SCORM Standards & Overview

Standalone SCORM Content

Using the SCORM template, standalone SCORM content provides an optimal learning experience by directly launching the SCORM file in a new window without requiring the learner to enter the standard course learner view. Learners are marked complete when the SCORM attempt is in completed AND passed status (or for SCORM 1.2, completed or passed status). Review the below limitations if using the SCORM as a standalone content object:

• Reporting is limited to SCORM statuses and scores; no other native Thought Industries reporting (e.g. time spent in course, number of views)
• No access to Thought Industries course options such as discussions, resources, ask the instructor, etc
• Completion Criteria is set in SCORM package
  
  

SCORM Page Type Within a Native Course

If you have content that is already built and finalized in a SCORM format, you can utilize the SCORM page type to easily embed your content. It will provide an optimal user experience by directly launching the SCORM file in a new window, without requiring the user to enter the standard learner view. There are many benefits to presenting your content using this option:

• Leverage Thought Industries course options (discussions, notes, resources, ask instructor)
• Blend courses with SCORM native Thought Industries pages
• Native Thought Industries reporting (e.g. time in course, # of views)
• Some aspects of completion criteria can be edited in Thought Industries. Depending on the configuration of your instance, your SCORM pages will use our legacy or updated SCORM logic.
  • Legacy logic for SCORM page completion criteria (default for instances created before April 2024):
    • The Thought Industries SCORM completion criteria is fulfilled when the SCORM attempt is in completed status. Success status (passed/failed) is not taken into account.
    • If the Prevent Course Progress page setting is enabled for a SCORM page, the learner is not able to progress past the page until the SCORM attempt is in completed status. Success status (passed/failed) is not taken into account.
  • Updated logic for SCORM page completion criteria:
    • The Thought Industries SCORM completion criteria is fulfilled when the SCORM attempt is in completed AND passed status.
    • Additionally, if the Prevent Course Progress page setting is enabled for a SCORM page, the learner is not able to progress past the page until the SCORM attempt is in completed AND passed status.

Data Limits and Learner Placement

SCORM uses a concept called suspend data limit to return learners to where they left off the last time they accessed the content. However, when a course has hundreds of quiz questions or interactions, they can go over that limit, which means learners will be placed in the last place they were in the platform rather than the last spot in the SCORM object. Below are the limits for suspending data limits:

Exit Buttons

Many SCORM files are created without the ability to store data outside the file itself. If you are creating SCORM objects to use in the Thought Industries platform, we recommend creating an exit button or auto commit status every x seconds.

Many SCORM files are created without the ability to store data outside the file itself. If you are creating SCORM objects to use in the Thought Industries platform, we recommend creating an exit button or auto commit status every x seconds. Including an exit button helps ensure that data is committed back to Thought Industries. This is especially important when embedding SCORM files directly into a page, as the standard commit action (closing the browser window) might not occur. An exit button mimics that behavior and helps trigger the proper completion communication.

Incorrect SCORM Statuses

Sending incorrect SCORM Statuses over is a common issue. Thought Industries will accept completed, complete, or passed as a positive completion status (to indicate completion for any version of SCORM), and will accept passed as a positive success status (for SCORM 2004).

Record Runtime Interactions

When creating results in a SCORM object, post results to cmi.interactions.n.result and categorize them as correct/incorrect.

Cmi.interactions.n.Description

All activities, interactions, and questions should be given a unique description that reads easily on reports. For example, if I have a question like “What’s Your Name?” in the SCORM object, the answer should reflect that the learner provided a name. Learner and Correct Response should also be given readable descriptions, such as “Blue” rather than “choice A.”

System Recommendations

• We recommend that learners use Chrome as their internet browser, though SCORM does work well now on other browsers.
• We do not recommend using a VPN (Virtual Private Network) when learners complete SCORM since they can cause issues with completion.

Transitioning to SCORM Rustici

1. Do I need to Republish All of my files? No. You should test that your files still complete properly and that SCORM reports interactions the same way, but you shouldn’t need to recreate files.
2. What happens to learners that were in progress in a SCORM file? Learners will lose progress within the SCORM package, but we will still have any historical completions saved.
3. Does completion status carry over after Rustici is enabled? Yes, but not individual page completions.

Reporting Best Practices

Is there a preferred completion status (passed/incomplete, successful/not successful, etc)?

This depends on what version of SCORM you are using. Rustici returns status as two separate properties: Passed or Completed for lesson status, and Success Status.

Setting lesson status to completed depends on your SCORM version: If you are in SCORM 1.2, the lesson status is completed. In SCORM 2004, it's best to have the status also marked as completed.

What do we do with assessment and final exam scores?

Rustici allows us to report on the assessment score itself, but the assessment score is not used explicitly as criteria for a SCORM file being successfully passed in TI. For example, if you set the completion criteria for the SCORM package to viewing 70% of the slides and an 80% mastery score on the final exam, a learner can score 90% on the exam, but still not show as complete until they also view 70% of the slides.

If you want to require the learner to pass the assessment in order to pass the SCORM file, you should associate the success of the SCORM file completion to the successful completion of the assessment. For example, if you want a learner to score 70% or higher on the final exam, the SCORM file should have a 70% mastery score for exam passed to satisfy that success criteria in the SCORM Package.

Authoring Tools

Thought Industries supports SCORM created by such commonly used tools as Articulate 360, Adobe Captivate, and Elucidat. Each of these platforms has unique settings to control progress and completion status within the Published SCORM Package, so you need to know these settings and match them to Thought Industries.

Authoring Responsibilities - Completion Criteria

You should set completion criteria within the SCORM package before publishing it. You can set completion at both course and page level, and the package will report Completed/Passed/Successful status as set in the package.

SCORM Cloud

SCORM Cloud is a Rustici-created testing tool that you can use to test your SCORM files. You can access it at this link.

SCORM Runtime Logs in Thought Industries Learner Profile

It’s also possible to view the runtime logs from a SCORM attempt in the Engagement tab of a learner profile. This data can be useful for troubleshooting but should not be considered the source of truth for SCORM attempt status and score because the Engagement tab data is pulled from a different source than Thought Industries’s SCORM Attempt reporting.