As I mentioned a few weeks ago, we’re using “between implementation” time (Brian’s) to do some more work toward an elegant, pre-packaged integration between the SCORM Engine and Moodle. While Moodle is moving toward SCORM 1.2 certification, progress toward SCORM 2004 in Moodle is very limited.
For certain clients (much of the government included), SCORM 2004 support is crucial. In discussions with one such client, I mentioned our pending integration and offered to share some images of it. Keep in mind, this is just an “alpha” version, but we’re getting pretty excited about it. The next steps will certainly include making it a bit more “Moodly”, but we’re off to a good start.
As you likely know, SCORM LMS’s are obligated to do a couple of things well… import and delivery foremost among them.
In the SCORM Engine, we try to make import as simple as humanly possible. Any SCORM course should be available as a zip file containing a manifest (AKA a PIF). So, step one to taking SCORM training in Moodle is as simple as selecting a SCORM package and hitting upload.
One of the first places the SCORM Engine differentiates itself from alternative SCORM players is its ability to handle content that is technically non-conformant. Doing so requires that the SCORM Engine provide intelligent feedback during the import process. This sample course from ADL is conformant, so there are no parser warnings, but feedback to the administrator is still important.
Step two in achieving high levels of compatibility is delivering a course in the manner that best suits it. A big part of how we do this is through our Package Properties control. This allows us deliver the course in different window structures, with different navigation parameters, or even with compatibility settings that accommodate common mistakes from content vendors. These options are a big part of why content generally works better in the SCORM Engine than anywhere else.
Importing content in not a process isolated to the SCORM Engine. In parsing the manifest, it’s important to inform the host LMS about the course and its information. Even in this alpha form, we’re able to interact with Moodle to inform it about the creation of the course.
Now that the course has been properly created in both the SCORM Engine and the host LMS (Moodle), it’s time to launch it. Delivery in the Moodle integration is just like delivery in any SCORM Engine implementation. It is as simple and direct as we can make it. Everything in black and blue below is completely skinnable, and the compatibility that comes from our Javascript architecture surpasses that of any other SCORM provider. This is particularly evident when running SCORM 2004 courses that contain sequencing and navigation (again, this is a fundamental problem for Moodle implementations today.)
As always, proper integration with a host LMS (Moodle, in this case) requires informing that host about the progress of the learner. As seen here, scores from the content are properly rolled up and reported to Moodle (Brian’s not exactly proficient with Photoshop).
While work remains to be done to make the integration a bit more Moodly and hands off, we’re really pleased with just how well these products fit together and how complete a solution this is. At this point, we’re looking to licensing through Moodle hosts and the like rather than directly licensing under GPL or something similar. That time may come as well. Please be in touch if you have questions/comments/interest. Feel free to comment here or contact us here.
