Solutions
Solutions for
K-12
K-12
Learn MoreEducator & Staff Training
Educator & Staff Training
Improve compliance and deliver critical professional development with online courses and management system
Learn moreStudent Safety & Wellness Program NEW
Student Safety & Wellness Program
Keep students safe and healthy with safety, well-being, and social and emotional learning courses and lessons
Learn moreProfessional Growth Management
Professional Growth Management
Integrated software to manage and track evaluations and professional development and deliver online training
Learn moreAnonymous Reporting & Safety Communications
Anonymous Reporting & Safety Communications
Empower your school community to ask for help to improve school safety and prevent crises before they occur
Learn moreIncident & EHS Management
Incident & EHS Management
Streamline safety incident reporting and management to improve safety, reduce risk, and increase compliance
Learn moreHigher Education
Higher Education
Learn MoreStudent Training
Student Training
Increase safety, well-being, and belonging with proven-effective training on critical prevention topics
Learn moreFaculty & Staff Training
Faculty & Staff Training
Create a safe, healthy, and welcoming campus environment and improve compliance with online training courses
Learn moreCampus Climate Surveys
Campus Climate Surveys
Simplify VAWA compliance with easy, scalable survey deployment, tracking, and reporting
Learn moreAnonymous Reporting & Safety Communications
Anonymous Reporting & Safety Communications
Empower your faculty, staff, and students to take an active role in protecting themselves and others
Learn moreIncident & EHS Management
Incident & EHS Management
Streamline safety incident reporting and management to improve safety, reduce risk, and increase compliance
Learn moreManufacturing
Manufacturing
Learn MoreSafety Training NEW
Safety Training
Elevate performance and productivity while reducing risk across your entire organization with online training.
Learn moreIndustrial Skills Training NEW
Industrial Skills Training
Close skills gap, maximize production, and drive consistency with online training
Learn morePaper Manufactuing Training
Paper Manufactuing Training
Enhance worker expertise and problem-solving skills while ensuring optimal production efficiency.
Learn moreHR & Compliance
Provide role-specific knowledge, develop skills, and improve employee retention with career development training.
Learning Management System (LMS)
Learning Management System (LMS)
Assign, track, and report role-based skills and compliance training for the entire workforce
Learn moreEHS Management
EHS Management
Track, Analyze, Report Health and Safety Activities and Data for the Industrial Workforce
Learn moreSafety Communication
Safety Communication
Enhance the safety for the industrial workforce with two-way risk communications, tools, and resources
Learn moreFire Departments
Fire Departments
Learn MoreTraining Management
Training Management
A training management system tailored for the fire service--track all training, EMS recerts, skill evaluations, ISO, and more in one place
Learn moreCrew Shift Scheduling
Crew Shift Scheduling
Simplify 24/7 staffing and give firefighters the convenience of accepting callbacks and shifts from a mobile device
Learn moreChecks & Inventory Management
Checks & Inventory Management
Streamline truck checks, PPE inspections, controlled substance tracking, and equipment maintenance with a convenient mobile app
Learn moreExposure and Critical Incident Monitoring NEW
Exposure and Critical Incident Monitoring
Document exposures and critical incidents and protect your personnels’ mental and physical wellness
Learn moreEMS
EMS
Learn MoreTraining Management and Recertification
Training Management and Recertification
A training management system tailored for EMS services—EMS online courses for recerts, mobile-enabled skill evaluations, and more
Learn moreEMS Shift Scheduling
EMS Shift Scheduling
Simplify 24/7 staffing and give medics the convenience of managing their schedules from a mobile device
Learn moreInventory Management
Inventory Management
Streamline vehicle checks, controlled substance tracking, and equipment maintenance with a convenient mobile app
Learn moreWellness Monitoring & Exposure Tracking NEW
Wellness Monitoring & Exposure Tracking
Document exposures and critical incidents and protect your personnels’ mental and physical wellness
Learn moreLaw Enforcement
Law Enforcement
Learn MoreTraining and FTO Management
Training and FTO Management
Increase performance, reduce risk, and ensure compliance with a training management system tailored for your FTO/PTO and in-service training
Learn moreEarly Intervention & Performance Management
Early Intervention & Performance Management
Equip leaders with a tool for performance management and early intervention that helps build positive agency culture
Learn moreOfficer Shift Scheduling
Officer Shift Scheduling
Simplify 24/7 staffing and give officers the convenience of managing their schedules from a mobile device
Learn moreAsset Mangagement & Inspections
Asset Mangagement & Inspections
Streamline equipment checks and vehicle maintenance to ensure everything is working correctly and serviced regularly
Learn moreEnergy
Learn MoreSafety Training
Safety Training
Elevate performance and productivity while reducing risk across your entire organization with online training.
