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May 12, 2025

What is SCORM?

SCORM demystified for e-learning software products

Introduction to SCORM

What does SCORM mean?

Whenever you search for the best Learning management system, you must have read about SCORM compliance feature. As a layman, it isn’t easy to understand the exact meaning of this highly technical word SCORM.

SCORM is an acronym for the Shareable Content Object Reference Model. It is a technical specification or set of instructions that can be used to standardize the way eLearning courses are created called SCORM compliant courses.

You can easily share and reuse or run such eLearning courses across any SCORM compliant LMS.

Let simplify all this jargon and explain more about what is Shareable Content Object Reference Model? What is SCORM compliant LMS? How SCORM works? And more.

The word SCORM comprises two components: Shareable Content Object (SCO) and Reference Model (RM). To exactly understand the meaning it is necessary to understand these two elements:

Shareable Content Object:

This packaging content element decides how a piece of content should be physically delivered. The content which is created within SCORM is shareable and can be reused across multiple tools and platforms. It works the same as a standard plug works for all electrical devices, the SCORM compliant content understood by all compatible learning platforms and tools. When you creating eLearning courses with SCORM compliant authoring tools the output is as a Zip folder that contains all necessary information to publish and host the course on SCORM compliant LMS.

Reference Model:

The “RM” in SCORM is a specification or set of rules followed by eLearning professionals. It includes standards for packaging and describing content, how the LMS launches content, how content is communicated to the LMS, and how learners navigate from module to module.

The SCORM Run-Time specification states that the LMS should launch content in a web browser, either in a new window or in a frameset. All this communication happens in the context of a single attempt on a single SCO. Once the content is launched, it uses a well-defined algorithm to locate an ECMAScript API provided by the LMS.

How SCORM Works

Content Arrangement:
A SCORM package, which includes all the data an LMS needs for content import and launch, contains all the course contents for a single course. Stated differently, this file answers queries like "Which document should be launched?" and "What is the name of this content?"
Communication during runtime:
This component handles deliveries and tracking and also handles data interchange between an LMS and the content. The material "finds" the learning management system first, and then they converse using "get" and "set" calls together with a matching vocabulary. These are, to put it simply, actions like "ask the learner's name" and "notify the LMS that the learner scored 80% on this quiz."
Ordering:
It has to do with the way a student moves through the SCORM course. For instance, it specifies which tasks must be finished before moving on to the next phase and how a user should proceed after executing specific actions, such as pressing the next button.

Different Versions of SCORM

The very first version of SCORM 1.1 was introduced back in 2001 which was a widely used version, SCORM 1.2 was released in the same year. In 2004, SCORM 2004 1st edition and it’s 2nd edition was launched in 2004. Another most popular one widely used in the eLearning industry, the 2004 3rd edition of it, was released in 2006. The latest version of SCORM Experience API (xAPI), which is now on the verge of getting more popularity, was introduced in 2013.

Is SCORM mandatory for eLearning Courses?

If you want to upload eLearning courses in LMS, it is compulsory to have SCORM compliant course. It is required to make courses SCORM compliant to track the user’s progress and performance in LMS.

We can run SCORM compliant courses in any SCORM LMS without redesigning or recoding them. If you are not satisfied with your current LMS software, you can move to a new LMS vendor and easily migrate course content.

When was SCORM invented?

Today, it is the most widely used content standard in the eLearning industry. But, do you know who invented SCORM and why? To understand this it is essential to go through some glimpse of its history.

It was first created by the US government’s Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL) project in 2000 as a de-facto standard for eLearning content.

In the late 1990s, the US government has started using eLearning courses to deliver training to its various departments. These departments developed their eLearning courses supported by their LMS and can’t re-run the same courses in other LMS courses. This results in a lot of chaos and duplication as these departments were not working on the same methods. To end this problem, the eLearning content standard SCORM was developed in 2000.

All you need to know about SCORM LMS

What is SCORM Compliant LMS & its features?

A SCORM-compliant LMS can accept SCORM compliant content and allow users to access the content. You can easily upload SCORM compliant courses, and it will run those courses smoothly. It enables you to track the learners’ progress and learning activities.

Advanced reporting

It has a powerful feature of advanced reporting to generate custom reports to measure learners’ performance. It can easily track, assess, and monitor learner progress levels. You can schedule the report and automatically send it to the concerned person at the prescribed time and date.

Manager can also send the reports automatically and send them daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly. You can easily generate a report of training activities in just a few clicks with a robust learning management system.

Learning path

Add structure to your training programs with a learning path feature. You can easily create a sequence of the courses you can assign to specific employees and easily enroll automatically in all courses. Personalized learning paths make the training process easier as the particular group of courses can assign to the employees to master that specific subject or topic.

