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caddickj
caddickj
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Branching to multiple projects within a SCORM-compatible LMS

Feb 9, 2012 12:13 PM

Tags: #captivate #e-learning #captivate_5 #scorm #sco #multi-sco #e-learning_suite

I'm close here, but I'm not quite getting what I want. Hopefully someone can point to the "easy" way to do this...

 

I am creating a single course that is composed of multiple Captivate 5 projects. The user is branched to different projects along the way based on the answers to embedded questions (such as passing/failing a pre-test). In the final project I have a post-test. That's the only one that needs to send a score to the LMS.

 

So let's simplify it for an example:

  • User enters in Module 1 and takes a pre-test.
  • If they pass with a certain score, they go to Module 3. If they fail, they go to Module 2.
  • If they're sent to Module 2, they go to Module 3 after they complete it.
  • In Module 3 they take a post-test and that score gets recorded.

 

Running this scenario on my desktop is easy. Putting it in a SCORM environment is taxing my brain.

 

Currently, I'm publishing each Module as its own SCO, keeping the Course ID and Title consistent between them.

 

I tried using the Multi-SCO Packager, but that results in entries in my LMS for Module 1, 2, and 3 separately. Not what I want.

 

I have tried moving the folders for Modules 2 and 3 to make them sub-folders of Module 1. That seems to work (I get one course entry point, for Module 1, and I exit with the correct score from Module 3), however in reviewing the LMS reports, this results in an artificially elevated "# of accesses" figure. The reason seems obvious: every time I load Module 1 it's one access, and then when I branch to Module 3, it's another access, because really I'm reloading the page with a new module and SCORM manifest, right? Plus I'm a little worried that this kind of gerry-rigging is going to break something.

 

I don't really want to use the Aggregator, because I don't want a TOC - they shouldn't have the ability to jump directly to Module 2, for example - but I tried it anyway. And I found that even if I can get it to flow the way I want to, I can't figure out how to package the Aggregated project into a SCORM Manifest.

 

There's got to be a way to do this. What am I missing? Is there something obvious I'm not considering?

964 Views   8 Replies   Latest reply: Jim Leichliter, Feb 17, 2012 4:09 AM
 
Replies
  • RodWard
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    1. RodWard,
    Feb 9, 2012 5:36 PM   in reply to caddickj
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    You cannot do this with standard Captivate output settings.

     

    You need to learn a bit about how the imsmanifest.xml file is structured and edit the XML code in this file so that your non-assessed modules are seen as resources related to your final assessed module, instead of separate SCORMs.

     

    The Rustici Software SCORM Cloud website has a lot of good information about how SCORM works.

    http://scorm.com/scorm-solved/scorm-cloud/

     

    That's a good place to start.

     
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  • caddickj
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    2. caddickj,
    Feb 10, 2012 5:51 AM   in reply to RodWard
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    Well, that is, to put it simply, disappointing.

     

    Anyone know of a good (free) IMSManifest editor? Something that's a little easier to read than Notepad would be helpful, but something that actually helps make sense of the structure would be awesome. I know Microsoft used to have something... can't remember what it was called...

     

    And to clarify, Rod, you're saying I should be able to output the final module as SCORM (because that's the one with the test), and then edit the XML file to show the other modules as Resources, right?

     

    How does the Manifest tell the LMS which file to launch? Is it just the first one listed in the Resources?

     
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  • RodWard
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    3. RodWard,
    Feb 10, 2012 6:03 AM   in reply to caddickj
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    Yes I'm suggesting that you output your assessment module (the one with the quiz) as a SCORM so that you have an imsmanifest file you can play with, and then work from there.  But the subject is a too complex to go into here and there are many variables. 

     

    Please try to understand that Captivate is designed to simplify the process of creating either a single SCO or Multi-SCO SCORM package, but it is not designed to provide a solution for all of the myriad possible ways that instructional designers might want to structure their courses.  Once you decide to go beyond simple single SCO or multi-SCO structures, you're on your own.

     

    Perhaps these links will get you started. There's quite a bit of information available on the web.

    http://scorm.com/scorm-explained/technical-scorm/content-packaging/

    http://www.scormsoft.com/scorm/cam/organizations

     
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  • Jim Leichliter
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    4. Jim Leichliter,
    Feb 10, 2012 6:13 AM   in reply to caddickj
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    The sequencing and navigation capabilities of SCORM 2004 are designed to work between shareable content objects (SCOs). Whether you publish to SCORM 1.2 or SCORM 2004, Captivate always publishes a course with exactly one SCO, and so doesn't make use of the SCORM sequencing and navigation capabilities. There are ways to implement branching in Captivate, but they're independent of the SCORM capabilities.

     

    You may want to try RELOAD Editor (free) for a mainfest editor:

    http://www.reload.ac.uk/editor.html

     

    Here's a tut on how to package multiple SCOs:

    http://captivatedev.com/2011/09/30/packaging-adobe-captivate-scos-into -one-course-using-reload-editor/

     

    The tutorial doesn't speak directly to sequensing, but it does describe how to use RELOAD.  Your situation is a bit more complext than just sequential prerequisites.  You need conditional sequencing and that's done by specifying sequencing rules in your manifest:

    http://scorm.com/scorm-explained/technical-scorm/sequencing/

     

    Jim Leichliter

     
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  • caddickj
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    5. caddickj,
    Feb 10, 2012 6:22 AM   in reply to RodWard
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    Thanks, Rod. I appreciate the speed and helpfulness of your responses.

     

    I get that Captivate doesn't support this. I just think it should. What I'm after is, after all, a single SCO package. Really, the only reason I'm forced to create multiple projects is that Captivate also doesn't support 2 quizzes in a single project (even if I only want to report on one of them), so I can't have a (scored, but unreported) pre-test in the same file as a post-test. That, to me, is a very basic e-learning structure.

     

    I'd prefer to use multiple projects anyway, because it makes more sense to me from both a conceptual and production standpoint, but I'm willing to combine them into a single project if I have to. I just can't - again, because of a pretty basic limitation.

     

    Btw... I found that editor.  It's called the LRN Editor. Old tool.

     
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  • caddickj
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    6. caddickj,
    Feb 10, 2012 7:26 AM   in reply to Jim Leichliter
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    Thanks, Jim! RELOAD looks interesting, and as soon as I can get IT to let me view YouTube I'll watch that tutorial.

     
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  • caddickj
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    7. caddickj,
    Feb 16, 2012 10:27 PM   in reply to caddickj
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    Just to update those interested... I figured it out. As suggested, I had to edit the imsmanifest file using RELOAD. Turns out to be pretty easy, after some annoying trial and error.

     

    I put the details together here, including videos.

     
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  • Jim Leichliter
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    8. Jim Leichliter,
    Feb 17, 2012 4:09 AM   in reply to caddickj
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    Awesome!  Thanks for making the tutorial.  Mind if I link to your RELOAD tutorial from mine?  Thanks for sharing!

     

    Jim Leichliter

     
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