How does our SCORM content interact with LMS?

Here we'll go over how our SkillMill SCORM packages interact with your LMS provider.

Hello there, and welcome to the wonderful world of LMS! This is an exciting step for both you and your learners. Here at Interplay, we're here to help! We built this document with the intention of helping our users understand how SCORM and LMS interact. 

So, you've uploaded your SCORM courses to your LMS, you've read through our SCORM: The Basics article,  everything works, but you don't really know how it works.  Let's start with an example:

Think about this in the term of a DVD. When you buy a DVD, you don't need to check if it'll work with your brand of DVD player. A Sony DVD player, and a Toshiba DVD player will both play the same DVDs. The reason why is because DVDs are made using a certain set of standards. If these standards weren't around, each DVD would require a different type of DVD player. Before SCORM was created, that was the case. 😬

The SCORM standard makes sure that all eLearning content and LMSs can work together. If an LMS is SCORM conformant, it can play any content that's SCORM conformant and any SCORM conformant content can play in a conformant LMS. Pretty cool, isn't it? It's like your LMS is the DVD player, and your SCORM content is the DVD! 

What makes SCORM work?

• Content Packaging - All of the information that needs to be in a course (documents, videos, etc), are all put into a SCORM package that contains all the information the course needs to know when to launch what portion of the course. The file answers questions like "What document should be launched?" and "What is the name of the content?"
• Run-Time Communication - This part is responsible for the data exchange between the LMS and SCORM. Consider this part like SCORM and LMS having a conversation with each other. SCORM asks when they should ask the learner's name or when SCORM should let the Learner know their grade, and LMS answers. The answers your LMS provides to SCORM are how the course will interact with your learner! 
• Sequencing - Think of this part like a map. To get from place A to place B, you wouldn't go through the rest of the alphabet first to get there, right? That'd take quite a while. Instead, you follow the steps and get there right when you'd like to be. Sequencing is exactly this for SCORM. It tells SCORM when to go to the next step of the course, what needs to be completed before doing so, and gives it a map to follow. 
  
  

Are you ready to begin your adventure? With this information you should be all set to step into the SCORM world. As always, thank you for reading this article and Happy Learning!