There are a range of ways to manage SCORM package files in Moodle

Uploaded package.
This method is the only option shown by default in a new Moodle installation. The teacher uses the Moodle file picker to select or upload a new SCORM package.

The site administrator is able to set up a range of different repository types that could contain SCORM zip packages.

External Package type
External package type is disabled by default on new installations – it is not a great method of linking to packages as under certain circumstances your packages will not pass back any grade or tracking information to Moodle.

If enabled and selected it provides a text field to paste a URL to a remote imsmanifest.xml (in an unzipped remote SCORM package) – this allows SCORM content to be hosted outside your Moodle site and the content is played from the external location and is not unpacked/copied into Moodle storage. This also means that if you update the SCORM package then the latest content will always be loaded (unless you update your core imsmanifest.xml file as this file is copied into Moodle) – be very careful updating your imsmanifest.xml file; if your SCO identifiers change then tracking information for any removed SCO identifiers for any previous user attempts will be cleared from the Moodle database.

For the external package type to work – your SCORM content MUST be located under the same url as your Moodle site – If the base url is different from your Moodle url then built in web browser security will block cross-domain communication and no grades/tracking information will be passed back to Moodle. Adobe Flash and modern browsers (ever since IE 6) prevent cross-domain communication. If you really need your packages to sit outside Moodle on a different URL you should look at other options for hosting your content.

To enable the External package type go to:
Admin > Plugins > Activity modules > SCORM package
tick the box for “Enable external package type”

Downloaded package type
Downloaded package type is disabled by default on new installations. It allows your SCORM zip package to be hosted on an external location.

If enabled and selected it provides a text field to paste a URL to a remotely hosted SCORM zip package. Moodle will download the package and unzip into the Moodle file system. Moodle will only check for a new SCORM package each time the settings page is opened and re-saved unless you configure the option “Auto-update frequency” – this is an advanced setting by default so make sure you hit the “show advanced options” button on the SCORM settings page – this option will also only appear if you have either the downloaded/external package types enabled and selected.

The Downloaded package type doesn’t have the same issues around cross-domain communication as the external package type as the SCORM package is downloaded and stored inside the Moodle file system. The main disadvantage of this type is that your SCORM package must be on a url accessible by your Moodle server which usually means that it will be available publicly for anyone to download (unless you configure some form of firewall on your external SCORM content server to prevent this sort of access and only allow the Moodle server to download the file over http/https)

To enable the downloaded package type go to:
Admin > Plugins > Activity modules > SCORM package
tick the box for “Enable downloaded package type”

IMS package type
IMS package type is disabled by default on new installations. The IMS package type is only included for backwards compatibility with old content still in your site – Moodle 1.6 -1.9 had a badly implemented/not well supported/undocumented/buggy feature called the “imsrepository” – this allowed you to store your SCORM packages in unzipped form in a folder within your moodledata and select/link to these packages. This feature is not supported in Moodle 2 but if you have legacy data in your installation that has not been moved, enabling the IMS package type will allow this old content to play/function correctly until you migrate to one of the other package types. I’m not aware if this actually works – I’d be keen to hear from anyone still using imsrepository content to know if it works or not. At some point this option will be removed from Moodle core – maybe 2.5?

Direct AICC url
Direct AICC url type is disabled by default on new installations.

The Moodle SCORM module also supports AICC content – AICC can use a different way to communicate with an LMS without using JavaScript which allows the content to be stored externally without running into cross-domain communication issues. We call this method “external AICC HACP” – this content communicates directly with your Moodle server rather than via the learners browser session. To use this form of communication, you must enable the setting “Enable external AICC HACP” in admin > plugins > activity modules > SCORM

Usually when connecting to an external AICC HACP package you are provided with a small AICC zip package which contains a file with a link to the external AICC content – to make it easier for AICC authors we have included an option that allows you to paste a url to the external AICC content instead of having to create a zip package with the file to link to the content.

It’s best to leave the Direct Aicc url type disabled unless you have an AICC content provider that provides urls to their external AICC content instead of AICC package files. It is a good idea to enable external AICC HACP

Future Improvements.
Moodle 2.3 has an “alias” feature that means when an uploaded file is re-used elsewhere on Moodle, the teacher has the option to create a shortcut or alias.

