ScormQuest

TheQuestforSCORMConformantdLProduction
AcoursedesignedforCP32InstructionalDesign Interns
byLaTrelleWalker

TableofContents

Introduction..........................................................................................................3 Goal/Vision...........................................................................................................3 Solution.................................................................................................................4 Timeline................................................................................................................5 Budget ..................................................................................................................5 . AppendixA............................................................................................................6

Introduction

TheemphasisonDistributedLearning(dL)productscontinuestogrowinourorganization; becauseofthisthedemandforpersonneltopossessknowledgeoftheSharableContentObject ReferenceModel(SCORM)isrequired.InadditiontoSCORMtheabilitytocreatedLproductsis growingrapidlyandgainingmomentum.Thesetwoideaswhencombinedforman organizationalobjectivethatwearemandatedtoachieve,theproductionofSCORM conformantdLproducts. Thisstudyrevealsthepotentialthatcanbegainedthroughthetrainingofinstructionaldesign interns.Thesimpleintegrationofaneffectiveauthoringprogramthatalreadyexistsinthe organizationcoupledwiththistrainingcanbeusedtodevelopSCORMconformantdLproducts andsubsequentlyprovideadditionalpersonnelindL/multimediaproduction.Thisenhancement wouldincreaseproductionrateswhilesimultaneouslyprovidingvaluabletimeforprogrammers toconductmoretroubleshootingoperationswithminimalcosttotheorganization.

Goal/Vision
WecurrentlyhaveinourorganizationanunderutilizedresourceknownastheMANSCENRapid DevelopmentSuite(MRDS).MRDSwasdesignedbyoneofourprogrammersandisused exclusivelywithinthatsection.Thisapplicationprovidesnonprogrammersauserinterfacethat issimpleandeasytouse;itallowsthemtocreateSCORMconformantdLproductswithlittleto noknowledgeorexperienceofprogrammingorwebdevelopment.Theinterfaceitselfis designedondatabasetechnologysotheusersimplyfillsincontentblocksandlinksresources asneeded.Theprogramoperatesinthebackgroundproducingthescriptinglanguagesthatare neededtocreateafullyfunctionalandcompliantproduct.Ourprogrammersspendmoretime creatingdLproducts,andlesstimetroubleshooting.UtilizingthenewresourceofdLproduction personnelthatwouldresultfromimplementingthisplanwillallowprogrammerstospend moretimetroubleshootingourexistingproducts,whichiswhereweneedthemmost. AsstatedbeforeourInstructionaldesigninternswereinitiallyidentifiedasaresourcethat couldmeetthisneed.Afrontendanalysiswasconductedtovalidatethisassumption.The resultsoftheassessmentrevealthatadditionaltrainingisneededtoensureinternsare properlytrainedtofunctionasentryleveldLdevelopers.Thisplan,ifaccepted,willdrastically increasetheknowledge,skills,andabilitiesoftheinterns.Thebenefitsofthisplanwillbe threefold;firsttheindividualsthemselveswillgainvaluabletrainingandexperienceresultingin anincreaseoftheirownmarketabilityandmakingthemavaluableassettotheirgaining supervisor.Secondlytheorganizationwillgainanadditionalresourceintheformofa manpowerpoolofdLproductionpersonnel.Lastlyaredistributionofmanpowereffortswillbe gained;initiatingthisplanwillenabletheorganizationtoredirecttheeffortsofthe programmingpersonnel.

Solution

ProblemStatement:InternsareexpectedtohaveknowledgeandskillsofSCORManddL developmentuponarrivaltorotationalassignments. Solutionstatement:Additionaltrainingshouldbeprovidedtointerns(theyshouldalsobe encouragedtoaddwebdevelopmentandSCORMcoursestotheirIndividualDevelopmentPlan (IDP)).AthreephaseapproachtoobtainingdLandSCORMspecificdevelopmentskillsis recommended.Mostinternswillonlyneedtoachievephase1tobeaproductiveInstructional DesignSpecialistandshouldcreatetheirIDPsaccordingly.ThosewishingtobeexclusivedL developersshouldcreateIDPsthatreflectthemoreadvancedphases.RefertoAppendixAfor moredetailsonthephasebreakdown. Thetwomainfactorssteeringthisplanareonethewantsandneedsoftherotational supervisorsandtheentrylevelskillsofindividualstudents.TheverynatureofcreatingSCORM conformantdLproductsrequiresthatanindividualbeproficientinmultiplescriptinglanguages andseveralsoftwareauthoringplatforms.Theseskillsetsaligncloselywithcomputer programminganddLdesign.Howeverthestudentmakeupispredominatelyentrylevel instructionaldesignerswithlittletonoprogrammingexperience.Infact,accordingtothe studentsurveysthemajorityofprogrammingknowledgeislimitedtoHTML.Thislackof neededskillsexposesacapabilitygap;especiallywhencomparedtosomeoftherequirements thathavebeenidentified. ThefixissimpleatrainingsolutiontitledScormQuestthatwillberequiredforinternsto completebeforetheycangraduatetheCP32InternProgramandmoveontotheirpermanent position.Thiscoursewillbeofferedannuallyandinstructedandmanagedbytheinterngroup, asadevelopmentalassignment,underthedirectionoftheinternsupervisororleadintern. CourseDescription:ThiscoursewillprovidestudentswithapracticalunderstandingofSCORM specificationsandimplementationtechniquesformoderncoursewaredevelopment.Students willreviewkeytechnologiesandstandardsviahandsonexercisestoreenforcetheinformation presented. Thestudentswillexaminethetechniquesforovercomingthechallengesofdesigningand implementingSCORMconformantcoursewareandwillbepresentedwithrealworldexamples utilizingtheprinciplesofAdvancedDistributedLearning(ADL)andSCORM.Theywillalsobe utilizingtheMANSCENRapidDevelopmentSuite(MRDS)tocreateafunctionaldLproduct duringtheevolutionofthecourse.Specialattentionwillbepaidtodiscussingthecriticalissues associatedwithSCORMdevelopmentandhowtheMRDSintegratesthosecomponentsduring thecreationprocess. Prerequisites:Studentsshouldhaveanawarenessofbasicwebdevelopment,HTML, JavaScript,andXMLtechnologiesastheywillbefeaturedwithinthecourseexercises.

