This guide will run you through the basic requirements and recommended settings to use when creating SCORM content with Adobe Captivate 9+ for use within the World Manager platform.
Creating your module
In this stage, you can create your content as you see fit, but pay attention to the setup and configuration options below to make sure things work smoothly when you finally upload the SCORM to the platform.
Slide dimensions
When starting a new Captivate project you will need to choose your slide dimensions. It is best to use at least 1280px by 720px.
Disable the Captivate auto exit action
The World Manager platform loads your SCORM module in an iframe so that it can continuously track progress and allow the user to move between SCORM and E-learning modules. Due to the way this is handled, issues can arise if you have set your module to exit or close from within Captivate in an uncontrolled manner.
Review the following settings in Captivate before publishing:
- In the Start and End preferences make sure the Project End Options action is set to Stop Project.
- Make sure the On Exit on the final slide is set to No Action.
Add an exit button to your module
To ensure that your users are able to end the module and continue back to the platform once they have finished, you will need to include a button to allow them to do this. Be sure to include a button that has its action set to Exit so that they can do this.
Set your bookmarking preference
Bookmarking allows the user to save their progress in a module and come back later to finish it. There are two bookmarking options when using Adobe Captivate SCORM modules with World Manager:
- Saving progress to World Manager.
This is advised for longer modules, where the user might want to save their progress and come back to finish it later. The saved progress will be available across multiple devices. - Always resume from the beginning.
This is advised for shorter modules, where a user is expected to finish the module is one sitting. No progress is saved and the module will always resume from the beginning.
Attention: Adobe Captivate does offer a ‘Self-Paced Learning’ option for bookmarking, however this setting is not compatible when creating modules for use in any LMS.
- In the Edit menu, select Preferences. The Preferences window will open.
- Select Reporting, then Advanced. The LMS advanced settings will open.
- To enable option 1 (Saving progress to World Manager), make sure the Never Send Resume Data is unticked (as shown in screenshot 4).
To enable option 2 (Always resume from the beginning), make sure the Never Send Resume Data is ticked.- Select OK to save your changes and close the LMS Advanced Settings window.
Ensure completion status is set
World Manager uses SCORM 1.2 to track and mark SCORM modules. Before publishing your content from Adobe Captivate, you need to make sure your settings are compatible.
In the Edit menu select Preferences. The Preferences window will appear, make sure Reporting is selected. This will appear as in screenshot 5.
- Make sure Quiz is checked. This enables reporting.
- From the LMS dropdown, select Other Standard LMSs.
- From the Standard dropdown, select SCORM 1.2.
- Under Status Representation you can choose if you want the module to report as Complete or Passed/Failed. Usually you would want to use Complete for a module without a quiz, and Passed/Failed for a module containing a quiz.
- Under Success/Completion Criteria you set the criteria for completion.
- User Access – marks the module as Complete or Passed as soon as the module has been opened by the user. This is ideal if the content is optional and you want a user to be able to jump straight to the E-learning Module.
- Slide Views – ideal for modules without any questions where you want all content to be viewed before a user can continue. Set the number or percentage of slides the user must view for completion. Keep in mind that if any of your content is skippable to account for this in here. This option can be used in conjunction with Quiz is Passed.
- Quiz is passed – use if you want the SCORM to be marked as complete based on the quiz. If you have required content after the quiz, you can also select this option in conjunction with Slides Viewed. If this criteria is used, please ensure that the passing mark is set (see below).
Set Quiz Pass Mark
If the Quiz is passed option is used as the success/completion criteria, then the pass mark will also need to be set accordingly. This option can be found by going to Edit, Preferences, and then Pass or Fail.
From here, the threshold for passing the quiz can be set as a minimum percentage, or as a minimum number of points. Setting the value as 0 in either of these places will cause the SCORM to be marked as pass immediately, and setting it as 100% or the maximum number of points will require the user to answer every question correctly.
Disabling Playback Controls
This step is optional. Removing the playback controls however, will create a more controlled, traditional, and linear training experience, as opposed to letting the user skip ahead to other parts of the module.
This can be done by clicking the Project menu button, then Table of Contents. From here, ensure you are viewing the Playback Control section (clicking the blue play icon), and then deselect the Show Playback Control option.
Alternatively, you may wish to keep the Playback Controls. In this case, we at the very least recommend deselecting the Close option. This will prevent the user from causing the SCORM to close in an unexpected way. Please see the Platform Options section below for recommended methods of exiting SCORM.
Publishing your module
This stage publishes the module to the correct SCORM format and exports it into a single .zip package.
Publishing a SCORM 1.2 Package
After you have finished your module and set all your reporting settings to your liking click on Publish and select Publish to my Computer. The following screen will pop-up.
Things to note when before publishing:
- Publish as: Set to HTML5/SWF.
- Location: Where the published file is saved on your computer.
- Zip file: Make sure this box is ticked. It will put the published files into a zip file, ready to upload to the platform.
- Typekit Domains: This is only for use if you have used any Adobe Typekit fonts in your module. Type localhost into this box if applicable.
- Output format: Select SWF for Flash compatibility and HTML5 for Mobile compatibility.
- Scalable HTML content: Make sure this box is ticked if you have created a project with large dimension that you want to scale down to fit on any screen size.
Do note that this will also cause your module to scale up if viewed on a larger screen. If you have used a low resolution for your slide dimensions and a user views the module on a high res screen, it can cause the module to become pixelated and blurry. - More: Under more there are shortcuts to other setting panels, such as LMS setting, mobile gestures and quality.
Platform Options
Once you have the published .zip file, you need to upload this into the platform and enable the Finish button.
When you create a new SCORM or update an existing SCORM on your platform, you have the option to enable the following buttons:
- Save and Exit Button
- Finish Button
Save & Exit Button
The Save & Exit button adds a button to the top of the user's window which allows them to mark their progress at this particular point within the module, and exit back into the platform (Screenshot 9).
- If you have set up your module to save progress to World Manager, we advise enabling this button. Tick the Save & Exit Button box highlighted in screenshot 10.
- If you have set up your module to always resume from the beginning, we advise disabling this button, as it gives the user the impression they can save their progress. Untick the Save & Exit Button box highlighted in screenshot 10.
Note: If you have set up your module in Captivate to save progress to World Manager, disabling the Save and Exit button will not disable this feature. The user can still navigate back using the browser’s back button or close the tab/window and restart it later. The module will then resume from where the user left off.
Finish Button
The Finish button (Screenshot 11) adds a button to the top of the user's window once they have successfully met the completion criteria for the module, setting the status to passed, failed, completed, or browsed. When clicked, this button will mimic the API call where the module tells the LMS that the user is done (LMSFinish()).
Note: The Finish button should only be reserved for particular circumstances where the module, for some reason, cannot make the LMSFinish() API call itself.
Once the platform hears this call, what happens next depends on a few factors – what type the E-Learning module was (Training Template vs Standalone), and the status that the module had set (passed, failed, completed, or browsed).
If the module's status was set to fail, then the user will be returned to the page in the platform that they began from, showing that they have failed the SCORM.
If the module's status was set to passed, completed, or browsed, then Training Template type modules will continue onto the questionnaire. Standalone modules however, will return the user to the page in the platform they began from, and show that they have passed the content.