When researching distance education platforms or methodologies used to create online courses, it is likely that you have already come across the acronym SCORM and have wondered what it means.
That's exactly what we're going to talk about here, but that's not all. In this article you will be able to better understand how SCORM applies to e-learning, what its advantages and limitations are and, best of all: why the LMS that Take5 created represents an evolution of everything that exists related to SCORM e-learning . Good reading!
What is SCORM e-learning?
Let's do it by steps. SCORM is an acronym formed by the initials of words in English Shareable Content Object Reference Mor of, which translated into Portuguese means Shareable Content Object Reference Model.
As for e-learning is nothing more than a form of non-face-to-face teaching supported by information and communication technology. Yes, we are talking about good old EAD – distance learning, which became the salvation of learning in times of pandemic.
That said, we finally arrive at SCORM e-learning, a model of teaching, on one end, and learning, on the other, which takes place in the electronic environment, online, taking advantage of the properties of the internet to communicate and distribute content.
Going a little further, SCORM is the name given to the set of standards and specifications that make up the communication protocol between EAD learning tools and the platform Learning Management System (LMS), also known as Learning Management System.
From now on, we will explore other details of this interaction. For now, let's take a closer look at everything related to SCORM.
The origin
SCORM was developed in 1999 by Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL) — an institution maintained by the United States Secretary of Defense — to respond to a request from the North American government.
Objective
The United States government decided to develop training courses to be distributed online to its military. However, each department began developing its own course and making it available through an LMS of its choice.
Result: the courses in the different departments were different from each other, there was no standardization of content.
That's where the United States government's request to its Department of Defense came from to develop a standard that would allow the content of its digital preparatory courses to be migrated from one platform to another and for this content to run properly on all of them.
The solution
The solution found was SCORM, which, by establishing a set of technical standards for distance learning resources, it enabled course content to be unified and able to be shared effectively and efficiently with the systems that support them.
These systems could be either e-learning platforms or a digital database that worked exactly like a library where content was stored and could be accessed, searched or modified. Problem solved!
Now you must be wondering about the application of SCORM in online courses and how it works nowadays. That's exactly what we're going to talk about.
How is SCORM implemented in a course?
Typically, platforms for distance learning institutions tend to benefit from SCORM, which uses a technical standard model of content objects shareable by an e-learning platform.
So, let's look in more detail at the role of SCORM in distance learning.
- Standardize content: SCORM allows the same content to run on some platforms. And here's a brief parenthesis: Even today, there are platforms that are unable to accept some types of content. The good news is that Take5's LMS, which we'll talk about later, runs on all types of content.
- Uniform specifications: SCORM created a single standard of specifications for enable communication between content and EAD systems.
- Reuse learning objects: from SCORM, learning objects can be used in different modules, disciplines and contexts.
- Make the use of learning objects more flexible: Through a simple data export and import process, learning objects can be used in different EAD stages.
- Make its use universal: SCORM allows the same learning objects to be used in different EAD platforms, even from other institutions and locations.
How does SCORM work nowadays?
SCORM is used to migrate all content from an LMS platform to another system without losing information. However, the platform that will migrate the data needs to be able to export it in SCORM format, for this to happen and the platform that will receive the data must be able to load the exported courses into its system.
This means that the use of SCORM is restricted to LMS platforms developed with support for this functionality.
The burning question is: What to do to overcome this SCORM limitation? Take5 has this answer for you.
Solution Take 5: the evolution of SCORM
There is no rule that says his LMS must only be compatible with SCORM. Nowadays, it is much more advantageous to choose a more modern and assertive learning management systemSuch as Take5 LMS.
This EAD platform wasdeveloped to be able to receive and understand any type of content that's why, is way ahead dthe SCORM standardization, which, even though it has undergone updates, It still cannot export various types of content, such as chats or discussion forums.
The evolution that the LMS Take 5 brought to the EAD world opened the doors for you manage data, users and reports with just a few clicks, in addition to having full control of training on a robust and advanced EAD course platform.
Developed in conjunction with Fortune 500 companies, e-learning platform Take 5 has powerful features so businesses of all sizes can:
- Insert training - To create your training, you can upload a SCORM, video, PDF, PPT, YouTube and many other formats.
- Train your users - You can invite users to train and respond to assessments. The EAD platform issues a personalized certificate online, which can be printed.
- Analyze the results - The reports are arranged so that each management profile only sees what is relevant.
As you can see, SCORM is still useful today for distance learning courses, but its limitations — despite having been updated version after version — have a strong impact on those who want to go further.
With the world constantly changing, increasingly dynamic and interactive, it is no longer possible to depend on an old standard, which restricts what an LMS developer can build.
So, if you are thinking about the ideal platform for your online course, take into consideration everything you read here before deciding whether or not it is worth being restricted to the SCORM standard.
If you still have any questions about the best way to migrate and host your online course, speak to one of the experts at Take 5. We are available to help!
