alternative to aggregate for multiple modules, multiple roles

[Rezu]

Greetings,

Cp 5.5

I'm setting up a training course with multiple modules and multiple user roles, but some of the users will take the same module.

Here's my vision of our track:

So...my thought is I can probably aggregate, but it seems easier to use 'Quiz > Quiz Preferences... > Quiz > Pass or Fail > If Passing Grade: Action: Open another project   Project: other_project.swf'.

Then, when a Sales User passes Mod 1, Mod 2 will open and they will continue.

So yes, there will be lots of directories with repeats of the above modules in the dirs. i.e. For a Sales person there is a Sales dir/folder with the following files (and accompanying htm...scorm stuff...xml stuff): Intro.swf...mod 1.swf...mod 2.swf...mod 3.swf...links to all ungraded modules 1~6 (there would be yet a separate dir with these ungraded modules).

I've done a small Proof of Concept on my desktop and things seem to work (provided all the files are in the same dir?).
At this point I'm more comfortable with this than aggregator. Our hope is that our LMS will agree.

So what do you think? Will this work to use 'Open another project', or am I better off using aggregator?

k

[www_cpguru_com]

Yikes.. That does look intimidating and especially when you write "our hope is that our LMS will agree".

I honestly think that you will struggle to make this work properly in an LMS with the "Open another project" approach, but I guess that depends on the LMS in question. I would definitely do a small proof of concept in your LMS before deciding on the solution.

The absolutely best approach would be to publish each module separately as SCORM 2004 and then create a "master SCORM package" manually with an editor like Reload for example and use the SCORM 20004 Sequencing rules to achieve your navigation. However this is pretty complex stuff and if you are not familiar with doing manual SCORM packages and working with sequencing this will give you grey hairs in a day or so. It's very very geeky stuff.

Some LMS's also have a type of sequencing that may allow you to set this up directly in the LMS so that could be an option as well.

Another alternative all together would be to build this in just one single Captivate file but this greatly depends on the size of each of the modules and you would also need to recreate all of your quizzes into manually created "question slides" using click boxes, variables and advanced actions because one Captivate file can only contain one single quiz (if you use the standard quiz slides).

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[Rezu]

Hi cpguru,

Thanks for the reply.

So what would it look like if I wanted to use Aggregator?

Perhaps that will seem simple in comparision to what you have above.

Would this be easier if I didn't have an INTRO slide (the top blue slide) that funnels people down a specific track and instead just had 1 LMS URL for the Sales user and different LMS URLs for Marketing & IT users?

So in total there would be 3 different LMS URLs and each one would be for a different Role? Then I aggregate the necessary modules per each role? Does this make sense?

Do you know of any cp examples/vids that explain aggregate 5.5 for dummies?

Much Thanks!

k

[RodWard]

Aggregator is not a solution designed for use with LMS and SCORM.  Michael quite rightly pointed out that your LMS will be expecting a SCORM package. This can be either a single-SCO package for which the LMS will think there is only one module and show a single link to access, or a Multi-SCO package for which the LMS will show a link to each module in a Table of Contents in the SCORM Player.

Unfortunately, Aggregator does not create the required imsmanifest.xml file and other SCORM support files that the LMS needs.  It's designed for situations where you want to deliver a multi-module course OUTSIDE an LMS, usually without any captured scoring data.

Another issue you may run into is that since you have three different roles, with three different content groupings, how will your LMS decide that each role has successfully completed the course?  In most cases, the LMS will assume that any module in the course NOT completed by the user should be marked against them.  There are potentially ways of customising the imsmanifest.xml file to build in what are known as Sequencing Rules.  This is something that belongs to the SCORM specification, but Captivate does not do any of this for you.  You'd need to do the programming yourself.

My suggestion...in all honesty...is that you break this all up into three separate courses.  One for each role.  It will mean that you are duplicating some content in each course, but overall it will be FAR easier to get your LMS to work with this arrangement because most LMSs are set up to deliver role-based training.  In other words, they just want to be able to have courses that are specifically designed for ONE particular role, not one course for THREE roles.

[Rezu]

Hi Rod,

Thanks so much for your thoughts...I agree I think it needs to be set as 3 separate courses. Thank you for supporting what I had hoped would be true.

Please forgive me, but how then would you set up one individual course for an LMS of say 3 mods for 1 role and not use Aggregator? Or should I use Aggregator now that I'm not trying to put multi-roles in one course?

Much Thanks!

k

[RodWard]

Aggregator is not designed for use with a SCORM-compliant LMS. I've heard of people using it, but they had to hack the imsmanifest.xml file from a normal Captivate SCO to get everything to work.  Not an ideal solution for newbie players.

