There are many different factors to take into account when considering investing in resources to allow your students or employees to learn a new language online. There are a range of digital tools that will make the process more straight forward, more flexible, and more likely to end in success.
SCORM is an acronym you are likely to come across often. It is used frequently in the e-learning industry and stands for Sharable Content Object Reference Model. In short, SCORM is a set of standards and specifications designed to keep the quality of e-learning resources high.
It’s particularly important to be aware of SCORM if you are choosing digital learning resources to use within a learning management system (LMS). LMS content should be designed to be compatible with and work across different learning management systems. LMS SCORM designed online courses should run efficiently and ensure that learners are able to follow a specific path through the course materials.
Despite having been the leading e-learning standard for the best part of two decades, SCORM is still largely misunderstood. If you are looking into investing in LMS content to support students or employees to learn a language online, you’ll find more about what you need to know below.
What does SCORM cover?
LMS SCORM content is designed to effectively manage the digital communication between the LMS content the learners see and the back end of the host system which is typically managed by the education provider.
It also covers:
- The expectation of what digital learning content should include and achieve
- The order that learners are able to access the content
- Allowing learners to save their progress and return to LMS content on their own terms
- Compatibility for learning content to work across multiple devices, platforms and learning management systems
- How assessments should be marked and graded
- How effectively learning management systems (LMS) are able to read and host course content
Why is SCORM important for learning a language online?
If you’re not sure why these things are so important for learning a language online, it’s important to note that these things will all have a large impact on the everyday running and accessibility of e-learning content.
Here are some key factors to keep in mind:
Not all online learning resources are SCORM compliant
The key reason that it’s important to be aware of and looking out for SCORM certification when investing in e-learning and LMS content is because not all online learning resources comply with it. There is no obligation for online course providers to develop content that meets LMS SCORM specifications.
If you’re not checking SCORM compliance during your research, it could mean that you end up purchasing resources that aren’t ideally designed to be the best fit for your learners and/or your learning management system.
It’s also important to note that the SCORM standards have been built upon and improved over time. Before you make your final decision, it may be wise to double check which SCORM specification content has been designed to meet.
SCORM can help to future proof your offering
One of the biggest risks of investing in digital tools and resources is that they can become antiquated and outdated very quickly. Luckily, SCORM LMS content can help to avoid this. Content that has been designed to be SCORM compliant should continue to work with a range of new and existing digital tools and technologies for many years to come
SCORM keeps your options open
It’s not just the course materials themselves that need to be considered. Any company or organisation who is serious about providing learning opportunities for their students or employees, such as giving them to opportunity to learn a language online, will most likely want to also invest in a learning management system (LMS). If you are careful to only chose LMS SCORM compliant courses, this means that you will be able to easily migrate it from one LMS system to another should you choose to do so.
How can you create your own LMS SCORM content?
If you plan to create your own online learning content, you will want to consider the importance of ensuring this content is SCORM compliant. The good news is that it is very easy to do this as long as you have invested in a SCORM-friendly learning management system. Creating LMS SCORM content will be very straightforward if the tools you have chosen are designed to do this as standard.
If your company or organisation is keen to offer employees or students the opportunity to learn a language online, LMS SCORM content is certainly something to be very aware of. Why not make the process easier for yourself by choosing to work with a digital solutions provider you can trust to handle the SCORM specification on your behalf?
To get started, take a look at the Dexway method.
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