by: Stuart Campbell
What actually is SCORM? SCORM, Shareable Content Object Reference Model, is
a standard for web-based e-learning that has been developed to define
communication between client-side content and a runtime environment. In the
context of this article, the client-side content would be the course
launched by a student and the runtime environment would be a Learning
Management System. The SCORM standard has undergone several version releases
from SCORM v1.0 in 1999 to the SCORM 2004 3rd Edition in 2006. The purpose
of this article is to look in a little more detail at the communication flow
between the LMS and a course that is SCORM v2.1 compliant. The intention is
not to review every possible communication but just the main calls. We will
look at SCORM in the context of a SCORM course, i.e. a course that has been
developed and built to communicate with a Learning Management System using
the SCORM standard.
First of all, let me define a few terms that I will use and that you may
hear in reference to SCORM courses:
• API (Application Programming Interface)
The SCORM standard has a defined API. The term API is not unique to SCORM
but is a well known term in application development. The SCORM API is a
documented set of messages that are sent between the course and the LMS. The
message may require a response so that the sender of the message is
guaranteed that the message has been received and processed appropriately.
• Manifest
The manifest is the master file for the SCORM course that contains
references to all other files that make up the complete content of the
course.
• Single SCO
A single SCO is the most basic and most common form of a SCORM course. All
files that make up the course, regardless of the number of lessons in the
course, are packaged as one SCO unit. When the course is launched within the
Learning Management System, it communicates with the SCO.
• Multiple SCO
A multiple SCO is where a group of files within the course can be treated as
an individual SCO but packaged together with other SCOs to comprise one
course. For example, the files that comprise each lesson of a SCORM course
can be grouped together so that each lesson is a SCO in its own right and
all the SCOs will comprise the one course.
Course Installation
For the course to be available in the Learning Management System, the SCORM
package needs to be installed on the system. The method of installation will
vary from LMS to LMS but will typically go through the following steps:
1. The manifest file will be located and interpreted.
2. The course identified in the manifest will be created in the Learning
Management System and the course properties will be populated with the
values defined in the manifest. These properties may include course name,
creator, etc.
3. The lessons of the course will be created in the LMS and the lesson
properties will be populated with the values defined in the manifest. Lesson
properties would include information such as the path to the lesson file,
passing grade, etc.
The Learning Management System should provide a facility to overwrite an
already existing SCORM course so that if updates are made to the existing
course, an installation will deploy those changes.
Course Communication
Initialization
When the course is launched within its run time environment, which for our
purposes is the LMS, it will detect the existence of the API and attempt to
make initial communication with the Learning Management System. This is a
one-time handshake to ensure that communication has been established. The
SCORM course is responsible for locating the API in the child browser
session that it has launched in from the parent. The API is typically
deployed using JavaScript. The API call that the course uses to do this is
the LMSInitialize call. When the Learning Management System receives this
API message call from the course, the LMS will initialize and respond to
inform the course that communication has been established. An object model
has been created in memory and the properties have been initialized to
default values.
Intermediary Course Communication
Once the course has been launched and initialized with the LMS, the
interaction between the two is determined by the course. It will use
LMSGetValue and LMSSetValue API message calls to retrieve or populate data
in the object model. Bear in mind that the object model exists in memory and
has not been sent to the Learning Management System.
When the course needs to write the data so it exists in the database, it
will send the API message LMSCommit. The LMSCommit will be received by the
Learning Management System and the data stored to the LMS. The course
developer will determine when an LMSCommit is required and it will be sent
to the LMS when the event is activated. This could be at the end of each
lesson or it could be at the end of the course.
The LMSCommit is an optional message and does not require a response from
the Learning Management System.
Finalization
When the course is completed, it will send an LMSFinish API message to the
LMS. This may be triggered by an event in the course that activates the
LMSFinish or it may be on the Unload event of the HTML page when the user
closes the browser. The LMSFinish indicates to the LMS that the user has
ended the course and any further communication between the two will be
rejected. The LMSFinish also initiates the Learning Management System to
store any data that has been populated in the object model and complete the
unloading of the course.
The key difference between the LMSCommit and LMSFinish API message calls is
that the latter will prevent further communication with the course.
The LMSFinish is a mandatory message and does not require a response from
the LMS.
Learning Management System Considerations
When the LMSFinish is received by the LMS, there are several scenarios that
may need to be taken into account. Some of these may be the product of
errors in course development but are scenarios that have been experienced in
interfacing with a SCORM compliant course:
1. The SCORM course may indicate the student has failed a lesson but the
score passed from the SCO may be greater than the lesson passing grade that
was installed from the manifest.
2. The SCORM course may indicate a lesson status for the user and pass the
score of the lesson but there has been no passing grade defined for the
lesson.
3. It would be advantageous for the Learning Management System to provide
API message logging so that a communication history may be recreated for
debugging or historical purposes. Consideration should be given to the
following:
a. Method of storage, whether it is stored in a database or out to a file.
b. Is logging on all the time or is there a switch to turn logging on or
off? (There will be some overhead when logging is switched on, as opposed to
being off.)
c. If logging is to file, is there a log file for each course, each user, or
one large SCORM log file?
d. How is log data purged? When logging is stored in the database, how often
is the table purged? Can the data be deleted or does it need to be archived?
If logging is to a file, does the file build in size until it is manually
renewed or does the logging mechanism have a trigger that automatically
generates a new file? (If the file is left to grow too big, it becomes very
impractical to open it in a text editor.)
Conclusions
SCORM has a proven track record in the web based e-learning world and is the
accepted standard in the industry. Reputable LMS vendors should support your
SCORM course out of the box. The SCORM 2004 version has added much more
control and sequencing at a more granular level than SCORM v1.2 however
those differences are significant enough to cause the user base to be slower
in adopting the SCORM 2004 version.
About The Author
Stuart Campbell is Director of Software Development for SyberWorks, Inc.
(http://www.syberworks.com), a privately-held supplier of e-Learning
software and training. A native of the United Kingdom, he had previously
served as a Principle Software Engineer, Senior Consultant, Senior Software
Engineer, and Development Specialist for companies such as Brooks Automation
Inc., Digital Equipment, and Honeywell Control Systems. His areas of
expertise include Visual Studio.NET, C#, VB.NET, VB6, VBScript, XML, COBOL,
WindowsXP, Windows2000, WindowsNT, VAX/VMS, UNIX, Oracle, SQLServer, Oracle
Rdb, Oracle DBMS, and Agile Modeling Methodology.
The SyberWorks Learning Management System/Learning Content Management System
SyberWorks Training Center (STC) is a Web-based Learning Management System (LMS)/Learning
Content Management System (LCMS) that provides complete solutions for
managing and tracking all types of training at your organization — from
e-Learning courses to traditional classroom training and self-paced study
programs. The STC includes extensive testing and assessment tools,
reporting, management, communication and collaboration tools, and quality
control capabilities — all in one integrated database application that is
highly scalable to precisely meet your organization’s needs. The SyberWorks
Training Center LMS/LCMS can be purchased as an enterprise license or hosted
application.
About SyberWorks, Inc.
SyberWorks, Inc. (http://www.syberworks.com) is a leader in the custom
e-Learning Solutions and Learning Management System/Learning Content
Management System (LMS/LCMS) industries for Fortune 1000 corporations, law
enforcement, healthcare, and other industries. Located in Waltham,
Massachusetts, the company serves the multi-billion-dollar e-Learning
market. Since 1995, SyberWorks has developed and delivered unique and
economical solutions to create, manage, measure, and improve e-Learning
programs at companies and organizations in the United States, Canada,
Europe, and around the world.
Source :
ArticleCity
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