If an alias is created, then when the original file is updated, it will change in all instances of the alias. More info: http://docs.moodle.org/23/en/Working_with_files#Creating_an_alias.2Fshortcut

Implementing this for SCORM is possible but will need to be managed carefully – more information on this is available in MDL-28579

*UPDATE 24 Sept 2013* – Moodle 2.6 now implements some more options – see here for more details:
http://danmarsden.com/blog/2013/09/24/managing-scorm-content-in-moodle-2-6/

I see a lot of posts with very limited information about issues with SCORM in Moodle – Here is a common question:

My SCORM package works fine 90% of the time but 10% of my users report that it doesn’t save their score or flag as complete – help?

This question is not very specific so it’s hard to give advice but here is a list of things to check.

1. What version of SCORM are your packages authored in?
   Moodle only supports SCORM 1.2 and AICC packages – SCORM 2004 is not supported in any version of Moodle, more information here.
2. What Moodle version are you running?
   SCORM in Moodle didn’t work very well until Moodle 1.9.12, If you’re using an earlier version of Moodle – don’t bother asking questions about why it doesn’t work – UPGRADE!
   SCORM in Moodle 2.0 is more stable/reliable than Moodle 1.9, and Moodle 2.3 is even better than 2.0 – if you are able to upgrade to the latest Moodle version it may help a lot.
3. SCORM requires JavaScript
   Are your users trying to access with a browser that doesn’t support JavaScript? Moodle 2.0 has a setting called “Force users to enable JavaScript” – go to Admin > Plugins > Activities > SCORM and make sure this is set.
   Moodle policy states that everything must function with JavaScript disabled however I have been tempted to remove this setting and force SCORM to always require JS – drop me an e-mail if you disagree with this and give me reasons why you think it wouldn’t be a good idea.
4. Browser specific bugs
   1. Internet Explorer 9
      There is a bug with Adobe Flash that prevents communication from occurring correctly. The fix is to run IE 9 in compatibility mode but you can fix this in Moodle by adding this line to your Moodle theme directly after the <head> tag in your theme (it must be the first item after the <head> tag or it will not work.
      <meta http-equiv=”X-UA-Compatible” content=”IE=8″ />
      More info here (although it states that bug as fixed the fix does not work as it doesn’t add it directly after the <head> tag)
   2. Internet Explorer and Moodle 1.9
      When using the “new window” option in Moodle 1.9 IE  may freeze during the load of the SCORM – the fix is to either use the “current window” option instead or upgrade to Moodle 2 (this fix requires a significant rewrite of the Moodle player so an easy to apply patch to fix this in 1.9 is not available) More info here.
   3. Chrome
      When using the pop-up window option, chrome may open a window with a size of 0x0 so the content is not displayed – the fix is to upgrade to the latest stable release as this is fixed in most stable branches. More info here.
   4. Moodle 1.9 has a range of other browser specific issues – especially when using the “new window” option – Moodle 1.9 is no longer supported for bug fixes so you should really upgrade asap.
5. Debugging
   Moodle has a nice debugging tool that logs each call from your SCORM package to Moodle – this can be configured to be enabled for all users or for a specific user – If you are unable to reproduce the issue yourself, you can enable the debugger for the specific user and ask them to email you the results.
   To enable debugging see here: Moodle 1.9 Moodle 2
6. Multiple Attempts
   The way attempts in SCORM works can be confusing – when a learner enters a SCORM package and gets a score, then re-enters the package their score can be changed or updated, losing their previous score. I’ve recently written an FAQ item on this in the Moodle docs site here.
7. Grading
   SCORM packages can be graded in multiple ways – some SCORM packages return a raw_score, others only return a lesson_status. Moodle has a range of grading methods to suit these different packages – for help on this see here

If none of that helps with your issue, make sure you read the FAQ on asking for help in the Moodle SCORM forums – this explains a list of the things we need you to include in your post to allow us to help. Usually our biggest difficulty is trying to reproduce the issue you are having.

The majority of the time I spend on SCORM in Moodle is as a volunteer – so please be kind!

I’m thankful to all those who have helped with SCORM from the  original developer of SCORM in Moodle – Roberto Pinna and the GSOC program which has allowed us to progress on SCORM 2004 compliance, I’m especially thankful to those people who have provided funding for my time to work on specific bugs in SCORM that have been causing them grief.

There are still many other issues with SCORM in Moodle (let alone the work on SCORM 2004) but my volunteer time is limited so if there’s something in Moodle that doesn’t work the way you’d like, any funding you have available for my time to fix the issues would be really appreciated. I work for the certified Moodle Partner Catalyst IT, we have offices in the UK/AU/NZ and provide a range of services around free and open source software.