Based on the sharable content object concept of advanced distributed learning, an ontology-based intelligent content object (ICO) that can automatically reason and be reused is proposed. Then, by extending the advanced distributed learning or sharable content object reference model (SCORM) specification, an interoperable model for the ICO is developed; it involves (a) adding an ontological model of general domain knowledge for intelligent tutoring systems to the SCORM specification and encapsulating the design details of the heterogeneous knowledge ontologies, (b) adding a hierarchical data structure for the current ontology element to the communication data model in the run-time environment of the SCORM specification, (c) extending the application program interface in the run-time environment of the SCORM specification to enable the ICO to query various knowledge ontologies in a consistent way, and (d) adding an Ontology section to the content aggregation model in the SCORM specification to ensure that the same ICO can be associated with different knowledge ontologies. The proposed model extends the SCORM-based courseware model from a multimedia-based structured courseware to the intelligent courseware based on a knowledge ontology and can significantly improve the overall intelligence of the learning system along the lines of the specification, thereby providing a reference for the future development of the SCORM specification.