Learn moreEnergy Skills Training
Energy Skills Training
Empower your team with skills and safety training to ensure compliance and continuous advancement.
Learn moreHR & Compliance
Provide role-specific knowledge, develop skills, and improve employee retention with career development training.
Learning Management System (LMS)
Learning Management System (LMS)
Assign, track, and report role-based skills and compliance training for the entire workforce
Learn moreEHS Management
EHS Management
Track, analyze, report health and safety activities and data for the industrial workforce
Learn moreLone Worker Safety
Lone Worker Safety
Enhance lone worker safety with two way risk communications, tools, and resources
Learn moreGovernment
Learn MoreFederal Training Management
Federal Training Management
Lower training costs and increase readiness with a unified system designed for high-risk, complex training and compliance operations.
Learn moreMilitary Training Management
Military Training Management
Increase mission-readiness and operational efficiency with a unified system that optimizes military training and certification operations.
Learn moreLocal Government Training Management
Local Government Training Management
Technology to train, prepare, and retain your people
Learn moreFire Marshall Training & Compliance
Fire Marshall Training & Compliance
Improve fire service certification and renewal operations to ensure compliance and a get a comprehensive single source of truth.
Learn moreFire Academy Automation
Fire Academy Automation
Elevate fire academy training with automation software, enhancing efficiency and compliance.
Learn morePOST Training & Compliance
POST Training & Compliance
Streamline your training and standards operations to ensure compliance and put an end to siloed data.
Learn moreLaw Enforcement Academy Automation
Law Enforcement Academy Automation
Modernize law enforcement training with automation software that optimizing processes and centralizes academy information in one system.
Learn moreEHS Management
EHS Management
Simplify incident reporting to OSHA and reduce risk with detailed investigation management.
Learn moreArchitecture, Engineering & Construction
Architecture, Engineering & Construction
Learn MoreLearning Management System (LMS)
Learning Management System (LMS)
Ensure licensed professionals receive compliance and CE training via online courses and learning management.
Learn moreOnline Continuing Education
Online Continuing Education
Keep AEC staff licensed in all 50 states for 100+ certifications with online training
Learn moreTraining
Training
Drive organizational success with training that grows skills and aligns with the latest codes and standards
Learn moreEHS Management
EHS Management
Track, Analyze, Report Health and Safety Activities and Data for AEC Worksites
Learn moreHR & Compliance
HR & Compliance
Provide role-specific knowledge, develop skills, and improve employee retention with career development training.
Safety Communication
Safety Communication
Enhance AEC workforce safety with two-way risk communications, tools, and resources
Learn moreCasino
Casino
Learn MoreAnti-Money Laundering Training
Anti-Money Laundering Training
Reduce risk in casino operations with Title 31 and Anti-Money Laundering training compliance
Learn moreEmployee Training
Employee Training
Deliver our leading AML and casino-specific online courses to stay compliant with national and state standards
Learn moreLearning Management System (LMS)
Learning Management System (LMS)
Streamline training operations, increase employee effectiveness, and reduce liability with our LMS for casinos
Learn moreEHS Management
EHS Management
Simplify incident reporting to OSHA and reduce risk with detailed investigation management
Learn moreEmployee Scheduling
Employee Scheduling
Equip your employees with a mobile app to manage their schedules and simplify your 24/7 staff scheduling
Learn moreIndustries
Industry
Resources
Resource Center
Expert insights to boost training
Resource type
Course Catalogs
Company
Course Center
In this installment of our ongoing LMS Basics series, we’re going to address a common question we get from customers: can you take elearning courses from one training provider (training provider ABC, let’s say) and import them into a learning management system (LMS) created by a different training provider (training provider XYZ, let’s say).
The short answer is yes, you can. There are a few additional wrinkles, though, that are worth knowing about. Read on to learn more about those.
Convergence Training are workforce training and performance improvement experts.
Click the links below to learn more about how we can help you.
It’s probably worth taking a step back and reviewing how elearning courses are imported into an LMS and how elearning courses and and an LMS work together so the learner can launch, view, and complete a course before we get too wrapped up in who made the actual elearning course and who made the LMS.
