Where does SCORM come in?
SCORM stands for Sharable Content Object Reference Model (it used to stand for Sharable Courseware Object Reference Model, which is probably more descriptive, if less accurate). It is a standard that defines the format of learning modules/objects and how they interact with an LMS. An analogy could be made to the formats of word processing documents. Word needs Word documents, WordPerfect needs WordPerfect documents, and so forth. Things would be easier if all word processors used the same format. SCORM is intended to be that format for learning modules. Any SCORM-compliant LMS should be able to use any SCORM-compliant learning module right out of the box. That hasn’t been the case in the past. There is tons of already-existing courseware out there that has become more or less unusable as the software that created it goes out of date. Ten years ago, Hypercard was a cool way to develop computerized instruction. These days, all of that content is pretty much unusable, because no one has a
