One of the common limitations of authoring tools is the functionality of questions, quizzes and tests. In our new e-Learning Authoring Tool we tried to provide a broad range of features while making it easy to create quizzes and tests. We let the author create one or pages in a course that contain individual questions, a quiz and a test. The quizzes and tests use one or more question pools and provide randomization over the question order and possible answers for each question. The individual question pages and quiz pages provide immediate feedback. The test pages provide delayed feedback shown after the learner submits the test for a grade. Here is a YouTube video showing our question, quiz and test features. We’d love to get your feedback on the question, quiz and test features. You can download a free trial of the authoring tool to see exactly how it works.
Archive for the ‘SCORM’ Category
SCORM 2.0
Thursday, August 14th, 2008LETSI is a new organization working on the future of SCORM. LETSI had a call for white papers that asked members of the e-learning community for the best ideas for a future version of SCORM called SCORM 2.0. I submitted a paper called SCO 2.0: The Lucas Proposal – SCO-based Sequencing. The white paper proposes that we eliminate simple sequencing and replace it with SCO-based sequencing.
Simple sequencing sound simple but its not. Simple sequencing is the SCORM 2004 way to define how a learners interaction will the SCOs in the course will affect navigation, completion, success (pass/fail) and the score of the course. Simple sequencing is described in a 250 page specification. The specification is a tough read and it is difficult for most developers to use to create real courses.
I am proposing a much simpler solution called SCO-based sequencing. The LMS launches just one SCO for a course. That SCO can launch child SCOs if needed. The parent provides a SCORM runtime API to the child SCOs so it can receive all of the information provided by the child. For example, the child tells the parent that the learner has completed the SCO with a passing score of 90. The parent SCO can use the information provided by the child to make sequencing decisions.
SCO-based sequencing allows a course to be in full control over its user interface. Course developers will not have to worry how their multi-SCO will look and behave in different LMSs. Learners will not be confused by 2 sets of navigation (one provided within a SCO and another by the LMS).
SCO-based sequencing has other advantages. It allows a multi-SCO course to be developed in other web languages such Flash and Silverlight.
Please post comments to the white paper on the LETSI web site.
Creating a SCO with a HTML Frameset
Thursday, January 4th, 2007Here is the general way to create a SCO using a HTML frameset.
Your frameset will contain some or all of the code for your SCO. Your frameset will have the code to get and set the bookmark. Your frameset can also have the code to set the completion status, success status, score and other SCORM data items. Your frameset will contain at least one frame. You will display the content (HTML pages) of your SCO in a frame.
The frameset will initially display a blank page when it is loaded. Your frameset displays a blank page because it has to find out if this is the first time the learner has launched the SCO. If this is the first time the SCO is launched, the frameset will load the first page in the SCO into the frame. If the SCO has been launched at least once, your frameset will get the bookmark (previously saved by your SCO) and then use that bookmark to load the correct page.
In a SCORM 2004 SCO, your frameset can save the bookmark information in cmi.location or cmi.suspend_data. In a SCORM 1.2 SCO, your frameset can save the bookmark information in cmi.core.lesson_location or cmi.suspend_data. You will decide what kind of information to store in the bookmark. For example, you could store the name of the file that was previously viewed by the learner. You could also store a number that could be an index to an array of pages that you load when the SCO is launched.
We have created an e-learning toolkit that uses a frameset to manage bookmarks within a SCO. The toolkit comes with source code that you can use “as is” or modify to meet your specific needs.
Creating a course with a single SCO in SCORM 2004
Sunday, November 12th, 2006SCORM 2004 lets you create a course with multiple SCOs. However, many people prefer to create a their courses with a single SCO. One advantage of creating a course with a single SCO is that you do not have to spend much time learning how SCORM 2004 sequencing and navigation rules work. Unfortunately, your single-SCO course still gets the default sequencing and navigation rules if you like it or not. The defaults are usually not what you want so here is a tiny bit of SCORM manifest code that you may want to use in your single-SCO course. I’ll show the code first and then explain how it works.
<organizations default=”crs_hello”>
<organization identifier=”crs_hello”>
<title&rt;Hello World Course</title>
<item identifier=”sco_hello” identifierref=”sco_hello_ref”>
<title>Hello World SCO</title>
</item>
<imsss:sequencing>
<imsss:controlMode choiceExit=”true” flow=”true” />
<imsss:deliveryControls completionSetByContent=”true” objectiveSetByContent=”true” />
</imsss:sequencing>
</organization>
</organizations>
The <organizations> section defines a course with a single activity. The activity is linked to a SCO with the identifierref = “sco_hello_ref” (this SCO is defined in the <resources> section not shown in this example). The course has some sequencing rules shown in bold type. Here are the rules:
- choiceExit = true – this means the learner can exit from the activity. This is not really needed here because there is only one activity but a good thing to have if you will add more SCOs to this course
- flow = true – this tells the LMS to flow automatically navigate to the first SCO in the course. This means that the learner will not have to take some action to launch the SCO.
- completionSetByContent = true – the SCO will tell the LMS when it is complete by setting cmi.completion_status
- objectiveSetByContent = true – the SCO will tell the LMS the status of its primary objective by setting cmi.success_status.