EXTENDING KNWOLEDGES AND DEVELOPING QUALITY MEDIA RICH USING SCORM CONTENT MODEL COMPONENTS AND CONTENT PACKAGING Marius Iulian MIHAILESCU, Argentina GRAMADA Computer Science Department,,,Titu Maiorescu University, Dambovnicului Street No. 22, sector 4, Bucharest, Romania mihmariusiulian@gmail.com, argentina.gramada@gmail.com Abstract: This work paper represents an extending approach for SCORM Content Model Components and Content Packaging with the scope of building a strong foundation for the future of elearning platform, by elucidation the mystery behind SCORM building packages. In the final of the paper we can see a set of best practices that can be applied with success during the building of the packages for the learners. Keywords: SCORM, Content Model Components, Content Packaging. I. INTRODUCTION Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM) represents a set of technical standards for e-learning software products. SCORM is much more than a set of technical standards, he tells programmers how to write their code so that it can have some fun with other e-learning software. His major goal can be resumed on how online learning content and Learning Management Systems (LMSs) communicate with each other. The Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL) represents the standard that developed SCORM, but the components that form SCORM and making him a powerful e-learning platform come from a variety of sources. One of the main contributors is represented by the Instructional Management System (IMS) project which has worked on standards development in different areas from 1995. Our study will start with an analysis of two most important components of SCORM: SCORM Content Model Component and SCORM Content Packaging, and we will see how we can obtain maximum benefit from these two components. In the last part of the study we will go through couple of applications used in SCORM for education management packages, how they can be build and upload on the e-learning platform. The set of specifications used by SCORM are: How to create web-based learning content that can be delivered and tracked by different SCORM-compliant learning management systems. What a SCORM-compliant learning management system must do in order to properly deliver and track SCORM-compliant learning content. The current official version is 1.2. The SCORM applications are based on different and various other industry standards and specifications. SCORM 1.2 also does not specify how content is sequenced by a runtime service. The most common assumption is that the user is free to choose any part of the content. SCORM 1.2 provides a robust specification for content that can be packaged and migrated between systems. SCORM 1.3 which extend the version 1.2 by specifying how to add prescriptions for sequencing.
The IMS Project also contributed to SCORM its process for packaging and transmitting learning content. All SCORM-compliant content must contain a manifest file, a file formed from tags as in XML, which lists all the resources (files) used and their relationship to each other. One of the most important key elements of SCORM is the mechanism for communicating between a SCO and the LMS. The Application Program Interface (API), allow this interaction which is derived from work done by AICC, the Aircraft Industry Computer Committee. II. ISSUES THAT EXIST IN SCORM IMPLEMENTATION There is a big interest in SCORM, this interest actually represent a reflection of the concern over steep costs and proprietary types of formats of LMS. Learning content which is like a SCORMcompliant can be easily imported and exported and used across a variety of LMS. One of the most important issues of SCORM s implementation is regarding the way of structure the order and presentation of SCO s to the user. As SCORM 1.2 includes a specification for prerequisites as a means to define the order in which SCO s are presented, this has not been a feature often used by developers. This brings a handful new capability to SCORM; it also represents an additional and important layer of complexity for developers. Long-standing concerns, that the complexity of SCORM poses a steep barrier to small commercial or individual developers. More tools for creation of SCORM are becoming available; their use still requires a good understanding of how SCORM is implemented. III. ABSTRACTIZATION OF SCORM COTENT MODEL The SCORM components are used to build a learning experience from learning resources. The Content Model defines how these resources which are sharable and learning are aggregated and organized into higher-level units of instruction. The SCORM Content model is organizing from assets, object which represents sharable content (SCOs), activities, a content organization and content aggregation. 3.1 Electronic representation of media Electronic representation is the assets and the basic building block of a learning resource. This assets are pieces such as text, images, sound, assessment objects or any other type of data that can be rendered by a web client and presented to the student (see figure 1). Assets can be JavaScript functions, web page, MP3 audio, XML Document, HTML Fragment, JPEG Image, Flash Object, GIF Image, and WAV Audio. An asset can be described with the help of metadata to allow for search and discovery toghether with repositories, thereby enabling opportunities for reuse and having a good maintenance. 3.2 Sharable Content Object (SCO) A Sharable Content Object represents a collection of one or more assets that represent a single launchable learning resource which use SCORM RTE communication with an LMS. A SCO represents the lower level of granularity for a learning resource which is tracked by an LMS using a specific model, named SCORM Run-Time Environment Data Model. There is a difference and it s a single one between a SCO and an asset is that the SCO communicates with an LMS using the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) ECMA Script Application Programming Interface for the standard Content to Runtime Service Communication. A SCO should be independent of its learning context; this will lead us to improve reusability. The intention of SCOs is to be subjectively small units, such that potential reuse across multiple learning contexts is feasible. A SCO can be described with the help of metadata to allow for search and discovery together with repositories, thereby enabling opportunities for reusing.
