Why you need SCORM, the alter ego of webinars in blended training

We have talked about blended training, namely that kind of training that makes use of both face-to-face and virtual: in this article we will talk about how to use SCORM packages, asynchronous self-paced learning contents, trackable and safe to use together with webinars. 

SCORM vs VIDEO: SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES

When we talk about SCORM, we refer to those instructional contents to study in self-paced mode, autonomously and remotely, using one’s own devices (PC or smartphone), online or offline according to the type of platform that delivers it. 

Being multimedia contents, however, these kinds of resources are often confused with simple videos, but there are substantial differences. 

The first difference is related to tracking: contrary to videos, in fact, SCORM allows teachers (and whoever has access to reports) to know how much time students spend on the lesson and what they do. In relation to this last point, SCORM are also different since they allow interaction: users can click, move elements, answer questions and also navigate through resources in a non-linear way, always staying within the same learning object. Last, but not least, SCORM allows adaptive learning, namely the possibility to build different learning paths according to choices made by users or test results. 

ASYNCHRONOUS CONTENTS IN BLENDED TRAINING

Once we have clear knowledge of the benefits of SCORM from a functional point of view, it is important to understand how this type of content can be useful to build blended programs. 

Let’s start saying that blended requires a combination of synchronous and asynchronous training, where synchronous can be represented by any kind of live training, both online or in class. 

On the other side of blended, then, there are contents to be studied in self-paced mode, which can be more or less interactive and engaging: presentations, PDFs, video and finally SCORMs. Each type of asynchronous learning content has its own characteristics, but they all share the possibility to be accessed remotely by students through personal devices. 

THE ADVANTAGES OF SCORM

Why should you choose SCORM for blended programs, if it seems to be the less immediate one among asynchronous contents? Of course the choice, despite being more expensive in terms of setting time and required financial resources, has some advantages not found in the alternatives. 

Firstly, as already mentioned, SCORM contents allow to have a certain amount of interaction: requiring the completion of actions, then, helps to increase engagement and motivation, since the user feels to be directly involved in the training process, despite being actually alone. When designing the content, in fact, it is possible to use different instructional strategies to improve effectiveness, like micro-learning or gamification, selected based on the target of reference.   

In addition to that, SCORM allows tracking progress and results reached by students, somehow filling the gap between teacher and student and allowing, on the contrary, to collect valuable information to organize training. 

Eventually, SCORM has two essential advantages related to interoperability and maintenance. The first one refers to the possibility to use contents in different courses and on different platforms, since it is a standard format recognized by most LMSs. The second refers to the modular structure, that makes it a lot easier to modify single elements or a portion of the lesson, without affecting the rest of the content. This aspect in particular makes investments valuable in the long run. 

HOW AND WHEN TO USE SCORMS

Knowing all their advantages, let’s see when and how it can be useful to use this type of content within a blended training program. 

Thanks in particular to the distance tracking feature and adaptive paths, SCORMs can be very effective before the in-class phase, to do pre-assessments and give useful resources to students: this allows everyone to reach the prerequisites required for the course, according to specific needs. At the same time, this allows teachers to collect insight into the class, with everyone’s strengths and weaknesses, even before meeting them, being able to organize synchronous sessions in a more efficient and effective way. 

After the in-class session, it can be helpful to give students access to recordings (of webinars or face-to-face lessons), to make them available in the future: to do so, rebuilding the video into a SCORM can help students to have easy access to the needed part of content, always in a trackable and controlled way. In addition, SCORMs can be useful as further resources to deepen the topic treated in the course, available to students to continue the training program autonomously. 

With the spread of blended learning it becomes essential to know all the tools available both for asynchronous and synchronous training, and how they could be used. In particular, SCORM contents seem to be unknown by many people, despite being the most effective for self-paced learning. 

Do you want to know more about blended learning? Read our following articles!

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