The first thing you want to know is that elearning courses aren’t single files. Instead, they’re a collection of files zipped up in a packet or package. In common terms, they come in the form of a zipped folder.
And there’s an additional complexity on top of that. The zipped folders match different standards for elearning courses. The three most common types are AICC, SCORM, and xAPI. So you might have an eLearning course that was created to match the AICC standard, or the SCORM standard, or the xAPI standard.
AICC is an older standard and its developer is no longer supporting it. So you don’t see it around a lot these days and you can assume you’ll see it less and less in the future. Don’t hold out hope that these will come back in the way that vinyl LPs have. 🙂
SCORM is currently the most popular elearning standard. A large majority of the elearning courses created and out on the market are in the SCORM format. This is the elearning course format that you’re most likely to run into. You can learn more about this in our What Is SCORM? article.
And xAPI is a newer standard. It’s sometimes billed as “next generation SCORM,” but it’s nowhere near as common as SCORM is. That’s not to say that that there aren’t elearning developers creating xAPI courses, because there are. And that is not to say that there aren’t some companies using xAPI courses, because they are. And it doesn’t mean that xAPI might not become even more common in the future. But for now, xAPI is definitely the tail on the elearning standards dog.
Now that you understand elearning course standards (AICC, SCORM, and xAPI), let’s turn our attention to the learning management system (LMS).
The basic idea is that learning management systems are capable of “playing” elearning courses in one, two, or all three of these standards.
These days, almost every LMS out there is compatible with SCORM and so can “play” a SCORM elearning course.
It’s probably not so common for learning management systems to be compatible with AICC anymore. And again, we’re guessing this will become less common over time. Although there still are companies out there with useful elearning courses in the AICC format and you definitely can find LMSs that will support AICC for you (yes, if you’re wondering, the Convergence LMS supports AICC elearning courses).
Likewise, the number of LMSs that support xAPI is smaller than the number of LMSs that support SCORM. But there are LMSs out there that support xAPI (and/or that are equipped with something called a learning record store, or LRS, to help them manage xAPI courses), and we can assume this number will rise as well.
So your takeaway is that if you have an elearning course in one standard (AICC, SCORM, or xAPI) and your LMS is compatible with that same standard, then you should be able to import the elearning course into the LMS and everything should work just fine.
For more on learning management systems, check out our What Is an LMS? article.
All learning management systems are different. So the process of importing an elearning course will vary from LMS to LMS.
But the basic idea is the same, and it’s not that different than the process of uploading a file into different software programs that you’re probably already familiar with.
In most cases, it’s probably as simple as clicking an IMPORT button, selecting “elearning” or something similar (because you can also probably import things like .PDFs, video files, PowerPoint presentations, and so on), selecting the appropriate elearning standard (AICC, SCORM, or xAPI) and then clicking DO IT or something similar.
Easy peasy, right?
So what about elearning courses that you made yourself, in an elearning authoring tool such as Adobe Captivate or the similar products by Lectora, Articulate, and other companies?
The same rule applies. If you create the elearning course and publish it in a specific elearning standard (AICC, SCORM, or xAPI), and if your LMS supports that format, you’re going to be good to go.
The process of importing an elearning course into your LMS as we described above will work if you have physical (or electronic) possession of the elearning course (meaning the zipped folder in a format like SCORM).
But in some cases, you won’t have the actual zipped folder for the course. Instead, the elearning provider will give you access to the course without ever giving you a copy of the file (this is done largely for intellectual property purposes).
If the company that is providing you with the elearning course is the same as the company providing you with the LMS, there’s a good chance you’ll open the LMS and the courses you’ve licensed will be right there for you. You won’t actually have to import anything.
But if the elearning course provider isn’t the same as your LMS provider, there’s a chance you’ll use your LMS to access the elearning course through something called the SCORM Cloud. You can think of the SCORM Cloud as a “middle man” that allows this kind of access, and you’ll be happy to know that using the SCORM Cloud should cost you no additional work or money.
We won’t get into this in detail, just know it works. If you’re still curious, go check out this article on the SCORM Cloud.
So, long story short: yes, you can do this. Talk with your elearning provider and/or LMS provider for more details, but don’t let this concern hold you back.
Let us know if you’ve got any questions and, otherwise, stay tuned until our next LMS Basics article.
Learn what you need to know BEFORE you begin your search and get a free checklist to guide you, too.