The latest task for the eFront team was to study and implement SCORM on the Android app. As mobile SCORM was requested and eagerly anticipated by many of our users, it was important to get every element right and focus on creating the best user experience possible.
One of the biggest challenges that occurs in eLearning is when trying to deliver content which was originally designed for a computer, on a mobile device. Trying to make it fit can be a real headache, and the eFront team was determined to ensure that it kept the experience of training on the app had same look-and-feel as the desktop content does, and that the ease-of-use we’ve built into the app was not lost.
It was important to keep the app fresh while catering to SCORM compatibility, which was high on the feature request priority list.
With learners taking advantage of mobile learning now more than ever, it is important that you stay ahead of the curve. If you have SCORM content then you might find that there is a lot of complicated, vexing information out there about how mobile SCORM works, but eFront has sorted it out for you. Many questions were raised and eFront needed to answer them! Some examples:
How will the content appear to the end user?
With regards to design in mobile SCORM, you should keep in mind that the appearance of the app will only be as good as the content itself. It needs to be high quality and well designed, it should maintain a linear and consistent look so that it can be easily and clearly displayed.
It is important to follow strict guidelines for content creation to make sure that it fits well in the app. Users need to be able to read what is on the screen quickly and without any struggle; the app is designed to cater to this need and the content should follow suit.
Responsive design is crucial to make it as easy as possible for your learners to view content and have it be aesthetically pleasing. A full computer display is quite different to that of smartphone or tablet, so there are critical considerations to be taken.
In addition, some objects may be clearly displayed on a large screen but might be more difficult to see when they are displayed smaller. As a lot of SCORM content was designed with the desktop in mind, it is important to optimize the content for mobile viewing. So, keep in mind that content will potentially be viewed on a mobile device when designing it, and ensure that your courses remain engaging to your users.
In addition, you must be aware that, as Flash isn’t supported on mobile devices, your content should be entirely in HTML5. There are several ways for you to check and make sure that there is no Flash in your SCORM file, like using a browser that does not have Flash. Opera is a good example as it doesn’t support Flash by default. It is vital that this step is followed otherwise if your SCORM file is in Flash, it will not be shown properly on the app. Many SCORM files rely on Flash, so do make some time for this short compatibility test.
If you take all of this information into account, the eFront Android app will display your content in a clear and precise way and will make mobile learning even easier.
Is mobile SCORM on the eFront Android app available offline?
This is one of the benefits of the new Android app, it makes learning easy and convenient wherever you might be.
In order to make the content offline-accessible, the LMS will send a link to the app consisting of the unit content in a compressed format. The mobile app will use the content downloader functionality to unzip the files and save them in the app’s local data folder. This way, data will be safe to access from the other apps on your mobile device (as long as your device is not jailbroken of course, which is against Android Standards).
Once the eFront app successfully downloads the SCORM data, the learner will be able to view the unit offline and online in no time at all. Offline SCORM is as easy as that!
Will the app show a progress report?
When a user starts a SCORM unit on the Android app, eFront calculates the user’s progress status with interactions from the downloaded files. This is done without you having to do anything! The lesson status, session time and data will be monitored and taken into account in order to generate the user progress and ensure that is true and accurate to real-time.
Will the progress results be shareable to the host LMS?
When you go back online and the LMS is connected, the results from the app will sync and show real-time progress. This works once the progress status is ready because the eFront Android app will save the progress on a local database. This will be shared with the host LMS as soon as the data connection is available. This means that learner interactions or status changes will never be lost, and every user’s progress will be documented.
Of course, the unit will be completed only when the SCORM unit responds to us with data which allow us to mark it completed on the app or LMS side.
To round-up
eFront has made it as user-friendly as possible to take your mobile SCORM with you and train your people on the go. With these insights and helpful hints on how to take your learning to the next level with SCORM mobile, your users will increase their productivity in next to no time. Use eFront’s Android app to propel your learning to the next level.
