ShadowBox Training is now SCORM-Compliant

As e-learning continues to gain momentum, learning management systems (LMSs) have grown in popularity because they offer a way for employees to complete their required training remotely. Perhaps even more important, training departments can use these systems for documenting and tracking employee progress, reporting, and delivering educational courses/training programs. LMSs offer a way for administrators to connect with employees to accomplish all their training needs under one virtual roof. 

An early lesson we learned at ShadowBox is that training departments in large organizations prioritize organization and record-keeping. Having a one-stop shop that contains all training materials and employee certifications is ideal because it allows the training department to stay organized. Plus, it offers an efficient means for administrators to connect with employees when they need to distribute new training programs or materials.

Previously, we have distributed ShadowBox training in a variety of formats and mediums. In its most basic form, ShadowBox can be completed with paper and pen. However, this might not be ideal for collecting and recording data from hundreds or thousands of employees, so we developed an online application for managing ShadowBox training. This web-based platform is a custom mini-LMS tailored specifically for building ShadowBox scenarios, distributing those scenarios to trainees, and tracking their progress. 

Based on feedback from several trainers and administrators, we created a way to export ShadowBox scenarios from the web-based platform so they can be integrated into an organization’s own LMS. We accomplished this by building an export feature in our web-based platform that generates a SCORM-compliant module. In addition to a collection of standards and specifications, SCORM is an electronic educational technology architecture that many LMS rely on. Now, trainers can build and edit ShadowBox scenarios using our scenario design mode and publish them as SCORM-compliant modules. The modules are entirely self-contained because they provide the scenario, decision questions, and expert feedback. The user experience remains the same as well, so employees completing the training will receive the same high-caliber training. 

We believe this new functionality will provide a way to get ShadowBox training into the hands of more trainers, and ultimately, in front of more trainees. Scenario-based, experiential training is lacking in many organizations, especially those that rely entirely on remote learning using their LMS. ShadowBox training can help organizations develop critical tacit knowledge and cognitive skills necessary for building expertise.