CREATING INTERACTIVE AND COMPUTER-GRADED LEARNING MATERIALS FOR THE INTERNET: INTEGRATING YOUR MATERIAL INTO AN LMS WITH SCORM

Those who use a Learning Management System (LMS) such as WebCT to teach courses often wish to include material with more interactivity than is available. SCORM (the Sharable Content Object Reference Model) is a powerful non-proprietary protocol for integrating content into a compliant LMS. As part of a distance-learning version of a course with a required laboratory component, the author developed original, interactive content that more fully integrated into the LMS. The content is delivered to the students over the Internet, graded and recorded by the LMS. Once created, web-deliverable content is converted to a SCORM object using freely available, public domain code and programs. Although several traps exist in the process, the material can greatly enhance learning, both in the material learned and in the student experience. Both materials created (general template and custom exercises) and, more importantly, the process of integration will be demonstrated in this presentation.