Tutorial: Build SCORM Compatible Lesson Templates for Your LMS

How to use a lesson template

Follow the steps below to create a lesson and publish it to your LMS. These steps assume that you have already worked through the instructional design process to prepare your content.

Make a copy of the _lessonTemplate folder. Rename the folder to reflect the new lesson you are creating (e.g., IntroductionToPeopleSoft). This new folder must remain at the same directory level as the _lessonTemplate folder. If you move it, the lesson template will not function properly. See Figure 6 to see where to locate the folder. You will see that the lesson template folder names are preceded with an underscore, so that they can easily be distinguished from your lesson folders. In this new folder, open the _localScripts\lessonParameters.js file and edit the appropriate parameters (e.g., lesson title, number of pages in the lesson, etc.). With these variables populated, you can now reference their values throughout the lesson. Create the lesson’s content pages in the \_content folder. Remember to name these pages sequentially based on their position within the lesson (e.g., page1.html, page2. html, etc.).

Figure 6 Locate the _lessonTemplate folder as shown.

  

	

		Introduction
	
	

		Objectives
	
	

		My third page
	
	

		My fourth page
	
	

		My fifth page
	
  

Your content pages may contain simple text, exercises built using JavaScript or Flash, or even video. This is your time to shine! Make the lesson as interactive and interesting as possible, while still adhering to the course and lesson objectives. Store the lesson’s assets in the appropriate folders (e.g., _localAssets\images, _localAssets\flash, etc.).

Open the navFrame.html file and enter the links to each of the individual pages within the lesson. If you used the DHTML Tree code from the JavaScript Toolbox Web site mentioned above, this is as easy as adding an unordered list of links where each link references the GoToPage() function. (See code in Sidebar 2.) Note that the

tag must have the CLASS and ID values set for the DHTML Tree to function.

 

The value you give to the GoToPage() function corresponds to the name of the content page. For example, the function call GoToPage(4) will take you to page4.html.  Save all of the files and then open the \index.html file to preview the lesson.

Create the SCORM manifest file (imsmanifest.xml) in the lesson’s folder. You need to create this file because each lesson is its own SCORM package. If you are comfortable with XML, you can manually create this file. If you are not comfortable with XML, several applications can help you to do this.  Search the Web for “SCORM Manifest Generator” or “SCORM Manifest Maker” and you will find an application to assist you.

Use a stand-alone SCORM wrapper to test your SCO and verify that it is working correctly. Make sure all appropriate SCORM information is sent back from the SCO to the tester, which shows what information your LMS would receive.

An excellent SCORM wrapper can be found in the SCORM — Technical section on Ostyn.com’s Resources page. This wrapper is listed under “SCORM Testing, Demonstration, and Diagnostic Tools,” titled “SCO test wrap to monitor SCO Communication with LMS.”

Zip up all of the lesson files and upload them to your LMS. You will need to zip up the following files and folders:

• _assets folder
• _css folder
• _script folder
• folder
• imsmanifest.xml file

Do not zip up the _lessonTemplate folder; this folder is used only as a template. 

Note: You will have to temporarily move your imsmanifest.xml file outside of the folder in order to zip it up in this format. Once you are finished zipping the file up, move it back to its folder to avoid any confusion in the future. 

I recommend that you give the zip file the same name as the lesson folder. So if the lesson folder is named PreventingWorkplaceAccidents, the zip file would be named PreventingWorkplace Accidents.zip.

Release the lesson to your learners once you are confident that everything is working properly.

Suspending and resuming learner progress

You can use the SaveSuspendData() and RestoreFromSuspend() functions from Chapter 8 of In the Eye of the SCORM if you would like to give learners the ability to pause their lesson and come back at a later time. These functions are located in Code Sample 13 on pages 45 and 46 of the e-Book.

Committing Learner Information

How often should you save the learner’s information back to the LMS during the lesson? Every two minutes? Every 20 minutes? Claude Ostyn has written a brief article called “Best practices for the use of Commit in SCORM content” that provides excellent insight. You can find the article in the same SCORM — Technical section as In the Eye of the SCORM.  You will need to make modifications to the lesson code if you would like to make additional calls to the ScormCommit() function.

Closing Thoughts

I would like to offer special thanks to three individuals. Claude Ostyn has made many great contributions to the SCORM community, and I have learned much of what I know by studying his articles and examples. (For the record, I have no affiliation with Claude Ostyn or Ostyn Consulting.) Matt Kruse owns JavaScript Toolbox and is the major provider of the code found there. John Robrimi is a friend with whom I have worked on past e-Learning projects, and who has helped me become a better e-Learning developer. With their help, I have presented one possible approach for structuring your lesson template. The format and layout of your template will differ depending on your situation. The main idea is to organize your files and structure your template to promote code re-use. The template in this article may look like a typical “page-turner,” but you can easily make the content engaging and interactive in order to keep the learner’s interest. Most importantly — use what works best for you and your organization.

References

Meyer, Eric. Cascading Style Sheets: The Definitive Guide, Second Edition. O’Reilly. 2004. Ostyn, Claude. In the Eye of the SCORM. Retrieved from http://ostyn.com/resources, January 15, 2007

Comments

Login or subscribe to comment