Robert A. Wisher, Ph.D., is the Director of the Advanced Distributed Learning Initiative (ADL) for the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD). In this position, Dr. Wisher is responsible for directing and implementing the ADL Initiative within the Department of Defense (DoD), as well as other government organizations, academia and industry on an international basis. Dr. Wisher provides direction for the development and refinement of the Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM) and for the continued expansion of the ADL Initiative.
Dr. Wisher has more than 27 years of experience in research and development for education and training technologies. As a Research Psychologist in the Service laboratories, Dr. Wisher conducted experiments on the training effectiveness of computer-mediated multimedia learning technology. Later, he directed research on the acquisition of military skills and their long-term retention, and more recently on the training effectiveness of various distributed learning technologies.

Dr. Wisher previously served as a Scientific Officer at the Office of Naval Research (ONR) in the Psychological Sciences program, supporting basic research on the fundamental characteristics of learning and memory in technology-based environments. In 2000, he was a Visiting Scholar at the Center for Research on Learning and Technology at Indiana University. He has published numerous articles, chapters and technical reports concerning the use of technology in training, and serves on the Editorial Advisory Boards of several professional journals. In 2003, Dr. Wisher was elected to the Board of Directors for the IMS Global Learning Consortium.
Dr. Wisher received his Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology from the University of California, San Diego. He graduated from Purdue University with a B.S. in Mathematics.