FredCoBC wrote:
OPUS is going to suffer if it isn't SCORM compatible.
Teachers want to create material, not learn technical complexities or read long documents. Create in Opus and select a "SCORM" compatible output option and that should be it.
For testing, can't DW come to a suitable arrangement with a university, college, or school to hook into their LMS for testing?
I agree with Fred that things should be easier. I had to read through many long documents and figure out some technical complexitities to actually get anything working to SCORM standards. I share your frustration Fred. I should note a couple of things that may help both DW and yourself:
First of all a test suite is available at the ADL site:
http://www.adlnet.org/downloads/index.cfm
There is a simulated test suite, and a runtime environment. A bit of set up is required for the java stuff, but not too bad since the procedure is spelled out on the java homepage on how to properly install it on your system so it will operate with the ADL test suite. WARNING make sure you use the supported version of java (Java 2 SDK SE 1.4.2_07 is supported by ADL, but not 1.4.2_09). The versions supported can be found in another long document, this time the ADL installation read me file.
The 'wrapper' of the published version of OPUS contains the script language to find and initialize the API (the mechanism to communicate with the LMS through the browser). It doesn't work. At least not in the ADL test suite. I had to work around that by copying code i found in a working SCORM compliant sample and pasting it in the published OPUS HTM file. I did this by opening (launching) the HTM to start the published CBL and once the browser opened I selected view --> source and pasted the API search function there. It appears to be working.
Within this same 'wrapper' (bottom section of java code) is language to locate the IO plug-in. This is not checking to see that the latest Plexus plugin is installed. This in not working for end-users that already have the older version plugin installed on their system. That is currently my roadblock; to differentiate between the older version of Plugin and the newer PLEXUS plugin (those with the older version get the error DWVectorAnim.dll file not found).
DW would be doing everyone a great service if they can modify the SCORM template supplied with OPUS 04 XE to better work with the SCORM standard and post it ASAP.
Another template that i would recommend is one that would do the 'packaging' of the course for import into a SCORM compliant LMS. I managed to get the free "Reload" program supplied at the ADL site to generate the needed XLM file (to keep things simple forget the meta-data stuff, each CBL is one SCO (the published HTM) and one web content (Ilm)). The XLM file contains the information for each of these files (HTM and ILM), or assets, so the LMS can reference that these are present when importing and exporting files from one LMS to another.
Using the somewhat clumsy steps to modify the 'wrapper' so it can find and initialize the API, and packaging the published OPUS CBL i have managed to pass the ADL test suite for SCORM conformity. So it is possible to have OPUS work with SCORM, but it's not easy.
If only the plug-in issue could be resolved I can be confident that end users with the older version plug in can view my courses without the show stopping error.
I am a big OPUS fan, since the days of Illuminatu 4, and I refuse to drop the time invested with this product to start learning the other widely used authoring tool available to create SCORM compliant course the likes of OPUS.
Roger
Canada
ILm 04, Opus PRO, XE, 4.5.
WindowsXP