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10-18-09 Article
Take Me To Your Leader (or)
Adventures on Planet SCORM
When my eyes wander over to the Tabloid section in the supermarket checkout line and I see headlines like I was abducted by space aliens, I smirk and wonder how anybody could be so gullible as to believe such a thing. But then… it happened to me.
It all began when I finished creating a new set of online training courses last month. As you may know, there are two parts to the online training development equation: (1) creating the training, and (2) putting the training someplace where people can get to it and use it.
Traditionally, large corporations spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to purchase sophisticated, user-friendly Learning Management Systems (called LMS) that contain specialized features that assist course developers in uploading content.
Imagine my surprise when I discovered that people who had hired me had purchased only a bare-bones LMS with no helpful tools; if I wanted training courses loaded and used in this environment, I’d have to figure out how to do it myself.
It was at this point that I was beamed up onto a spaceship called SCORM. Learning to master SCORM, which most consider a barren planet littered with computer code and technical jargon, is a place where few dare to venture.
But strap on your space boots, friend. Over the next few months I will take you with me on my journey into space, and the bizarre world of SCORM. Trust me the natives are friendly, and to the best of my knowledge (so far), they are not cannibalistic.
Each week I will post a new article that translates what I have learned into simple, human terms that mere mortals can understand.
