eLearning Course

< Back to support page

LatitudeLearning® allows for streamlined setup and deployment of SCORM-based eLearning courses. Watch our training videos or review the step-by-step information below to ensure successful definition and upload of course content to your learning center.

STEP ONE: Determine if Your eLearning Content is Compatible

Our Learning Management System is SCORM 1.2 and 2004 compliant. Hosting only SCORM-conformant content helps to ensure proper communication between the course and the LMS for launch and status tracking.

The LMS does not require use of a specific course authoring tool (e.g. Articulate, Captivate, Lectora), but instead relies on industry course development and communication standards. LatitudeLearning does not provide eLearning content support. All questions and concerns regarding course behavior and transcript results should be directed to the course developer or the support staff for your authoring tool.

STEP TWO: Prepare SCORM-conformant content file for upload

BEFORE YOU BEGIN: Adobe no longer supports Flash Player so all of your SCORM content must be published in HTML5. HTML5 First with Flash Fallback is also an acceptable option to support users who currently use older browsers. The best long-term solution is to use pure HTML5 and update users' browsers to the current versions. When you are ready to publish an eLearning course from your authoring tool, be sure to select the standard for LMS Output SCORM 1.2 or SCORM 2004 (1st, 2nd, and 3rd editions). Not sure about the versions? Check out SCORM Cloud's Evolution of SCORM with a history of SCORM versions, key pros and cons, and recommendations. Of the 2004 editions, they prefer 3rd.

Here are a list of additional basic requirements to promote successful content deployment in the LMS:

The SCORM output file must be in a .ZIP format. Other zip formats, such as .7S are not supported.
There are several places in the LMS information and the authored course content which must not include special characters (e.g. @, $, &, etc.) Note: Allowable characters are alphanumeric (A-Z and 0-9), hyphen (-), and underscore (_). Some non-English alphabetic characters may cause issues and if load fails, look for those.
- The course code in the LMS
- The filename of the SCORM output .ZIP file
- On some occasions, areas within the authored content itself, including the titles and identifiers that may be part of the publishing settings. Depending on how the content is authored, it could pose a potential problem if they exist in quiz titles, question titles, answer choices, or any place where interactional and navigational data in the SCORM/XML files could be suspect.
The eLearning authoring tool you use for zipping content can impact the folder structure and therefore the location of the SCORM XML manifest file. After your content is zipped, ensure that the "imsmanifest.xml" file is located in the root of the zipped file, not within any of the file's folders. The figure below shows an example of correct and incorrect placement of the manifest file.
There is a SCORM file size limit of 360 MB. For files exceeding that size, you can contact Latitude ClientCare for a cost estimate to have a developer upload one or more oversized courses.

STEP THREE: Course Catalog Entry and Content Deployment

This document assumes an existing knowledge of LMS course creation basics. It will only reference those points relevant to adding eLearning courses and deploying content. If you need to review the common elements of the Add Course functionality, please read related document: Add a New Course to the LMS. If you are uploading new content to an existing eLearning course, skip to #6 in the instruction list below.

Begin by selecting, from the Administration left navigation menu, Courses > Add Course and populate the appropriate configuration settings. The specific points to consider in setting up an eLearning course are:

Do NOT include any special characters (e.g. @, $, &, etc.) in the Course Code or Course Name fields. Use only alphanumeric, hyphen, or underscore characters.
In the Delivery Method field, select eLearning.
The Can Relaunch setting determines whether or not students can relaunch course content after achieving a completed status. It allows them to view content without generating a new transcript.
When the Add Course form is complete, click Add Course.
In the confirmation pop-up window, determine your next step from the following options:
- Are Finished: Keeps you on the Details page of the new course and lets you continue editing. The “SCORM” tab will become available so that you can upload content.
- Want to deploy content for this eLearning course: Directs you to the “SCORM” tab.
- Want to add another course: Directs you to a new Add Course form.
Navigate to the SCORM tab when you are ready to deploy content.
Click Choose File to upload the zipped SCORM file (size limit is 360 MB).
- Note: When uploading files, be sure that the path name of the source file is less than 255 characters. File names exceeding that will be truncated and will fail to launch properly. To shorten a filename and path, save it to a folder higher in your directory structure. For instance, place it on your C:\ drive root directory, or create a C:\UPLOAD directory to which you can move the file.
Establish Deployment Settings: These settings must be made at the time of deployment.
- Deployment Type - Full Package: Select this option if deploying content for the first time. You should also use this option when uploading content revisions that have fundamentally changed the nature of the course (e.g. addition/deletion of slide/videocontent, navigation, user interactions, scoring). Full package is recommended for updated content if there is any doubt about how the new information will overlay the old.
- Deployment Type - Partial Package: Select only if you are re-deploying content with minor changes that do not alter the overall course structure (e.g. static texts, colors, images). If after using Partial Package you find that the course is not loading properly or is not behaving or scoring activities as expected, try reloading it as a Full Package.
- Language: Select the Language relevant to the SCORM package being deployed. Latitude allows you to load multiple separate SCORM manifests for different languages. The system does not, however, validate that the language within the content matches the language selected. To learn more about multi-language SCORM options, watch this VIDEO.
- Validate Sequencing: This field is provided for use when there are issues with course launch caused by lack of or incomplete sequencing produced in some authoring tools. By default, you do do not need to check this box. If you load the course and find that it launches with a blank course window, you can reload the SCORM package for the course and check this box, then see if it makes a difference. If there are still issues after validating sequencing, you can then contact Latitude ClientCare for further assistance.
- Clear Progress: Select this flag to clear the SCORM CMI data for users who are currently in-progress in or have completed a previous version of the course. This eliminates potential synchronization errors in the progress bookmarking between the old and new versions. This will also reduce synchronization issues with completed courses (old SCORM version) in which "Can Relaunch" is set to Yes. Use this, as desired, any time you load new content in any language to clear user CMI data. Users in-progress will need to start over when this is used.
Click Deploy and wait for the on-page notification that your content has been queued for deployment. This means that your file was successfully loaded to the LMS SCORM content server and is being processed.
Once this activity is confirmed, you can monitor the status of your deployment process via email, or from your LMS “Messages” page. A notification is sent once the content deployment process is complete, informing whether the attempt succeeded or failed. You can also click back to the SCORM tab after a couple of minutes to see if the manifest is in the list.
Course Shell Configuration settings allow you to enable/disable tools that enhance presentation of each e-Learning course. Apply changes in real time by clicking Update Shell Configuration button, without the need to re-deploy your SCORM content. Set default configuration or brand these features from your Site Management > LMS Information page. Learn more: LMS Information and Portal Configuration.
- Enable Navigation: Disabled by default. When enabled, this responsive menu opens collapsed by default and provides one-click navigation between each SCO (shareable content object) within the course, with the option to expand to full screen. Note: We recommend leaving this unchecked, as it is by default. It is only relevant for some clients using specifically-developed Multi-SCO courses, Most instructional designers include navigation menus or buttons directly in the course.
- Enable System Checker: Disabled by default. When enabled, this tool allows LMS Administrators to define system requirements for their eLearning content, such as supported devices, operating systems, browsers, cookies, JavaScript. On course launch, the LMS will check the accessing device and inform students whether or not the device and its configuration meets defined requirements. Either way, students are able to click “Continue” and launch SCORM content.

