SCORM FAQs

Is a SCORM package a good fit for your organization, or should you opt for the recommended delivery method of this resource?  

What is a SCORM package?

Shareable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM) is a collection of standards and specifications for web-based electronic educational technology (also called e-learning). It defines communications between client-side content and a host system (called "the run-time environment"), which is commonly supported by a learning management system. SCORM also defines how content may be packaged into a transferable ZIP file called "Package Interchange Format."

Source: Wikipedia

What is an LMS?

A learning management system (LMS) is a software application for the administration, documentation, tracking, reporting, automation and delivery of educational courses, training programs, or learning and development programs.[1] The learning management system concept emerged directly from e-Learning. Although the first LMS appeared in the higher education sector, the majority of the LMSs today focus on the corporate market. Learning Management Systems make up the largest segment of the learning system market. 

Source: Wikipedia

Considerations before opting for a SCORM package

Certain departments or stakeholders may request information about receiving the resource in a SCORM format or signal interest in a SCORM version.

• • This may be new territory for you and your review team (especially for professional development courses)  - and may involve a more lengthy review, testing, and assessment process than previous projects.
  • Ensuring that all parties involved are willing and able, with enough time available (2-4 weeks), is crucial to a successful SCORM launch. Without a time commitment of 2-4 weeks from all the necessary stakeholders, a SCORM package will not be a viable option.

Choosing to purchase a SCORM package has different implications for the end-user (learner) experience, as well as how much admin work is required for your organization.

• • Reconciliation Education cannot offer support to learners in your LMS. This means that all learner inquiries, help requests, and data management must be handled by your internal teams.
  • Reconciliation Education cannot retrieve any learner data for you, as the SCORM course will be stored entirely in your LMS. This includes learner credentials and certificates.
  • In some LMS, your internal IT/LMS team will be required to manually set up the certificate and certification process to properly integrate into your LMS. Reconciliation Education can and will provide the assets to recreate the certificate, but cannot provide support for these internal processes.
  • Unlike courses available in Reconciliation Education's LMS, SCORM packages cannot be updated once delivered. If you are looking to update internal links or materials provided by your organization in your course (such as links to EFAP or internally-produced videos or hyperlinks), this would require an entirely new SCORM package and setup, and would incur an additional cost.

Selecting a SCORM package will require a technician in your organization to complete the upload and setup of your SCORM package into your own LMS.

• • Reconciliation Educaiton cannot offer direction on setup in your LMS. There are myriad options for LMS platforms, and we simply cannot be experts in them all. In order to purchase and use a SCORM package, you will need at least 1 dedicated LMS-trained IT staff member to set up your package internally.

• • Before receiving a final SCORM package, all clients purchasing a SCORM package are required to run an initial test in their LMS with one of our test packages.

Ideal cases for SCORM

In most cases, we do not recommend opting for a SCORM version of the resource. Does the below sound like your organization? If so, SCORM may be the right fit.

1. Libraries at Institutions with an FTE (full-time employee) volume of more than 5,000.
2. Institutions that have a very robust HR department who can play a hands-on role in the reporting functionality of the resource (data reports) in the case of the PD (Professional Development) resource.
3. Institutions that have LMS Administrators who will be actively testing and working directly with the SCORM package; and who are available during the onboarding period to test and provide quality assurance. 
4. Alternatively, dedicated LMS Administrators able to play dual roles of HR data reporting to the institution, as well the technical quality assurance functions of LMS Administration.

Even if your organization qualifies for the above criteria, you may still wish to consider hosting your course in the Reconciliation Education LMS portal. 

Limitations of Ordering a SCORM Package

SCORM package content is not modifiable

This course has been approved by and created in partnership with First Nations University of Canada (FNUniv) and a certificate of completion with the official signature and logo of FNUniv is provided for each learner at the end of the course and as such, cannot be modified or altered.

We have several editions of the course available for purchase in SCORM format: professional development, post-secondary student, post-secondary instructor/professional development, and varying lengths of the standard professional development course.

SCORM package content is not updatable

Once a SCORM package has been exported and uploaded to your LMS, it is static. This means that in order to update any element, you would require a new SCORM package to be exported and delivered, which will incur an additional cost.

Only SCORM package format available

We can only offer SCORM packages, in SCORM format. We do not offer xAPI/TinCan packages or HTML packages. We can offer SCORM 2004 (2nd to 4th editions), and SCORM 1.2.