Patricia Ploetz, ABD

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Designing and Developing SCORM-Compliant
Learning Objects
Canadian Association for Distance Education
Wise And Witty Weekday Presentation April 19, 2006
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Welcome

• Welcome!
• My goal for todays presentation
• Provide practical information on Designing and
  Developing SCORM Compliant Learning Objects
• What would you like to gain from this
  presentation?
• Please feel free to ask questions as we move
  along.
• If I speak to fast.please interrupt and tell me
  to slow down!

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Topics

• SCORM a definition
• Journey into the SCORM
• Brief history of SCORM
• The Big Picture
• From theory to practice
• Designing and developing content
• Learning Objects
• Subject Matter Experts
• Metadata
• The Content package
• LMS
• Repository

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The SCORM

• Definition
• The Sharable Content Object Reference Model
  (SCORM) is a set of technical specifications
  developed by the AICC, IMS, IEEE and others that
  have been aggregated to form a reference model
  that has become a standard for sharing digital
  learning content in the form of Sharable Content
  Objects (SCO/s)

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A Journey into the SCORM
Learning Objects
Reusability
Stand alone
IEEE
Manifest.xml
Content Package
?
Assets
Metadata
Cancore
IMS
Dublin Core
Standards
SCORM
Interoperability
LMSs
Accessibility
Durabililty
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The Journey Begins
Blue Folder

• LMSs
• Learning objects,
• Metadata,
• Repositories
• The SCORM

Yellow folder
Red Folder
Green Folder
Green Folder
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A Brief History

• 1990 - 1997
• Growth of Learning Management Systems (LMSs)
• 1997 1999
• Learning content couldn't be moved from one LMS
  environment to another
• LMS products couldn't integrate learning content
  created by other systems
• Couldn't create searchable content or content
  repositories
• 1999 - 2000
• Executive order 13111 charging the Department
  of Defense with the goal of developing a set of
  distributed learning standards that would support
  the sharing of elearning content
• The SCORM

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The Big Picture

Faculty
Metadata Accessible
LMS
Learning Object Reusable/Durable
The Sharable Content Object (SCO) life
cycle Characteristics
Repository
LO Metadata is Packaged Interoperable

Shareable Content Object (SCO)
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From Theory to Practice

• Standards based learning content for distributed
  learning environments (learning management
  systems) requires the following

• Content in the form of a learning object (LO)
• The creation of an associated metadata file,
• Packaging of the learning object into a SCORM
  conformant Sharable Content Object (SCO).
• Placement of the SCO into a repository for
  sharing.
• Uploading into a learning management system
  (LMS)

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Designing DevelopingLearning Objects

• Definition
• A learning object is defined as a digital unit
  of instruction that has a learning objective,
  learning activities to support the objective, and
  an assessment that measures student learning.
• Characteristics or ilities of learning objects
• Designing for Reusability
• Stands alone (does not reference other materials)
• Small, discrete, addresses one lesson or topic
• Does not single out specific groups of learners,
  i.e. sport fans, etc.
• Uses flash animations and other highly
  interactive components only when an html option
  is not available
• Designing for Durability
• Highly granular content is more likely to be used
  and reused
• Content that changes little over time is likely
  to be more durable
• Use only those elements that support the learning
  experience, refrain from using eye candy
• Content that dates the learning object will
  hamper durability.
• Keep in mind that youre designing a learning
  object for the world!
• .

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Metadata/Accessibility

• Metadata/Accessibility
• Accessibility is the term used to identify
  learning objects that have been made accessible
  or discoverable through metadata..
• What is metadata?
• Metadata is information that describes a
  learning object and tells a search engine where
  to find the learning object the metadata
  describes.
• How do you create metadata?
• Reload Editor Free software, Dreamweaver, etc
• What do you do with it?
• The metadata file goes with the learning object

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Metadata.xml
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The SCORM Content Package

• What is a SCORM content package?
• Why do I need to create a content package?
• How do I create a content package?

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The content package
Inside the package or zipped folder are
Folder/s Containing resource files
Learning content
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Why a Content Package?
The Package
The purpose of a content package is to allow
material associated with learning content to be
bundled, moved and installed on any system even
if that system is not of the kind that created
it. The content package is a directory of
files compressed and bundled by a zip program. A
content package must have a imsmanifest.xml
file. The imsmanifest.xml file describes the
package and its content and has the following
sections metadata, organization and resources.
Manifest File
Metadata
Organization
Resources
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Creating the Content Package
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Upload into an LMS
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Repositories
Users download a content package And upload into
an LMS for use In their instruction
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Resources

• Conceicao, S., Olgren, C. Ploetz, P., (2006).
  Reusing Learning Objects in Three Settings
  Implications for Online Instruction (submitted
  for publication, Journal of Educational
  Technology)
• Meachen, E. Olgren, C. Ploetz, P. (2004). An
  Investigation of the Pedagogical and Economic
  Effectiveness of Sharable Content Objects, Using
  Standards, in Online Instruction. Fund for the
  Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE).
  U.S. Department of Education. Grant No.
  P116B020126.
• Ploetz, P. (2004) Faculty Development and
  Learning Object Technology Bridging The Gap.
  Teaching with Technology Today 10(4).

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