STEP FOUR: Test Launch the Course and Manage Manifests

Once eLearning content is deployed, you can return to the course SCORM tab to test your content and view/manage your Manifest List.

Select the Launch Language, then click Test Launch to review your content in a test atmosphere with no enrollment needed. If Show Debug Info is enabled, additional windows will open during test launch to display SCORM-related launch data in case of issues. Use Clear Test Progress to reset the SCORM CMI data for the test launch only.

The Manifest List shows entries for SCORM manifests loaded for any particular language, with the Manifest Load Date, Language, and SCO List. You may remove any manifest by clicking Remove. This is not necessary in order to upload a new version of the content. Note: Removing a manifest removes the content for that language and can impact users that are enrolled in the course.

THE USER EXPERIENCE: Uploading New Content to an Existing Course

The LMS allows Portal Administrators to upload new content to an existing eLearning course at any time. However, before doing so, consider the impact on student users.

Users who have never enrolled in the course or have enrolled but never launched will get the new content with no issues.
If you did not deploy the content using the Clear Progress flag, users who have launched the course with the older content may have bookmarking and SCORM CMI data associated with the original launch. It is possible that relaunching the course with new content may lead to launch issues, including 102 Sequencing errors. This is because the LMS is unable to match where they left off in the original content now that new content is in place. LatitudeLearning ClientCare can clear CMI data associated if provided the username and course code. Canceling the enrollment and re-enrolling will also fix the issue.

CONTENT SUPPORT: When to contact LatitudeLearning®

LatitudeLearning® does not provide extensive eLearning content support. If you have tried troubleshooting issues but cannot determine why content will not launch properly in your LMS, please contact LatitudeLearning ClientCare® only after you have:

Thoroughly reviewed our training materials
Reached out to your authoring tool’s Support team for guidance
Verified that your course is behaving correctly in SCORM Cloud. Success there does not always ensure success in the LMS, but it can help identify major issues that are in the course before getting it to the LMS. SCORM Cloud allows free testing for courses below a certain size.

If the SCORM file fails to upload, it is usually because a) the ZIP file was larger than the allowed 360 MB size limit, b) special characters were found in the file name or key locations in the content, or c) the placement of the imsmanifest.xlm file in the zipped content is incorrect. Review these items and try loading a file at least twice before contacting the ClientCare team with questions.

If your course launches correctly in the LMS, but all or some users are having difficulty getting a successful completion, these are common issues:

The LMS window and the course content "launch" window/tab must be open concurrently. If a student closes the LMS window, the SCORM engine cannot properly update score and status.
Any interruption in network connectivity while a student is taking the course can interrupt or disconnect communication of status between the LMS and the course.
Course configuration in the authoring tool may be problematic:
1. Success/completion factors are not being fully met by the student. Making them aware of the success factors or helping create navigation and workflows that guide them toward full completion can help.
2. The student does not navigate or exit the course in a way that triggers submission of final status or score to the LMS. For instance, if a final "Finish" button submits scores to the LMS but the user simply closes the course window.
3. Publishing settings such as "Report status to LMS as" can cause issues with the LMS and may need to be altered if initial attempts fail. These are the settings that tell the system to report as "Passed/Incomplete", "Passed/Failed", "Complete/Incomplete", etc. Using "Passed/Incomplete" is usually successful.