The tool that Adobe created for what you want to do is called the Multi-SCORM Packager.  It will take multiple Captivate SCORM modules and stitch them together into a package that the LMS will understand.  But this tool only comes with either Captivate 4 or one of the E-learning Suites.  If you don't have this option, then investigate RELOAD Editor on Google.

[Rezu]

Hi Rod,

Thanks again for your insight...though I'm quite confused now, , which leads me to more questions...

1. Why did Cp/Adobe abandon the multi-scorm packager in Cp 5.5?

2. So what is aggregator 5.5 used for these days (or is it used at all)?

3. Just so I understand, there is no way with Cp 5.5 to create a 3 mod course to put into an LMS? The only way to do this is, as you explain, via methods outside of Cp 5.5?

4. What are people using to develop multi-mod courses these days if not Cp 5.5?

Thanks for helping me re-align my schema around using Cp 5.5 and aggregator!

k

[www_cpguru_com · Accepted solution]

Hi again and sorry for the late reply.. Had a busy day.

The Multi SCO Packager is only available if you purchase the eLearning Suite from Adobe. I guess that it is an attempt to "upsell" their products in order to get this, but it's rather stupid since it would be a useful thing to many Captivate developers.

Aggregator is only used to "aggregate" multiple project files that you deliver locally for example on a CD-Rom, USB or as EXE or to files delivered from a webserver.

There is unfortunately no way to create a multi module course directly from Captivate 5.5 (or any previous version either).

Almost all the courses I develop are multiple chapters and I use the free Reload Editor to create the SCORM package. It is not that difficult to create a simple SCORM package with multiple chapters if it is just supposed to be linear navigation and no dependencies (e.g. passing a module quiz before being able to continue to the next chapter). A 10 chapter linear course with 9 content chapters and 1 final quiz can be assempled as a SCORM package in Reload in around 15 minutes.

However, the initial course layout you wrote about here with multiple paths for different users and also having individual pass/fail criteria on chapters before being able to continue to the next chapter is pretty damn complex to do even in Reload. If I had to do this for my LMS that I know inside and out it would probably take me a day or two just to create the SCORM package and test it.

In order to make this as easy as possible to implement (although not very LEAN) I would create three separate SCORM packages if I were you. You still do have an issue that Mod1, 2 and 3 need to have a quiz that if passed will allow your student to continue to the next module.

The LMS that you are deploying to - does this support SCORM 2004?

/Michael

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[Rezu]

Cheers Michael!

Thank you so much for your help and insight!

I'll find out what SCORM support our LMS has tomorrow. I'm pretty sure SCORM 2004.

I agree 3 separate courses would be best...and as you noted, we'd follow a linear chapter course with quizzes after each chapter/mod in the course.

So I can do this with Reload? I'll give it a go!

Thanks!

k

[www_cpguru_com]

Jim has a video tutorial on how to use Reload to package a Captivate SCORM 1.2 course here: http://captivatedev.com/2011/09/30/packaging-adobe-captivate-scos-into-one-course-using-reload-edito...

This covers the basics and is (more or less) the same for SCORM 1.2 and SCORM 2004. This will allow you to have a functional multi-SCO (chapter) course in your LMS. Next step is adding the sequencing information and some other advanced stuff in order to be able to restrict progression in the course tree unless the quiz is passed.

For this you will need to do some "light" reading on http://scorm.com, which gives a good overview of SCORM in general and then on http://www.adlnet.gov/capabilities/scorm#tab-learn and look at the SCORM Content Examples. Note that Captivate publishes to SCORM 2004, 3rd edition so this is what you want. Also the number of LMS's that support the 4th version are pretty low so far.

Warning: Before going to the ADL website be sure to have plenty of coffee available because this is very dry stuff ;o)

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[Rezu]

Cheers Michael!

And just to make sure I understand, if I have SCORM Packager from Cp 4 (which I do) I can use this to bundle the multi-SCO course as you describe in the previous thread?

Thanks!

[RodWard]

The Multi-SCORM Packager from Cp4 will be able to combine SCORMs created using Captivate 5x.  No problem.

[Rezu]

Cheers Rod!!

[hyfalkner]

So I am attempting a similar effect only our LMS is NOT SCORM compliant as our content and LMS reside on different servers.  So I must use AICC.  Is there any way to use javascript to call to an htm file that contains the required code to report to the LMS?  Would it be in the Aggregated htm or the las module htm.  Also would it be possible to aggregate them all but then use an option to open another project on the second to last module and have that one setup to report? 

[RodWard]

Whether what you describe is possible or not with JavaScript is difficult to say.  Clever programmers can do almost anything with code.

What I CAN assure you is that Captivate cannot do (out of the box) what you are asking.

So unless you hap.pen to know some really clever JavaScript programmers, I think you may not be able to get far with this idea