SCORM, or Sharable Content Object Reference Model is a collection of standards and specifications for eLearning software products.

In other words, it is a set of technical standards to which programmers are encouraged to write their codes for, so that it can play well with other eLearning software systems. Being SCORM compliant means that the content can be used in any Learning Management System (LMS).

The standards for SCORM stem back to the 1990s when the US government started doing a lot more online training in their different departments. At the time, each department was developing their own training content and using their selected LMS. This led to a lot of duplicate content and content that could not be shared between departments. As a reaction to that, a set of standards was developing in 1999 by the Department of Defense, which later became known as SCORM.

By following a set of standards, online eLearning content and Learning Management Systems are able to communicate and work well together. That way, if you have an LMS, any eLearning courses that are SCORM compliant should easily upload into your LMS.

Here are some of the most popular reasons to use SCORM:

  • Following standards also gives a sense of security for being able to migrate your content. For example, if you had to switch your LMS to another LMS, you can bring your courses with you and easily run them in the new LMS.
  • It allows you to make eLearning content more interactive as the authoring tools let you add in engaging features such as directions, ability to click onscreen images, videos and so forth, ask learners to complete sections before moving to the next, and generating quizzes, amongst many other things.And the more engaging and interactive your content is, the more engaged learners will be to complete it.
  • You can also include settings that control the length of time a learner spends on a course, or part of a course before it’s marked or moved on from.

There are other options to explore, such as TinCan when considering what kind of courses to develop or use, but for now SCORM still seems like a powerful and practical choice.

Here at Velsoft, we’ve chosen to design both our eLearning courses and Learning Management System with SCORM in mind so that our eLearning courses can easily upload into any SCORM Compliant LMS, and any SCORM compliant courses can be loaded into our LMS.