Background
Early on, iMedia.it found that designing with SCORM standards improved the possibilities of reuse and multiple use of content. By designing SCOs at a more granular level, where assets can be isolated and utilized in the programming sequence, production efficiency has increased. To learn more, visit http://www.imediait.com/
iMedia.it began designing SCORM 2004-compliant courseware in late 2004 and delivered the first SCORM 2004 course using complex sequencing to the U.S. Army in 2005. Since then, iMedia.it has delivered over 500 hours of SCORM-compliant courseware and is currently delivering SCORM 2004 3rd Edition courses.
By combining proven design and development processes with innovative technology, Imedia.it has won numerous awards for their outstanding Interactive Multimedia Instruction (IMI). iMedia.it continues to be a pioneer in creating dynamic courseware that pushes the limits of SCORM 2004 while being cognizant of the end user’s technology limitations. Throughout the entire design and development lifecycle, the learner and the learning outcomes of the course are the priorities.
Business Situation
iMedia.it’s courseware runs on standard web browsers across multiple Learning Management Systems (LMSs), including Rustici TestTrack for testing, SumTotal at the University of Military Intelligence (UMI), and Saba at the Army Training Support Center (ATSC). The large, complex practical exercises, scenarios, or highly interactive and media-intensive events are Flash based and do not require additional plug-ins. Using SCORM allows Imedia.it to deliver custom training based on the learner’s needs, similar to a face-to-face learning environment.
Outcomes
iMedia.it has realized significant savings based on their adoption of SCORM. The critical path to develop a course has been reduced by four to six weeks. Additionally, SCORM facilitates “designing for multiple uses” by making it easier to use content in multiple courses. In 2007, iMedia.it repurposed 24 SCOs multiple times across four different courses, thereby lowering the total cost to produce courseware. The savings resulting from reuse was ultimately passed on to the customer. Also, SCORM has made it much easier to repackage content to produce different courses for clients.
Assessments and evaluations are central to all Imedia.it IMI courses. Experienced instructional designers, working with SMEs, define the best forms for assessment questions or interactive assessments, to ensure that performance objectives are being assessed to the standard required by the client. The assessments are fully functional with any SCORM 3rd Edition LMS and include remediation loops or other sequences that the designer(s) specify.
Of particular value is the high-level, highly-interactive assessment instruments that feature learner-centric, customized performance assessments used for either practice or formal evaluation. An example of this type of assessment is the symbology course for intelligence analysts. In this courseware, the learner must learn to construct military symbols that show the unit type, size, and location. Following a brief overview of the various types of symbols and how they are constructed, the learner is placed in a Practical Interactive Exercise (PIX). In the PIX, the learner will use Flash-based tools, which are built into the template, to allow the learner to construct the military symbols and place the symbols at the correct six-digit grid location on an electronic military map. The activity is graded and the learner receives feedback and may practice as much as desired. Once the learner is ready to be tested for credit, a new scenario is generated in which learners will construct the correct symbols and place them in the correct location. Once completed, the learner is graded on the event, and that data is passed to the LMS for credit.
Best Practices
iMedia.it has minimized SCORM-related issues and reduced delivery time by 15% by using skeletons. A skeleton contains all of the sequencing and navigation of the final product, but with very simple “placeholder” content. Given the course flow diagram generated during the design phase, the programming team constructs a SCORM skeleton of the course. This allows the structure for the course to be programmed, tested, and debugged in a SCORM environment, before any content is present. By using this method, any design adjustments can be made early in the design phase, and later in the project when the final content is ready to be populated into the skeleton, the sequencing rules have been tested and work as designed.
Contact
Don Holmes, Don.Holmes@imediait.com
Contact
Chad Barksdale, Chad.Barksdale@imediait.com