Description of How SCORM works

Got here by googling: free "SCORM content package"

http://www.ecampus.com.au/scorm.html

(eCampus is an Australian LMS:  the website has various free resources")

The Shareable Content Object Reference Model, or 'SCORM', is a way of organising data for e-learning. It's an open standard maintained by the Advanced Distributed Learning Initiative ('ADL'). Being a popular open standard, many institutions use it, in the same way they use .pdf documents, spreadsheets and .jpg images.




I suppose the first question you might ask is: why have a standard for e-learning at all?



An LMS will need to know how to present things such as pdfs, web pages, video, and other resources as courses. This is where SCORM comes in. It is a standard format that tells the LMS how to present a set of resources as a course or several courses.



Now let's say you create a course in one LMS, and then realise you want to run the same course on a different LMS, at a different institution, on a different remote server.



If both LMSs supports the SCORM standard, that means your course can be transferred from the first LMS to the second LMS with minimal fuss. Further, most good content development systems produce resources that meets the SCORM standard, so content created using them can be added to any SCORM course. More than that, if two courses had, say, videos or web pages in common, then those courses could share those resources.







How does it work?





The e-learning 'resources' (usually files such as web pages, pdfs, videos, audio or images) are placed in a folder or directory. The resources are then described in a SCORM 'XML manifest file' called 'imsmanifest.xml'.



This file tells an LMS what to do with all the content, how to present it, how the course is organised and so on. Then all these files, along with any necessary schema files (.xsd and .dtd files that are used to 'validate' the manifest file) are packaged into a 'zip' archive. This archive is called a SCORM 'content package'.



If this sounds a little complicated, don't worry. There is software for automatically generating these content packages, and they will be able to do most of the technical work for you; leaving you to concentrate on the actual course content and organisation.







Resources





As I said, most resources are web pages, images, style sheets, pdf documents, videos, and so on. Files used to present a course, in other words. In SCORM terms, these are called 'assets' or 'resources'.



Resources are defined in the manifest file, along with the other files they depend on. A web page resource might contain references to image resources, for example.



Resource urls are relative to the location of the manifest file. Metadata (information such as names and descriptions) can be added concerning elements of a content package, so you could name a resource; a web page might be named 'Introduction to SCORM', for instance.



Resources can also be classified as 'launchable'. Launchable resources present course content to a student (usually in a browser), calling on other resources to complete the presentation. A classic example would be a simple html web page that makes use of images, movies, and so on.

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From googling e-learning + Qatar (Julie Lindsay)

Julie Lindsay Beijing

http://123elearning.blogspot.com/

Information Technology and E-Learning Co-ordinator at Beijing International School (BISS), China. This blog exists to share ideas about E-Learning, ICT integration and digital literacy in education.


She gathers all her social networking site with  retaggr and gets widgets... Julie Lindsay is using Retaggr to combine all his/her social, professional and contact details at one convenient location.



 
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AAS Portal Project (Mawhiba)

Mawhiba Portal

A milestone agreement that will develop and create a National Electronic Portal to unleash the potential of gifted young Saudis has been signed between the King Abdul Aziz and His Companions Foundation for the Gifted (Mawhiba) and Arabian Advanced Systems (Naseej).




This agreement firmly establishes one of Mawhiba's core projects in its strategic plan to develop a culture of innovation and creativity in the rapidly expanding youth segment of the Kingdom's population. Through the portal, visitors will have access to unique services, information resources and libraries rich in scientific information.



"We ensured the application of the best solutions and specifications that will both optimize the functions of the portal and deliver the highest performance levels by using top notch technologies," said the secretary-general of the foundation, Dr. Khaled ibn Abdullah AI-Sabti. He added that the creation of the portal was entirely in line with the directives of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah in building and developing the culture of innovation throughout the Kingdom so that the gifted are able to use their talents to serve their nation.



The portal will use Microsoft Share Point 2007 technology and consequently strategies concerning the portal's technical features have been outlined in close cooperation with Microsoft Saudi Arabia. Microsoft assisted in the selection of the portal's local development team and will continue to provide support to the foundation on all technical issues related to the project.



Naseej has been selected to implement the project. Eng. Abdul Jabbar AI-Abdul Jabbar, CEO of Arabian Advanced Systems (Naseej), said that he considered the project entirely consistent with the development and modernization plans for Saudi Arabia. "We are proud to be part of this program, which offers vital services to develop our society and serve our children and brothers. He added that " Naseej would make every effort to deliver a portal that made everyone proud and "to make this project a reference for creativity and talent all over the Arab world".



Speaking for Microsoft, Dr. Khaled AI-Dhaher, GM of Microsoft Saudi Arabia, explained that "one of the main aspects of Microsoft's policy and the basic rules of our work is providing full support to young talent and creativity:' He said it was a privilege to offer Microsoft's expertise to help reach the highest possible levels of efficiency, to meet the social expectations of Microsoft's clients and to build a society that cares for its individuals.



The portal, www.mawhiba.org.sa. Joins other pioneering projects the foundation hopes will reinforce the Kingdom's moves toward becoming a knowledge-based society. The foundation recognizes that the development of talent, innovation and creativity are the pillars that will support the future growth of Saudi Arabia.