing teaching strategies (pedagogical models) and educational goals.
The language is represented in XML which makes it machine readable; an IMS LD-aware tool is able to "play" a unit of learning.
After its release (2003), IMS LD had a moderately active community -mostly in Europe, carrying out a wide range of research and experimentation.