Updating SCORM - content refuses to load for existing incomplete / completed attempts

Updating SCORM - content refuses to load for existing incomplete / completed attempts

by Martin Vojtela -
Number of replies: 5

Hi all,

We needed to upgrade our SCORM pacakge from Storyline 2 to Storyline 360. When we update the package in moodle SCORM activity, some users are unable to load the content of the new module.

We did some troubleshooting and it seems to relate to resuming users who accessed the original version of the SCORM package 

They can load the content ok if;

A. they select 'No', when prompted to resume where they left off

B. suspend data is deleted in mdl_scorm_scoes_track

In A, relying on users to say 'No' isn't fool proof, and B always requires IT to intervene at database level.

So I wanted to ask;

1. Can suspend data be somehow wiped other than via the DB (deleting attempts isn't an option for us)?

2. Do all authoring tools create new version of suspend data every time a module is re-published? [Articulate claims that Storyline does, and to me it seems the package simply can't read the old suspend data it is provided, it just seems the result is odd]. If it is common for suspend data to change when a module is republished, shouldn't moodle wipe the suspend data when a package is updated?

3. Is moodle planning on adding versioning to SCORM packages? I would hope to keep attempts from previous versions, but display new content and perhaps force users to re-complete the updated package (I am aware of the re-completion plugin, but that one depends on time since user's last completion rather than specific data or version of a module) 

Many thanks for any advice in advance,

Martin

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In reply to Martin Vojtela

Re: Updating SCORM - content refuses to load for existing incomplete / completed attempts

by Anthony Erickson -
Also keen on a solution to this - from a Moodle side, it would be great to 'flush' incomplete attempts whenever the package is updated in-situ (or at least have the option to).
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In reply to Martin Vojtela

Re: Updating SCORM - content refuses to load for existing incomplete / completed attempts

by Melanie Scott -
Picture of Particularly helpful Moodlers

I suspect the problem is that the updated package has a slightly different structure than the original. If the update is exactly the same (number of pages, number of questions, stuff like that) and only content has changed there shouldn't be a problem BUT if you add a page or question or something track-worthy, it does not compute. and the existing attempt cannot open because nothing lines up. This is why the suspend data chokes. The point of the suspend data is to restart where they left off, if possible and if that place no longer exists as originally referenced, it cannot do it.

If the person is going back in, maybe they should start a new attempt.

The problem probably isn't Moodle, it is most likely your package. Take a look at the original zip folder and compare it to what the new one looks like. I'd bet the structure is different is some relevant way.

I cannot speak for Moodle.org but all evidence points toward no additional resources going toward SCORM development. SCORM is considered old and broke, extreme old age--even SCORM people would be happy to see it phased out entirely and replaced with something else (H5P is the new hotness but has some pretty major...defects is the wrong word...things missing, that make it not quite up to replacing SCORM (tracking, they're looking at it)...but the e-learning world is changing and SCORM may be a thing of the past soon. Of course, I've been hearing that for 10 years...

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In reply to Melanie Scott

Re: Updating SCORM - content refuses to load for existing incomplete / completed attempts

by Anthony Erickson -
That diagnosis rationale all lines up, and if the package changes then naturally any 'in progress' attempts are no longer in progress as the thing that was underway is no longer (sounds quite philosophical, doesn't it!).

If we assume that is the case, then I think it would be a low effort/high benefit in Moodle to better handle that scenario by having an option to say 'flush all in progress/incomplete attempts' on an activity rather than doing it user-by-user (unless there already is a way and I'm simply clueless, in which case, would love any advice!).

Cheers
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In reply to Anthony Erickson

Re: Updating SCORM - content refuses to load for existing incomplete / completed attempts

by Dan Marsden -
Picture of Core developers Picture of Particularly helpful Moodlers Picture of Peer reviewers Picture of Plugin developers Picture of Plugins guardians Picture of Testers Picture of Translators
scorm is old, but Moodle does have a pretty stable implementation for SCORM 1.2 - we don't have many "bugs" in the tracker - plenty of room for improvement though (I'm always happy to review pull requests!) smile

This does sounds similar to this: https://tracker.moodle.org/browse/MDL-67538 and the fix might be to provide some way of clearing the suspend_data field for all users within the SCORM - but this particular issue doesn't come up often - usually the SCORM package itself copes a bit better when it can't interpret the suspend_data field.
SCORM doesn't get many people spending volunteer time on it, so if you're really keen for a fix you might consider contracting your local moodle partner to help.
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In reply to Dan Marsden

Re: Updating SCORM - content refuses to load for existing incomplete / completed attempts

by Mark Oxley -
This has just happened to us too, with packages made through Articulate Rise. I would argue that Articulate is growing larger in the learning package world, and more and more people will be using it to import packages into Moodle. Yes, Articulate could remedy the issue through sensibly invalidating the suspend_data when it can't be interpreted, however I wrongly assumed there might be a way to remove the suspend_data for packages in Moodle and just spent nearly an hour trying to find it before coming across this forum post. Having that functionality to hand in Moodle would solve the issue for not just Articulate, but any other package publishing platform which suffer from the same oversight.
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