Social learning tools

This LMS feature can help connect the learners and share their knowledge. It is the best way to learn employees learn by observing and communicating with others. You can achieve your learning goals. Through social learning, it creates an interactive and engaging learning environment.

Mobile learning

With the mobile learning feature, you can access learning anytime, anywhere. It is a flexible learning option where employees learn at their own time and pace. This feature enhances the overall learning experience.

Students can access their learning material from any device be it laptop, tablet, or smart phone whenever they have time and are interested in doing so. Mobile learning provides a seamless and uninterrupted learning experience which improves learner engagement.

Gamification

Gamification has been a great way to expand the learning skills strategies that allow us to use human behavior and competition to motivate learners. You can reward learners by ranking, badges, points, and awards. Instant feedback in learning is an important element that motivates the learner to achieve learning goals. Gamification provides instant feedback, making learning easier and interactive.

Multi-tenant

With this feature, you can train multiple groups of learners with a single LMS platform. You can train them with their specific courses and learning material to meet tailored training needs. For your extended enterprises or branches, you don’t need to buy a separate LMS software. Use the single platform for all your employees and manage them centrally with it.

Integration

LMS integration with valuable systems and applications can improve its functionality and usability. These integrations offer a seamless learning experience and share data between various platforms to generate robust reports. It saves time, reduces admin cost, and provides a better user experience.

What are the benefits of using SCORM?

Better quality Content

It can create personalized learning content for the individual as well as organizational learning needs. It supports interoperability between different e-learning software products. The best course creation tools are compatible with SCORM compliant LMS, and so you can easily create interactive online courses using various LMS tools.

Cost-effectiveness

With this, you can create content and share or migrate it from one system to another at a low cost. Moreover, it can reduce the overall cost of training delivery as you don’t need to create different LMS systems courses. SCORM compliant courses can run on any SCORM LMSs and boost overall learning efficiency.

Create an interactive learning environment

If your LMS comprises a gamification feature, you can use SCORM authoring tools to create gamified content that makes learning more engaging and interactive. With its features, you can make personalized learning content and improve overall learning experiences.

Easy accessibility

You can easily deliver the SCORM-compliant courses and make them accessible for your users as it can run on various SCORM LMS, even in remote locations. When you upload eLearning courses on your LMS, users can easily access the content anytime, anywhere. As a result, learners can learn at their own pace of time and convenience.

Easy to track data

With SCORM LMS, you can track learner activities, scores, courses completed or pending, test results, time, time spent on a course, questions asked, progress level, and more. It can easily track information sent by SCORM courses.

How to create SCORM courses in your LMS Software?

Before jump into How to create SCORM courses, let’s discuss SCORM compliant courses first. SCORM compliant courses can be created in any compliant eLearning authoring. These courses look like a simple Zip file, and one can easily publish them by a tool in SCORM format.

However, that Zip package contains a compliant course with all files needed to make that course run correctly in any SCORM-compliant learning management system. Here we are showing some steps to create a SCORM course in Paradiso LMS.

1. On the left menu, click on “courses” and choose the “create a course” option.

2. Type the course name, choose a category and write a description of the new course. Afterward, you can select the type that you would like your course to have. It could be self-paced, blended, classroom training, virtual class.

3. The last step is to choose an image for your course, and just like that, you have created a brand-new course.

Paradiso LMS is SCORM compliant through which you can upload and deliver SCORM compliant courses quickly and easily. We have made three easy steps to create a course. You can try our free trial for more details.

An overview of experience API or xAPI

What is xAPI?

Successor to SCORM, Experience API (xAPI) or Tin can API is an eLearning specification that enables you to track, store and share the learning -related activity of the user across platforms. It can track the learning experience and real-world scenarios of wide range of devices in multiple contexts. xAPI allows creators and managers of online learning programs to better understand how users are learning, both online and offline.

What are the benefits of using xAPI?

xAPI is modern eLearning standard and is trending for a good reason in the market. xAPI tracks all essential learning activities that make your learning experience smoother and more efficient. You can easily integrate it into any Learning Management System (LMS).

xAPI offer various online learning feature like social learning, team-based learning, gamified learning, etc. We have discussed what is xAPI? Now we’ll discuss various benefits of xAPI in detail.

Massive data collection

xAPI allows you to collect multiple types of data from a vast array of sources, both online and offline. It gives more accurate results and can collect advanced data like device, location, screen size, clicks, advanced tracking, and some offline data such as real-world performance and team-based eLearning. It gives a holistic view of learning activity by integrating it into one learning records.