Figure 1. Conceptual makeup of a SCO From the above picture we can see that we must have to locate an LMS provided API Instance and must invoke the minimum API methods (Initialize () and Terminate ()). There useless to invoke other API methods. There are some benefits from the fact that a SCO must utilize the SCORM RTE (see official documentation of LMS): - Any LMS which supports the SCORM RTE can launch SCOs and track them, regardless of who generated them. - Any LMS which supports the SCORM RTE can track any SCO and know when it has been started and when it has ended. Any LMS that supports the SCORM RTE can launch any SCO in the same way. 3.3 Activities A learning activity may be loosely described as a meaningful unit of instruction; it is conceptually something the learner does while processing through instruction. A learning activity also provides a learning resource (SCO or an asset) to the learner or it may be composed of several subactivities. The activities represented in a content organization may consist of other activities, which may themselves consist of other activities. The activities represented in a content organization may consist of other activities (subactivities), which may themselves consist of other activities.
3.4 Content Organization Figure 2. Conceptual Representation of Activities A content organization shows a representation or map which defines the intended use of the content through structured units of instruction (activities). The map illustrates how activities are related to one another. Figure 3. Illustration of a Content Organization The map show they the activities are related to one another. The Figure 3 illustrates an example of a content organization. Like we have mentioned above, content organization can be described with metadata, in this way enabling opportunities for reuse and facilitating maintenance. 3.5 Content agregation Content aggregation can be as an action and as a way of describing a conceptual entity. Content aggregation can be used to describe the action or process of composing a set of functionality related content objects so that the set can be applied in a learning experience. In the terms of SCORM Content Model, a content aggregation is also used to illustrate the entity created as part of the process or action. The content aggregation can be used later to deliver the content and set content structure, transferred between systems or even stored in a repository.
Figure 4. Conceptual Illustration of a Content Aggregation (from ADL documentation IV. ABSTRACTIZATION OF SCORM CONTENT PACKAGING The next step is to make the content available to students, authoring tools, repositories or LMSs. The purpose of the content package is to provide a standardized way to exchange learning content between different systems or tools. The content package also provides a place for describing the structure and the intention behavior of a collection of learning content. SCORM Content Packaging is a set of specific requirements and guidance for the IMS Content Packaging Specification and provides additional explicit requirements and implementation guidance for packaging assets, SCOs and content organization. This section is divided in five parts: - Part 4.1 Describing components of Content Package which defines the key concepts that deals with a content package. - Part 4.2 Components of Manifest which defines the setup of a content package manifest. - Part 4.3 How to build Content Packages defines the process of building a content package. The accent in this section will be put on the creation of content package and the manifest files. Also, the section will describe the XML components which can be found in manifest file and the requirements that need to be accomplished for using those XML components. - Part 4.4 Describing SCORM Content Package Application Profiles defines specifically how to create SCORM right packages which contain assets, SCOs and content organizations. This section describes the two types of application profiles and the requirements associated with those profiles. - Part 4.5 Best practices and Practical Guidelines which defines a collection of best practices and guidelines when building or processing content packages.
4.1 Describing Components of Content Package A Content Package contains two main components: - A special XML document describing the content structure and the associated resources of the package which is called the manifest file (imsmanifest.xml). - The content setup the content package. Figure 5. Content Package Conceptual Diagram A package represents a unit of learning. This unit of learning can be part of a course that has instructional relevance outside of a course organization and it can be delivered independently, as a portion of a course, as an entire course or as a entire collection of courses. A manifest represents a XML document which contains a structured inventory of the content of a package. If the content package is intended for delivery to an end user, the manifest also will contain information about how the content is organized. A manifest has to accomplish some requirements: - The manifest file need to be named imsmanifest.xml; - The imsmanifest.xml and other supporting control files (DTD, XSD) need to be founded in the root of the content package; - All requirements which are defined in the IMS Content Packaging XML Binding Specification. 4.2 Components of Manifest With manifest file we have the representation on the information needed to describe the contents of the package. Figure 6. Components of Manifest The Figure 6 shows how a manifest file is composed. It is divided into four major sections: 1. Metadata: which represents the data describing the content package as a whole.
