Adapt Learning Community: LMS issues with ADAPT?

bypass of scorm player in moodle?

As indicated in this thread, I added launch.html and modified imsmanifest.xml in a standard course download from the authoring tool with enabled scorm extension. Then I added the scorm package in moddle as a new scorm package activity.
The course opens well in a new window and scorm tracking works fine.

In the course window an url like ".../pluginfile.php/37/mod_scorm/content/1/index_lms.html" is shown. If I progress in the course the url changes to .../pluginfile.php/37/mod_scorm/content/1/index_lms.html#/id/57e9543073f4fa5c23cb6cea". Every time I go to new pages the url changes accordingly.

I found out, when I copy the url of a course page, exit the scorm activity (clear all caches) and then go to the course page url directly, I can bypass the scorm player and enter and use a clean course without any recorded activities and with no tracking.

On the other hand, when I use the scorm package as download from the authoring tool without adding a launch.html and select the “open in new window” option in moodle/scorm activity settings, the course opens in a new window with the following url “.../mod/scorm/player.php?a=1&currentorg=adapt_scorm&scoid=2&sesskey=oYr1ns9XY5&display=popup&mode=normal”. The url stays the same regardless of the course page I am going to.

It is also possible to go to this url separately, but it will open the course always through the scorm player. So in this case a bypass of the scorm player should not be possible.

I was able to achieve the same formatting of the new window as with launch.html by adding the following lines to the moodle “clear” theme together with the proper moodle option settings :

#page-mod-scorm-player {padding-top: 0px;}

#page-mod-scorm-player #scormpage #scorm_object {
    border: none;
    width: 100%;
    height: 100%;
}

As I am more on the beginner’s side, please forgive me if I am reporting the obvious.

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Hi - if you put the browser URL straight into a new window it will open directly and MOODLE will be unable to track it. This is more to do with the way that MOODLE delivers SCORM than the Adapt tool.

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If I understand it correctly, the student will also be able to try out assessments when bypassing the SCORM player.

In addition, I realize now that my custom CSS formatting of the SCORM player page only works fine on Firefox on my desktop; the solution is unstable on the iPad. To a certain extent the issue seems to be addressed in Moodle MDL-46563.

So I do wonder what is the best practice right now?

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When you bypass the SCORM player, you should get a 'could not connect to LMS' error from the course...

We've been talking about amending Adapt so that it comes to a complete halt and doesn't load the course content if SCORM is enabled and it fails to find an LMS. That would obviously prevent the user from being able 'try out' assessments.

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The error message did not show up in my case – maybe because of some option settings.

To prevent the course from loading when the SCORM player is bypassed would definitely be a good enhancement.

After some more extensive internet research I tend to believe the following (Please let me know, if I am wrong.):

There is currently no complete fix to make a fully responsive course - like the ones created by ADAPT - work in an iframe on iOS. A lot of thought and experiment has been put into the issue by many very bright people without full success. There does not seem to be a solution anytime soon.
Using an iframe as part of the SCORM player is a solution used by LMSes, especially MOODLE, obviously as one of the best ways to play SCORM content securely. This does not seem to change any time soon.

So I am confronted with these two questions:

Are there any LMSes that can play a fully responsive ADAPT SCORM package on iOS in such a way that it is not possible to bypass the SCORM player as described in my earlier posting? Do they prevent showing the URL of each course page?
Is the launch.html method (as described in this thread) the best solution to play fully responsive ADAPT SCORM packages on LMSes that use iframes?

I would be very grateful for any help.

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Are there any LMSes that can play a fully responsive ADAPT SCORM package on iOS in such a way that it is not possible to bypass the SCORM player as described in my earlier posting? Do they prevent showing the URL of each course page?

SCORM Cloud will display the course on iOS without using an iframe but does not prevent display of the course URL. If you are not logged into SCORM Cloud, accessing the URL directly will show a 'content authorization failed' error. If you are logged in, though, it will display the course (which will then error - if the course is configured to display errors (the default setting)).

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Oops forgot to mention Totara LMS which also has the option to display a course in a way that doesn't use iframes or framesets.

It will still have the problem that you can get to the course if you have the course URL and are logged in. I will see what can be done about amending Adapt so that it comes to a complete halt in the event of a 'could not connect to LMS' error.

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Thank you very much for your valuable information. I will take a closer look at the LMSes you mentioned.

The enhancement to bring the course to a halt when the connection to the LMS SCORM is lost would also help if someone closes the SCORM package in the LMS while the separate course window stays open. (This definitely happens with the “lauch.html method” in Moodle, but may be true in other cases, as well).

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if someone closes the SCORM package in the LMS while the separate course window stays open

You might be able to get the course window to close if launch.html is closed... something like this:

var courseWindow = window.open('index_lms.html', 'courseWin', options);
$(window).on('beforeunload', function() {
    if(courseWindow) {
        courseWindow.close();
    }
});

Whether the course window would have enough time to commit data back to the LMS or not is questionable

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Thanks a lot! That's perfect - I will give it a try!

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I managed to implement a non core modification that opens SCORM in a new window and not in an iframe. I am still testing but it seems promising. The thread below contains details.

https://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=261756#p1365220

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