Easy tracking of learning activities

xAPI can track the activities of your employees or learners like total time spent, quiz results, report of a specific course, time spent on a particular module, and more. It can also record offline data of the learner, and a Learning Record Store (LRS) can save the records of these learning activities. Data stored in the LRS can be easily transferred within the LRS and other reporting systems.

Advanced reporting

xAPI can present data in simpler ways and generate reports which are easier to interpret. It generate reports which are clearer and easier to interpret. It automatically generates detailed reports that You do not have to download and filter in some analysis software. You can directly send the report to the concerned person.

Simplifying e-learning process

xAPI makes learning more efficient and lovable for you. It can personalize your eLearning courses and programs and enabler you to access readily available content recommended for you without searching through lots of content, most of which is irrelevant.

Flexible learning

The most recent and flexible eLearning standard suits the current environment in which learners can access learning material anytime, anywhere. You can learn at your pace while traveling, at work, or socializing with friends. Moreover, it lets you track these learning experiences in one simple, consistent format.

SCORM VS xAPI

Choosing between SCORM VS xAPI is confusing, but it depends on your learning goals, training strategies, and budget. Let’s discuss the main difference between SCORM VS xAPI.

It has been used in eLearning for quite a while, and it’s been almost a decade since it was last updated. xAPI is a modern, flexible and straightforward Learning standard, and it is less prone to errors than SCORM.
It tracks limited learning experience like course completions, total time spent on courses, and assessment scores. xAPI is tracking almost each and every learning events. It tracks the breadth and depth of learning experiences no matter where the learner is and on what device they are using.
With SCORM, you can track learning events without LMS functionality. It is only possible via an LMS. You can’t deploy a website or mobile app in SCORM directly. xAPI will be able to help you with that, you can track learning activities without being restricted by LMS functionality.
For those organizations looking for a Mobile learning option, opt for Tin Can as it supports mobile learning and provides a gamut of features. while SCORM is still struggling in this area.
xAPI compliance is recommended for those who are going to implement a new LMS software. If you want a concise and straightforward content standard, SCORM 1.2 is recommended.

SCORM LMS can simplify your online learning process

Make the right choice for your eLearning

In this article, we have explained what is SCORM and deep-dived on how SCORM-compliant LMS is necessary for a smooth online training program. Let’s explain this by a straightforward example, have you ever tried to open a file on your computer, but you couldn’t because the software didn’t support the format? Likewise, if you are trying to open an eLearning course in your LMS but you can’t because you’re learning software doesn’t support the format. In such a case, the companies cannot spend ample time and money reformatting the eLearning material to run it on individual learning systems. The SCORM compliant LMS can help to solve this problem as it can easily comply with various LMS.

It’s standard has been widely used in the eLearning industry for quite a long time. But new eLearning standards like xAPI is being adopted quickly in the industry.

Deciding whether to invest in SCORM or not is a confusing decision. SCORM courses tend to provide an engaging learning experience. It depends on the type of training you want to deliver, learning goals, L&D strategies, and your budget. If you are a professional training company, you can invest in it and get better ROI.

Tin can, also known as xAPI, also comes up with many advantages and suits to the current eLearning environment. xAPI is reliable, tracks better, and provides richer data. Most of the authoring tools are now supporting xAPI, and if you are using SCORM now and planning to use SCOM for some years, you will still be able to convert courses into a tin can in the future.

You will have to dive deep into the technical nuts and bolt to make an informed choice of a SCORM compliant LMS. It is necessary to check which version is provided and does the authoring tools create SCORM compliant courses or not? One of the best LMS platform, Paradiso Solutions comes up with SCORM 1.2 and SCORM 2004 versions.

It has integrated SCORM authoring tool which allows you to create SCORM content or courses and upload it to an LMS in just few clicks. You can try free demo for more details.

What is SCORM?

Introduction to SCORM

All you need to know about SCORM LMS

An overview of experience API or xAPI

SCORM LMS can simplify your online learning process

What does SCORM mean?

Shareable Content Object:

Reference Model:

How SCORM Works

Different Versions of SCORM

Is SCORM mandatory for eLearning Courses?

When was SCORM invented?

What is SCORM Compliant LMS & its features?

Advanced reporting

Learning path

Social learning tools

Mobile learning

Gamification

Multi-tenant

Integration

What are the benefits of using SCORM?

Better quality Content

Cost-effectiveness

Create an interactive learning environment

Easy accessibility

Easy to track data

How to create SCORM courses in your LMS Software?

What is xAPI?

What are the benefits of using xAPI?

Massive data collection

Easy tracking of learning activities

Advanced reporting

Simplifying e-learning process

Flexible learning

SCORM VS xAPI

Make the right choice for your eLearning

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