Ajax: A Scorm-Compliant Lms Adminsitrators Savior

AJAX: A SCORM-COMPLIANT LMS ADMINSITRATORS SAVIOR

November 8, 2006

Prepared by:

NovoLogic, Inc.

Kevin Crawford

kcrawford@novologic.com

office: 770-277-1030 x117

fax: 770-234-6277

225 Oak Street

Lawrenceville, GA 30045

www.novologic.com

Executive Summary

According to analysts, most US companies are either currently using or planning to implement e-learning initiatives. Clearly there is a demonstrated acceptance of e-learning's ability to reduce costs, increase flexibility, provide more valuable learning experiences and optimize workforce readiness. However, the challenge in selecting the right software technology to power these learning initiatives can be daunting. While there are a plethora of providers, there is a noticeable dearth of robust, reliable options.

As an e-learning customer, you rely on the Learning Management System, or LMS, to provide an intuitive, interactive and valuable experience for your users. The LMS technology is assumed to deploy and manage content, organize curriculums, generate reports, issue certifications and perhaps even collect course fees in a flawless manner. It is entirely up to the LMS to communicate client data to the server, course information and scoring and ensure it gets reported back from the course run time environment to the LMS database without fail.

The LMS market is growing fast but is in a high state of churn. According to a recent Bersin & Associates' study, approximately 15% of organizations are planning on switching LMS vendors or replacing their systems. This dissatisfaction can, in part, be attributed to the fact that many implementations are running on old technology platforms or are using outdated software.

As e-learning content develops and proliferates, LMS technology must keep pace. To ensure LMS technology develops in an effective, standardized fashion a set of criteria were developed: SCORM. The Sharable Content Object Reference Model or SCORM is a collection of standards and specifications for web-based e-learning. It defines communications between client side content and a host system called the run-time environment (commonly a function of a learning management system).

The three primary technologies employed by LMS vendors to communicate between client-side content and the run-time environment include Java applets, ActiveX and AJAX. This paper will describe each of these technologies and their functionality as it relates to SCORM compliance. The advantage of AJAX technologies in providing a more functional and dependable experience for the end users and LMS administrators will also be demonstrated.

Background

As e-learning emerges into a mission-critical initiative for organizations the need for a standardized, dynamic and dependable hosting, deployment and data transfer technology is imperative. Leading the charge in this arena was the Department of Defense's Advanced Distributed Learning Initiative (ADL). ADL was initially launched to find ways to improve performance and reduce costs in education and training efforts within the DOD. But ADL quickly realized the federal government, the private sector and academia all had similar e-learning performance and cost savings needs and requirements; key among them: interoperability, affordability, durability, reusability and accessibility. ADL knew that any solution would have to have a wide appeal and work in all potential e-learning environments. Working from this perspective, ADL partnered with government, academia and industry to find common ways to meet the common needs, and thus the birth of Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM). Building on the old AICC guidelines, SCORM is a dynamic model, continually changing and upgrading as technology warrants. SCORM strives to provide a comprehensive suite of e-learning capabilities that enable interoperability, accessibility and reusability of Web-based learning content. There are three common mechanisms used by LMS systems to communicate the user data to/from the LMS server and ensure SCORM-compliance: Java Applets, ActiveX and via AJAX.

SCORM and Java Applets

An applet is a program written in the Java programming language that can be included in an HTML page, much in the same way an image is included in a page. When you use a Java technology-enabled browser to view a page that contains an applet, the applet's code is transferred to your system and executed by the browser's Java Virtual Machine (JVM). Java applets had been the method of choice for data transfer for years. However, Java applets are now coming under scrutiny as a communication technology for SCORM client interface.

There are several limiting factors when using Java applets. In order for the applet to work, the browser must have a Java Virtual Machine or (JVM) installed. And more critical, they all need a specific version of JVM installed based on the JAVA version used to compile the applet. Due to the major conflicts between Microsoft and Sun Corporations (the two main browser developers), many browsers do not have a JVM installed. And many of the browsers that do have a JVM installed often have one that is not compatible with the applet being used.

If the browser and operating system are not running the specific version(s) of the JVM needed by the applet, reporting will not function properly. This may not even be apparent until after the user has completed the training module. The results are all too common: a user has concluded a training module, completed the testing portion and hits the send button when the system "crashes" and no data are recorded. Or worse, a user has completed the training, received a confirmation page and assumes all is well, but then later learns there is no record of the transaction as course completion and scoring are not reported back to the LMS.

In addition to the frustration endured, valuable time and money is lost when this occurs. Time is spent as LMS administrators have to correct user records manually. Users spend time contacting LMS administrators trying to determine why their test scores or course completions are not getting logged correctly. And oftentimes users are required to retake courses that