SCORM is a set of standards and specifications aimed at the formation of e-learning. It defines the communication between students, the management tool and a standard of content.

SCORM 2004 adds the requirement of complex sequencing, a set of rules that specify the order in which a student can visit content objects. In simple terms, it guides the student through the learning material, it depends on the students themselves to decide the time to invest in each feed, rest, prepare for exams and even perform and evaluate.

The standard is based on the use of XML, and technology comes from the AICC, IMS Global, IEEE, and Ariadne specifications.

SCORM VERSIONS:

SCORM 1.1
The first version of the production. The course structures using an XML file format based on the AICC specifications to describe the content structure and sequencing, but it did not provide additional information.

SCORM 1.2
This was the first widely used version. It is currently implemented in most learning management systems.
It incorporates a communication of the environment between content and LMS tool that allows you to track the student rather than to include the navigation.

SCORM 2004
The current version. Fixed many ambiguities of previous versions and improved communication between content and learning management tools.
Includes the power to specify the sequence of activities
Includes the ability to share and use information obtained from the results of student learning through the navigability, exams and tests within the course.

 

AUTHOR TOOLS

After studying the standard, there are two important tasks to do including the preparation of teaching content and display such content.

For the preparation of the courses, it is recommended to use an authoring tool that generates SCORM directly.

If the content is exported to Scorm correctly, it can be used in multiple viewers, assessable in a multiple LMS and fully reusable as a unit of learning.

Examples of authoring tools:

SCORM PLAYERS

Scorm viewer is the other part of the equation in the SCORM standard.

On one hand, we have SCORM content and on the other side we have the viewer, which is a fundamental part of an LMS in which you have to play any content.

Anyone who thinks that SCORM is a standard about sequencing is almost right, but there is more behind this, navigation modes could be done much easier.

The SCORM standard has defined a runtime environment which enabling content to exchange information with the LMS in a transparent way, such as the browsing history of a student, the statistic of time spent in a lesson, score in an exercise and definition of the sequencing requirements.

The player should show not only the content, it must implement the Scorm API, receive messages that provide content via the RTE and store statistics derived from the use of content.

LMS tool will be responsible for exploiting these data to assess students. This is the essence of E-learning.