Forum Discussion
Is it necessary for the learner to visit the combined results slide?
Hi everyone,
I built a game in Articulate Storyline that has four levels. After each level, there is a results slide. Then, at the end of the game, there is a combined results slide, so that it reports the total player score to the LMS. Like this:
Level 1 = Results Slide
Level 2 = Results Slide
Level 3 = Results Slide
Level 4 = Results Slide
Combined Results Slide (includes Levels 1-4)
However, the client would like it to be possible for players to play just one or two levels, and receive a score. However, it seems that the LMS is only recording a score if the player visits the final combined results slide.
If that's the case...am I just stuck? Is there a way to record the score if the player stops after level 1? Or could I make them revisit the combined results slide after every level? (my fear with that is that SL will only record the first "visit" and so only level 1 will get recorded).
I would add that the client's LMS is extremely limited. It only supports SCORM 1.2 and does not support Javascript (otherwise I would just send the scores using Javascript).
Many thanks for any help,
Allyson
If all 4 quiz-level results slides are added to the tracking, Storyline will submit the data from the first results slide that the user reaches (not the last).
That would ensure that results would be submitted for one level. But it would only be for the first level completed. At that point, the LMS would mark the course as finished.
14 Replies
If the LMS didn't allow JavaScript in the courses to run, Storyline courses would absolutely not work. Therefore, JavaScript does work.
If you mean "The LMS admin team says it's aginst policy," then that's something else.
AllysonBriner-f​: How does someone decide how many levels to complete? Is there some kind of menu?
Based on the description, I'd suggest having the user decide between buttons to "Continue playing" or "Finish the game."
I'd also recommend that clicking the "Finish" button would show an explanation that they won't be able to play again if they confirm that they want to finish. In other words, give them the choice to click "Cancel so I can play another level" or "Yes, I'm done playing and want to see my final score."
If they confirm they're done playing, go to the Results of Results. And set that up so they can't access the game again.
Hi Judy,
Indeed there is a menu where they can choose which level to play. Completing one level unlocks the next one, but they can see all the levels on the menu slide.
The game is already designed exactly as you suggested. However, all of the testers so far (except one) have simply closed their browser window at the end, instead of using the designated "exit and submit score" button... 😠Which would have taken them to the necessary combined results slide.
I also put a big disclaimer at the beginning of the game explaining that they must use the "exit and submit score" button (to no avail!).
carl what I mean is that the LMS doesn't support custom Javascript.Sigh... If only there were a way to ensure users would actually follow simple directions.
It sounds like you've got the course set up correctly. So I think it comes down to what the client is willing to accept and what they're willing to do to get it.
If they insist they want a score from at least 1 level, then it's up to them to set the consequences for any user who exits the course without submitting their score.
If it's a required course, and the user doesn't submit their score to the LMS, then the course remains on their to-do list. The LMS should send them reminders that the course is uncompleted. Ideally, that notification would say that the user has to submit their score from within the course to complete it. And/or the manager might need to have a standard message for anyone who says (read: complains) that they completed it when they didn't according to the LMS. For example, "To complete the course, you must click the button on the course menu that submits your score."
Other than that, the only thing you could do is make the "submit score" button harder to ignore. For example, perhaps put that choice on each quiz-results slide, as well as on the menu slide.
My mind is like Judy's. If learners want to continue to the next level, don't have them visit the Combined Results slide. That way no matter the level they click Finish after, it'll be their first and only time visiting the results slide.
Maybe the client is still learning their LMS, or perhaps they're oversimplifying some reason they don't want to share, or maybe they're just repeating someone else who said their LMS doesn't run JavaScript, but like Carl said, SCORM 1.2 wouldn't work either then. Every LMS browser page has a JavaScript API that allows our Storyline content to tell the LMS when the learner is done and what happened.
Before developing the game, I created a test file, just to check the LMS behavior regarding the scoring. When I made a version with only a Javascript trigger (a custom one that would submit a number variable) - it worked in SCORMCloud, but not in their LMS. The only thing that worked in their LMS was the built-in quiz/result slide reporting from Storyline. So I concluded the JS option wasn't going to work 🤷
Adding a technical angle to Judy's excellent advice: the reason nothing gets recorded when a player quits early is that only the combined slide reports to the LMS. Each results slide has its own "Report results to LMS" option in its quiz settings, so you can switch on reporting for all four level slides too.
That won't merge the scores — SCORM 1.2 holds a single score per course, so the last report wins — but it means a player who finishes Level 1 and exits properly leaves a score in the LMS instead of nothing. That sounds closer to what the client is actually asking for.
The catch is the one Judy flagged: testers who just close the browser still lose everything. So I'd pair per-slide reporting with her confirmation-gate idea — make submitting deliberate instead of hoping players read the exit disclaimer.
If all 4 quiz-level results slides are added to the tracking, Storyline will submit the data from the first results slide that the user reaches (not the last).
That would ensure that results would be submitted for one level. But it would only be for the first level completed. At that point, the LMS would mark the course as finished.
@Ronald, that brings up an interesting question. Currently my tracking looks like this:
Should all of the results slides be activated, not just the combined? If I activate them all, will the combined one still work properly?
According to ChatGPT:
First-reached rule: If you enable tracking for multiple result slides when publishing, Storyline reports the first results slide the learner encounters and ignores the rest.
This would be a problem if it only records level 1!Yes, Storyline submits the data from the 1st tracking option that the user completes.
I explained that in a reply to Ronald's suggestion about tracking all of the results slides. That includes a screenshot of the tracking window with a highlight around the note that provides that information. I assume you didn't see that, because these pages don't always show replies to replies. So I'm glad you added the info at the main level for those who might find this discussion in the future. 😊
Thanks for pointing that out - I think because I was reading the messages in my email I totally missed your latest message! It all makes sense now, though. Thanks everyone for the helpful insights!
Good catch on the first-reached rule, Allyson — and Judy has the mechanics right here: Storyline submits from the first tracked results slide the learner completes, so my earlier "last report wins" was off. But don't read the first-reached rule as bad news for your client: it means a player who finishes Level 1 and exits properly gets Level 1's score recorded instead of nothing, which is exactly what the client asked for. Pair that with Judy's confirmation-gate idea so exits are deliberate, and you've got a workable answer for the only-plays-one-level case.
"It only records level 1" isn't actually a problem for your client — it's exactly what they asked for: a player who finishes Level 1 and exits gets Level 1's score recorded instead of nothing. And yes to your tracking question: activate all the results slides for tracking, not just the combined one. The first-reached rule means whichever tracked results slide the learner completes first is the one that gets submitted, and the combined slide still works fine as a display. One caveat: it only reports a single score, so design the LMS side around that.