2. Organizations: contains the content structure or organization of the learning resources making up a stand-alone unit of instruction. 3. Resources: this section defines the learning resources which are bounded in the content package. 4. (sub)manifest(s): describes any logically nested units of instruction (which can be treated as stand-alone units). 4.3. How to build Content Packages To create content packages we have to take into considerations some specific rules that have guided the creation of this XML binding: - The XML binding will be placed to the XML 1.0 specification of W3C. - The XML binding must maintain the definitional structure of the IMS Content Packaging Information Model. Some of the requirements are also drawn from other various specifications and standards. The majority of the requirements are inherited by the requirements defined in IMS Content Packaging Specification. There are some requirements which need to be accomplishing for each of the SCORM Content Package Application Profiles: - Resource Content Package Application Profile refers to a content package that only contains resources. - Content Aggregation Content Package Application Profile represents a content package for bundling a set of learning resources and their intended static structure and sequencing requirements. 4.4. Describing SCORM Content Package Application Profiles SCORM Content Package Application Profiles illustrates how the IMS Content Packaging Specification can be applied together with the overall context of SCORM. The application profiles give us practical guide lines for the implementers and to define additional requirements which are necessary and imposed by SCORM to integrate other standards and specifications and to ensure interoperability. The IMS Content Packaging Specification will be used as the basis for a SCORM Content Package. However, SCORM will impose additional requirements, above those defined by the IMS Content Packaging Specification, to ensure sufficient information is included in each package. This will enable SCORM conformant systems to import and export packages that can be used by other SCORM conformant systems. SCORM introduces the Content Aggregation Model that defines a generalized framework for object based learning content. The components are assets, SCOs and Content Organizations. There are currently two SCORM Content Package Application Profiles, which describe how to package Content Aggregation Model components, identified: - Resource Content Packages. - Content Aggregation Content Packages. 4.5. Best practices and Practical Guidelines In this section we are going to describe a set of recommended best practices and practical guidelines for the development of content packages. When we are facing with multiple organizations for a single course, the content package give us the opportunity to have the possibility of representations of multiple organizations for its resources. The same resources may be used in other different content organizations which are adapted for different audiences. An important element is <dependency>, several learning resources, which are defined in a content package, may contain the same set of file. As we have seen previous in our study, the files are represented as <file> elements in the manifest. The <dependency> element it can be used to group these set of files. The use of these elements in this scenario will alleviate the duplication of the <file> element for each set of files in each resource. <manifest> <organizations>
<organization> <item Identifier="ID1" identifierref="r_id1"></item> <item identifier="id2" identifierref="r_id2"></item> </organization> </organizations> <resources> <resource identifier="r_id1" adlcp:scormtype="sco" href="index_1.htm"> <file href="index_1.htm"/> <file href="image1.jpg"/> <file href="image2.jpg"/> <file href="image3.jpg"/> <file href="apiwrapper.js"/> </resource> <resource identifier="r_id2" adlcp:scormtype="sco" href="index_1.htm"> <file href="index.htm"/> <file href="image1.jpg"/> <file href="image2.jpg"/> <file href="image3.jpg"/> <file href="image4.gif"/> <file href="apiwrapper.js"/> </resource> </resources> </manifest> Code Illustration 1. Sharing Files V. CONCLUSIONS Our study about SCORM Content Model Components and Content packaging presents a flexible way by which the illustrating and the presentation of a SCO can be separated from its content allowing multiple SCOs from multiple origins to be combined in a single unified learning experience. Once the concepts presented herein are accepted by the universities or other institutions that need an e- learning platform, more detailed work can be initiated for defining and specify the standard SCORM DTD and appearance configuration requirements, and associated with the best practices that we have talk about previous. This proposal attempts to minimize the impact on the existing SCORM specification. For small amounts of Learning Object Metadata that will not make any chaos or disorder in the XML package, In conclusion, the persons who user the SCORM XML can identify in an easy way the extensions when reviewing the file. References [1] Gramada Argentina - XML versus HTML - Analele Universitatii Titu Maiorescu commemorative eddition 2005, Science and Technology Information Series Page 130 - ISSN 1842-0494. [2] Advanced Distributed Learning Initiative, Oct. 2001 a, Sharable Content Object Reference Model version v. 1.2 Overview. [3] Advanced Distributed Learning Initiative, Oct. 2001 b, Sharable Content Object Reference Model version v. 1.2 The SCORM Content Aggregation Model. [4] Advanced Distributed Learning Initiative, Oct. 2001 c, Sharable Content Object Reference Model version v 1.2 Run-Time Environment. [5] Anderson, Paul, Sept. 2000, One Source Fits All, http://builder.cnet.com/webbuilding/0-3880-8-3958177- 9.html?tag=st.bl.3880-8-3958177-10.txt.3880-8-3958177-9 [6] Aviation Industry CBT Committee (AICC), Jun 1996, AGR-009 ICON Standards: User Interface v1.0 [7] Cisco Systems, Inc., 22 April 2000, Reusable Learning Object Strategy: Definition, Creation Process, and Guidelines for Building, v. 3.1. [8] SCORM Shareable Content Objects (SCOs)- www.scormsoft.com/scorm/cam/scos