Learninggoal:Attheconclusionofthistraining,thestudentwillbeabletocreateaSCORM conformantdLproductusingandauthoringplatform.Thefinalproductmustutilizeavarietyof multimediafiles,befullyfunctional,freeoferrors,andfollowtheindustrystandardforgood webdesign.

Timeline

Entrylevel Phase1 training achieved1st Qtr

Phase2 training achieved2nd Qtr

Phase3 training achieved3rd Qtr

Entrylevel/phaseonewillbedayonetothecompletionofthefirstyear,phasetwowillbesixmonths,andphasethreewillbesixmonths.

Budget
Manpowercost:minimal,Internsareprovidedbyanoutsidesource.Thismeansnopayroll expenditures;themanpowerisfundedbyourhigherheadquarterswithnoeffectonor organizationalexpenditures.Theonlycostthatcanbeprojectedisthecostofdevelopinga coursewithcurrenttrainingdevelopers/instructorstotraintheinternsuntiltheyassumethe fullresponsibilityoftheprogram.Thisofcourseisminimalandrequiressomefurtheranalysis. Infrastructurecost:none,alreadyexist Technologycost:non,alreadyexist

AppendixA
Phase1:Thisphaseassumesinternsalreadyhaveorwillobtainabasicunderstandingofthe instructionaldesignprocessandhaveexperienceusingdLatthestudentlevel. AsaprecursortoSCORM,internswillneedtounderstandtheLearningManagementSystem (LMS)environmentwhichiswhereSCORMcontentisused.Internswilllearntoproduce SCORMconformantdLproductsusingauthoringsystemssuchastheMRDS,whicharecapable ofcreatingandpublishingSCOs.Internswillalsoachieveaninstructorlevelknowledgeofthe BlackboardlearningSystemand/ortheArmyLearningManagementsystemwhichisusedto deliverthepublishedSCOs. AbasicunderstandingofthethreeSCORMsubspecifications(ContentPackaging,RunTime, andSequencing)willbeintroducedwithentrylevelcourses.Thisisalsoanappropriatetimefor internstoobtainbasicdatabase,multimedia,andwebdevelopmentskills.CoursesinHTML codingandmultimediadevelopmentsuitessuchastheAdobeCreativeSuitewouldgiveinterns asolidfoundationforthenextphase. Phase2:ThisphaseisaproductiveuserlevelofSCORManddLtechnologies.Internsinthis phasewillbeabletoeditexistingSCORMproductsandassembleabasicSCORMConformant package.Programmingskillsbecomeimportantatthisstage.Internsinthisphaseshouldbe abletouseprebuiltscriptstoautomateprocesses(suchastheruntimeenvironment)andAPI callsbetweenJavaScriptandtheLMSdatabase. Tomeetthesegoals,internsneedtoobtainaworkingknowledgeofbasicprogramming languages:JavaScript,VBScript,XML,andadvancedHTML,aswellasauthoringtoolscapableof publishingSCORMcontent.Theseinclude,butarenotlimitedto:Dreamweaver,Flash,Adobe Photoshop,Captivate,RapidIntake,MRDS,Toolbook,customcodedHTMLwebpages,ora numberofotherauthoringproducts. Phase3:Thisphaseisanadvancedlevelthatfewwillreachunlesstheychoosetospecializein dLdevelopment.ItincludesapplyingadvancedSCORMstandardssuchasSCORMSequencing, navigation,andtheContentAggregationModeltodesignanddevelopdLproducts.Internsat thislevelshouldbeabletoTestdLproductsforSCORMconformanceandtroubleshoot problemsbetweenSCORMpackagesandtheLMS. Programmingskillsareparamountatthislevel.Internsneedtobeabletowritecustomized scriptsin:VBScript,JavaScript,andActionScripttoautomateandcustomizedLproductsand theirdelivery.