Determining whether to use Pinnacle Learning Paths or SCORM content

Applies To:

Content Managers (Users with elevated permissions to manage Pinnacle Series content).

Your organization wants to assess the differences between Pinnacle Learning Paths and SCORM content.
Your organization has existing SCORM content and wants to assess whether to use that in its current form or rebuild it as a Pinnacle Series learning path.

Present clear course outlines to guide people through a self-paced training curriculum. In addition to the supplied Public Learning Paths, custom Learning Paths walk people through courses unique to their organization.
Learning Paths are perfectly suited for onboarding new employees, delivering software training that addresses various skill levels, as well as providing ongoing education opportunities for career advancement.

Users can take initiative and self-enroll in a variety of courses to improve their skill sets.
Supplied training courses include materials to help novice and advanced users alike.
“Just-in-time training” means convenient access to training materials when you need the instruction most - during a project where you can immediately apply what you’re learning.
Create a clear path for new employees and track them during onboarding activities.
Individuals can review their transcripts and print certificates of completion.
Managers can make course assignments to multiple users and by roles. Notifications are automatically sent when courses are completed, or when an assignment is past due.
Reminders keep people on track to complete their training on time.
Track progress on learners, through reporting, to see who has finished on time and who is behind.
Understand where individual user's skills are deficient and assign them a learning path.
Export data, via reporting, to other Learning Management Systems (LMS), Learning Experience Platforms (LXP) and Human Resources Information Systems (HRIS).
Learning Paths also allow for the re-use of public content and the ability to include your own content and instruction, within customized courses.

A set of standards and technical specifications that enables E-Learning content authors to create courses and share them across multiple platforms.

Plug and play. Its functionality allows for courses to be created one time and distributed to many platforms.
SCORM can make content more interactive and engaging. A wide range of authoring tools have many features for adding interactivity to courses.
Customizable; from creating interactive features to controlling the length of time a learner spends on a course before it’s marked as complete.
SCORM standards aim to make migrating between SCORM-compliant learning management systems a straightforward process.
Pre-built SCORM courses can be bought.

Because SCORM is an old E-Learning standard, it can be clunky in places, particularly in the area of course completion, and the communication of course status back to your LMS or LXP.
Newer technologies are challenging SCORM’s industry position, such as xAPI.
Some SCORM content can be buggy, due to its coding and older technology, for example, Flash, especially for iOS users.
SCORM packages lack responsiveness, so are not ideal for viewing content on a mobile device or tablet.
Authoring tools can be expensive and may have a high learning curve to create interactive learning content.
Clear reporting is one of the main benefits of E-Learning. Data management and reporting options for SCORM courses are not as evolved as newer technology solutions.