E-learning development standards

Copyrights © Thomas Fétiveau, 2017

Important notions

• LMS: "Learning Management System", is a software application for the administration, documentation, tracking, reporting and delivery of e-learning courses.

• LRS: "Learning Record Store", is a data store system that serves as a repository for learning records necessary for using the Experience API. In some cases, it can be an LMS.

• SCORM: "Sharable Content Object Reference Model", is a collection of standards and specifications (API) for web-based e-learning contents. It defines communications between client side content and a host system which is commonly supported by a learning management system (LMS). SCORM also defines how content may be packaged into a transferable ZIP file called "Package Interchange Format".

• xAPI: "Experience API" also known as the "Tin Can API" is the successor of SCORM. It is an API that allows learning contents and learning systems to speak to each other in a manner that records and tracks all types of learning experiences.

SCORM

References

• SCORM 1.2 technical specifications: https://adlnet.gov/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/SCORM_1_2_pdf.zip
• SCORM 1.2 packages samples: https://www.adlnet.gov/adl-assets/uploads/2015/11/SCORMContentPackageExamples.zip
• SCORM AICC slides: http://fr.slideshare.net/ThinkingCamp/scorm-a-beginners-guide
• SCORM explained: http://scorm.com/scorm-explained/
• SCORM short reference: http://scorm.com/scorm-explained/technical-scorm/run-time/run-time-reference/

Principles

• The SCORM API is an API of communication between a learning content (SCO) and an LMS.

• The SCORM API is made available to the SCO when it gets delivered by the LMS in a web page. When the SCO is delivered by the LMS, a SCORM API is available globally in its webpage. The SCORM API thus cannot be used anywhere else than in a LMS context (web page generated by the LMS).

• The SCORM API is composed of few essential methods (LMSInitialize, LMSFinish, LMSGetValue, LMSSetValue) and a rather complex data model.

• A SCO must be a folder containing your files (html, javascript, assets...) and a imsmanifest.xml file that describes the SCO. To be deployed on an LMS, this folder must be archived as an single zip file.

Practicing

1 - If you have not one yet, create an account on https://cloud.scorm.com

2 - Start by creating a simple SCO that will manage basic SCORM commands: LMSInitialize() and LMSFinish().

If step 2 tests are successful on your scorm cloud account, proceed to step 3.

3 - Edit your SCO and add several question pages to it. Manage then the suspend data so that when users leave the SCO without finishing it, they can restart from where they've left last time. Manage the status of the SCO as well and mark the SCO as finished by the user when it's the case.

If step 3 tests are successful on your scorm cloud account, proceed to step 4.

4 - Edit your SCO to manage the score and the time the learner achieved. Then test it on scorm cloud.

xAPI

References

• xAPI reference: http://tincanapi.com/
• xAPI for developers: http://tincanapi.com/page-developers/
• xAPI statement explorer: http://tincanapi.com/statement-explorer/
• statement generator: http://tincanapi.com/tech-overview/statement-generator/
• xAPI specifications: https://github.com/adlnet/xAPI-Spec/blob/master/xAPI.md
• Javascript xAPI librairy: http://rusticisoftware.github.io/TinCanJS/
• xAPI samples: https://github.com/RusticiSoftware/TinCan_Prototypes

Principles

• xAPI is a set of Restful web service API.
• xAPI services carry a JSON payload that allows an e-learning content to make a series of "Statements" to a LRS.
• Each “Statement” describes a learning experience and consists of three parts, an “Actor,” a “Verb” and an “Object”. A “Statement” conveys something like “Mike passed Introduction to REST”.

Practicing

Create a little javascript e-learning content that sends statements to the scorm cloud LRS.