In my previous post titled ‘The inconvenient reality that we should stop using SCORMs‘ I presented the case for why we have to move away from using SCORMs. In this post, I will try and unpick how this could happen.
The first (and a really important) step, is for the organisation to fully and genuinely accept that SCORM is no longer fit for purpose and that it has to be replaced. This may sound absurd – but if I went into a board room and declared that I have created a new format for online learning content, however, it doesn’t work well on small screens, isn’t good for accessibility, is a dog to maintain and keep up to date, etc. I would get booted out without hesitation. So if we choose to be analytical about what we are doing, reaching the conclusion that SCORM is no longer suitable should actually become a formality. I recognise that this will be a seismic change for many, and especially for those that have been perpetually told that SCORM is the industry standard and therefore the way to go, they will then have doubts over who to listen to – and this will probably be the biggest challenge to overcome.
If an organisation can successfully navigate the first step, the following steps are actually easier. One approach, is to make the decision that any new content/courses will be built using non-SCORM techniques, so the existing SCORMs will stay for the moment, but when they reach the end of their natural lives, they will also get replaced with non-SCORM options, and as such the SCORMs will get gradually phased out over the next 5-10 years. The other alternative is to fast-track the above, by creating a timetable to actively renew and replace the existing SCORMs so the phase-out takes place much quicker e.g. 3-5 years.
The next step is to look at and choose the alternative(s) – and this is a really good opportunity to evaluate and challenge what and how you are doing things. One of the problems with SCORMs is they generally have no human communication elements built in. As a former teacher, I very much believe that the underpinning principle of education; is the interactions between student and tutor, and student and their peers. By moving away from SCORMs, we can re-introduce these elements and in doing so create a better quality education experience. Yes, I am aware that doing this requires paying a teacher somehow to take part in these interactions and to monitor the peer-to-peer communication – which many organisations won’t want. This can be a relatively low cost (albeit a constant background one) – but it would make for massively superior quality education experiences.
Another opportunity this re-think gives us, is to allow the tutors to use their imaginations and be more creative again. Online courses are often resource orientated – e.g. lots of resources, and self-check quizzes in a pre-determined order and then the occasional token discussion activity. An alternative approach is to make courses be discussion orientated – e.g. the tutor initiates and maintains discussion activity with the students, and at the appropriate points in time (e.g. when things come up in the discussion thread) the tutor releases the relevant resources and activities.
There will be some significant HR issues to deal with. If you have people employed who are SCORM creators by trade, these will need to be re-trained, and if any are resistant to such changes, then ultimately they would need to be moved on, which does come with a significant cost both in terms of time and finance. If you out-source the content creation, then at least that is easy to negate – you simply change who you outsource to, or look at bringing the development back in house.
My advice (as it often the case) is to seek external help to guide you through the above process. This is one of those areas where there is no ‘one-size fits all’ solution, so each organisation will need a bespoke solution developing, and getting that right will be key. If there is a need to retrain staff internally, then don’t cut corners in this area – that will just be a false economy. Get the right training model in place, and give the attendees the proper time to engage in the training and then the support to practise what they have learned.
I am not going to pretend that this will be an easy journey (otherwise more organisations would have followed it already) – but it is an inevitable journey that needs to be undertaken. The longer that organisations delay making this change, the harder it will ultimately be – those that bite the bullet sooner, will have an easier transition and will benefit from the rewards for longer.
In my next post, I will describe some alternative approaches to using SCORM, and the associated advantages and disadvantages.
Image source: https://pixabay.com/illustrations/question-mark-labyrinth-lost-maze-2648236/
Dave Foord's Weblog 
One thought on “How do organisations strategically move away from SCORM?”