Forum Discussion

AngelaOhrberg's avatar
AngelaOhrberg
Community Member
3 years ago

Curious about best practices for course archives

I'm curious how others are managing - and what Articulate recommends - as the best replacement for the "publish CD" option.  My company used "publish CD" to create legal archives for our 500+ WBTs.  I don't know why that was the method of choice.  We have to maintain 7 years of history on all WBTs, and have to be able to associate all versions to LMS transcript dates so that we can deliver exactly the version someone took on any given date.  I need to revise our process away from the CD option and would love to hear thoughts/what others are doing. 

We use Review for SME feedback, stakeholder acceptance, pilots, and  delivering content outside of the LMS.  I'm partial to Review, and think it would work well to have a dedicated "legal archive" folder to which we can publish a new version of the WBT each time a change is made.  The date of the publish could be added to the filename each time so that we can associate a specific version of the WBT to the learner's transcript from the LMS.  (I'm learning toward this process, but want to evaluate all pros/cons)

But other than web-based content, what do I functionally gain or lose that route compared to:

* Review, publish locally for manual upload, then saving the ZIP file to the same place we currently save the "publish CD" zips.  This would mimic current process, so there's little change to implement.

* Web, which also seems to mimic the process we have now.   

Is one of these a better option - why?  Is one more sustainable than the others; less likely to go away down the road?  Our legal team is good, but not technical, so unzipping and launching is the upper end of complexity I want them to be responsible for.  I'd really appreciate any thoughts/input.

storyline 360
  • JudyNollet's avatar
    JudyNollet
    Super Hero
    3 years ago

    One of my clients also needs that sort of backup. This is how it works:

    • They have a SharePoint site for storing course files. Obviously, any good storage site will work. 
    • There is a folder for each course. 
      • There is a sub-folder for each version of the course. It includes the following: 
        • Sub-sub-folder with LMS items, such as the SCORM package, i.e., the published course (which is dated). It also contains their forms for LMS-admin info and testing.
        • Sub-sub-folder with the source files for the course, such as the Storyline file and any special graphics. (Rise is web-based, so that can't be stored in the same way. If using Rise, I'd put a note in this folder that explains who has control of the Rise course.)
        • "Final Content" file that shows all the content in the course.
          • This is so auditors can review what's in the course without having to step through the course.
          • The file could be created by publishing a course to Word. We usually created a custom Word file with screenshots from the course. Many of those can be copied from a published Word file, but, for some interactive slides, it's best to play the interaction and capture each screen. We also add any Glossary terms and included any pertinent notes about functionality. 
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