How much programming so I need to know?

[igirl]

I'm trying to get out of using Articulate. I want the navigation to be
in Flash and now we are using Articulate and the navigation is not
very good. We are breaking up the Flash into slides. For example we
have 4 questions, each question is a swf and each swf is put on a
Powerpoint slide and then exported to Articulate. This is so
Articulate can connect it to the LMS and the user can go back to
whichever slide he left last and the only thing we are tracking is if
the user completed the test or not by tracking the last question. I'd
like to make everything in Flash but I'm limited in time and am afraid
I will ahve alot of issues. Also all of our question data is in XML.

How much programming knowledge do I need to set up a Flash file to
work with SCORM 1.2 and connect it to the LMS.

Should I just stick with Powerpoint and Flash? I know this is a
general question. Any advice is appreciated.

[Philip Hutchison]

Creating a Flash-based course interface is a substantial effort. Adding support for questions that cull their data from XML files makes it even more complicated.

I think it's safe to say you'd need to be at least an intermediate-level ActionScript developer to be able to accomplish your goal in a reasonable amount of time.

If you're not super comfortable with ActionScript, you can still create your own course system, but it will take quite a while and may not be worth the effort.  That's where programs like Articulate Presenter and Adobe Captivate come into play... they're not perfect, but they reduce the time required to produce courses, and they reduce the expertise needed to build everything.

As for adding SCORM support to a Flash file, it isn't very hard if you use the pipwerks SCORM wrapper and ActionScript class. It's plug-and-play, and is designed to make working with the SCORM run-time environment (RTE) easier. Of course, there's still a learning curve, but if you're sticking to the basics, it isn't too bad.

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[igirl]

Thanks Phillip. We actually have the flash part and XML working. I've
been concerned about getting the pipwerks wrapper to work and being
able to start again wherever the user left off and having the module
connect to Saba our LMS.

[Philip Hutchison]

For resuming a course using a bookmark, you'll want to look at the cmi.core.lesson_location (SCORM 1.2) and cmi.suspend_data data elements.

They allow you to easily store/retrieve strings on the server. You'll need to build logic into your course that checks for those strings and acts accordingly.

For example, if you're using the pipwerks SCORM class for ActionScript you could do something simple like this:

function saveBookmark(loc:String):void {
   scorm.set("cmi.core.lesson_location", loc);
}

function getBookmark():String {
   return scorm.get("cmi.core.lesson_location");
}

Each time you load a new page (or SWF) you save your bookmark info:

saveBookmark("page01");


When you relaunch the course, your code should check for a bookmark and use it, if it's found:

var bookmark:String = getBookmark();

if(bookmark !== ""){
  //navigate to your page using your custom code
}

Hope that helps get you started. Here's a short tutorial on adding SCORM code to a Flash file:
http://pipwerks.com/2008/04/27/how-to-add-basic-scorm-code-to-a-flash-movie/

- philip

--

[igirl]

Thank you. I will give it a shot. I will have to code in AS2 in case I
have to go back to using Articulate. So I need to make sure I can do
that also. I know the tutorial is in AS3. Hopefully I can figure that
out! :)

Thanks!

[igirl]

Quick question. I havent gotten to the bookmarking yet. I do know that
Articulate bookmarks within Flash, is that also possible? When the
module is relaunched it asks you if you want to restart where you left
off. Can I do this instead of communicationg with the LMS and then
just pet the wrapper on?

Thank you.

[igirl]

[Philip Hutchison]

You can use Flash SharedObjects to store a bookmark on a person's PC, but it will not travel from computer-to-computer. The learner must resume the course using the same computer or else they will be forced to start from the beginning. (A SharedObject is commonly referred to as a Flash 'cookie' because it works much like browser cookies)

Using an LMS allows a person to resume a course from any computer because the data is stored online, not on a particular PC.

[igirl]

Awesome ok thanks!

[igirl]

Philip,

Thank you for your help, one other question is will the LMS prompt the
user to start where they left off or the beginning? Does it work that
way?

Thanks,

Jessicament?h....

[Ryan Meyer]

I don't think any LMS that I've worked with has ever provided this functionality. Unless you're working with a specific LMS that provides this, you'll have to build that functionality yourself into your course. Typically, you'd check to see whether anything is stored in suspend_data or cmi.location, and if so, ask the user if they want to resume or start over (in which case you'd clear out those values as appropriate and return to the beginning of the course.)
Hope that helps,
Ryan

--

[Philip Hutchison]

Ryan's correct, an LMS really has no way of knowing whether you need to resume, or *how* to resume since each course is built differently.

[Paul Colombo]

There's SCORM...then there's knowing what to do with the data...

http://twitter.com/pcolombo

[John Campbell]

It would not be appropriate (maybe too strong a word) for the LMS to
give the option to the learner to resume in a SCO or restart the
activity tree. That would really wreak havoc with tracking and
monitoring attempts and would bypass certain design strategies build
into the sequencing (if 2004). The type of option I'm describing is a
bit different that the "do you want to resume on page XYZ of this
SCO?" which may be what you were referring to. In that case, as said
in other replies, it's up to the content to provide this option. Only
the content knows if providing this option makes sense for the context
of the situation.

In almost all situations the content should drive behavior as opposed
to the system in which it resides. Of course, I'm a content
developer, so may be biased.

jpc

--
John Campbell
(713) 364-4323

[linky wu]

I think powerpoint is already enough.
You should try some add-on that support to insert quiz into powerpoint
like Wondershare PPT2Flash Pro:
http://www.sameshow.com/powerpoint-to-flash-pro.html

On Aug 31, 4:17 am, igirl <jessicaure...@gmail.com> wrote:
> I'm trying to get out of using Articulate. I want the navigation to be
> in Flash and now we are using Articulate and the navigation is not
> very good. We are breaking up the Flash into slides. For example we

> have 4 questions, each question is a swf and each swf is put on aPowerpointslide and then exported to Articulate. This is so

> Articulate can connect it to the LMS and the user can go back to
> whichever slide he left last and the only thing we are tracking is if
> the user completed the test or not by tracking the last question. I'd
> like to make everything in Flash but I'm limited in time and am afraid
> I will ahve alot of issues. Also all of our question data is in XML.
>
> How much programming knowledge do I need to set up a Flash file to
> work with SCORM 1.2 and connect it to the LMS.
>

> Should I just stick withPowerpointand Flash? I know this is a