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Overview of SCORM in CMDS

Welcome! If you deliver online training through CMDS, SCORM is probably part of your world — and the good news is that CMDS fully supports both hosting and delivery of SCORM-packaged training content. You can drop a SCORM course straight into a learning activity, and CMDS handles the rest: launching it for your learners, tracking their progress, and feeding completions back into your records.

This section walks you through it all:

  • New to SCORM? Start with the short What is SCORM? below for a plain-language overview.
  • Need a definition? The glossary explains the terms you'll come across.
  • Wondering which version to use? See versions for a quick comparison of SCORM 1.2, SCORM 2004, xAPI, and friends.
  • Ready to add a course? Follow the step-by-step walkthrough in tutorials.

What is SCORM?

SCORM is a standard that lets online courses work the same way across different learning systems. Think of it as a common language: a course built with any popular authoring tool (like Articulate or Captivate) will run correctly in CMDS — and in any other SCORM-compatible system.

A SCORM course is just a ZIP file that packages everything the course needs — videos, quizzes, images, and the rules for how learners move through them. Because it's a standard package, you can build a course once and use it in multiple systems without having to rebuild it.

SCORM also tracks what your learners do. Completion status, quiz scores, and time spent are all reported back automatically, so you can run accurate reports without any extra work on your part.

How SCORM works in CMDS

CMDS fully supports SCORM. When you add a SCORM course to a learning activity, learners can launch and complete it like any other CMDS content, and their progress flows back into your records.

You'll store the actual SCORM course files (the ZIPs) on a SCORM hosting platform, and CMDS will launch them for learners from there. You can use any platform you like — here are the three we see most often:

Scoop is our top recommendation, especially if you're just getting started. It's open-source, inexpensive, and easy to use. It connects to CMDS through Single Sign-On, so adding a SCORM course to a learning activity takes just a few clicks.

You're not locked in — if you ever need to switch platforms later, migration is straightforward, and the Scoop team is happy to help.

SCORM Cloud

SCORM Cloud is a well-known commercial service from Rustici Software. It's a great choice if you need advanced features or already rely on Rustici's tools. It also doubles as a testing ground where course authors can check content for SCORM compliance before publishing. CMDS integrates with SCORM Cloud directly.

Moodle

Moodle is a popular open-source LMS with solid SCORM support. If you're already using Moodle to host your SCORM content, CMDS can work with it so your courses are available in either system.

Need help?

If you're not sure which hosting platform fits your organization, or you need a hand setting up a SCORM course, reach out to our support team — we're happy to help.