SCORM-conformant e-learning

I’ve decided to implement my current e-learning project within a learning management system (LMS). The LMS under consideration is SCORM-conformant, which means that I need SCORM-conformant development tools.

The plan is to author the web-based learning content using Dreamweaver. As a result, I need to find out how to make Dreamweaver files “trackable” in a LMS application.

One of the primary advantages to creating learning content that conforms to SCORM standards is interoperability. This feature of the development process provides additional flexibility in choice of LMS, by making sure that content developed for one SCORM-conformant LMS can be delivered on any other LMS.

A SCORM-conformant system aggregates blocks of content called Sharable Content Objects (SCOs), using metadata (the Reference Model) to tag the objects with a SCORM “wrapper.” Each SCO then is able to communicate with the LMS separately, through an XML file with a series of JavaScript calls to the learning content. This process constitutes the SCORM Run-Time Environment, which determines how the content works when it’s displayed in the LMS.

The good news is that there’s a SCORM Runtime Wrapper Extension for Dreamweaver that automatically inserts all the necessary JavaScript code and HTML tag attributes.

The next consideration involves finding out how the requirements for creating Sharable Content Objects will impact the organization of lessons and modules in my e-learning program.

A Sharable Content Object is a small, discrete unit of digital instruction. A SCO can be as small as an image, text, or audio used to support e-learning, a block of information such as a procedure or a concept, or a meaningful assembly of smaller objects like a lesson, a unit, or a course.

There are 3 rules of SCORM e-learning development.

1. SCOs cannot be directly linked to other SCOs, in order to maintain independence and reusability.


2. The LMS may only have one SCO open at a time.


3. SCOs may not launch other SCOs.

The implication of these rules is that the sequencing and navigation information must exist outside of each SCO. In fact, the XML file, or packaging manifest, is what contains this information - in a table of contents, which, when displayed in the LMS, allows a learner to navigate a hierarchical sequence of lessons or other objects. I now know that I need to implement a modular and linear approach to content development, rather than a circular, hyperlinked architecture.