Forum Discussion
Users are stuck in the last few sections of the course
The e-learning course I designed through Storyline - many users are getting stuck with the training towards the end, where nothing on the screen is functioning for them. Everything just suddenly freezes for them and it only happens to some users. 20k users have already completed the training without facing this issue, however 3 users were stuck towards the end because none of the buttons were working and everything was getting stuck. I am not sure why and someone told me that a particular user's LMS memory might have been full so the system is not able to record any of the clicks anymore. Is this true? Can someone help me understand what might be the root cause of it and why some users are able to finish while 1/2 are getting stuck?
6 Replies
Most every app or program or website that runs into a problem freezes, so unfortunately I don't know your posts describes the underlying issue.
With user problems in eLearning, the content itself is usually the issue, such as an incorrect trigger or a badly designed slide. There are a million ways for a designer or developer to break a perfectly functioning project.
I don't expect you're able to share any files people can look at or diagnose? The browser console sometimes provides descriptions of problems, but the average user won't know to look there or how to interpret it. Without much more though, this does kind of seem like me audio-calling my friend to ask if he likes my tie: he can try to offer an opinion, but the devil's in the details.
Edit: I'd also love to know how this click-based LMS memory supposedly works. It makes zero sense to me, though I'm still a novice with them. Does someone at your org think our Storyline content sends some sort of "click" to an LMS? What would that even accomplish?
Hello, there is no incorrect trigger or any issue with the design because many people already completed the course without any issues. 3 users are randomly getting stuck in a particular section of the course where the whole screen is freezing. Nothing is opening up. Even clicking the player settings like pause/play/menu/cc/next button etc everything is just frozen. The WHOLE screen is frozen. We have already looked into the triggers and all the other issues, everything is clear and many users have already passed through it.
With .xapi files, all interactions, clicks a user makes is all recorded in the backend and we are able to see the user data. Everything does get reported entirely in the backend of our LMS. They suggest that the LMS memory of the user might be full that the system is not able to record any more of the user logs so it is stuck.
Ah, I'm distinguishing between SCORM in an LMS and xAPI in an LRS, though I understand for people above a certain perspective, "content" just sends information to a server somewhere.
The distinction is very important though, so for troubleshooting purposes I'd recommend really differentiating between the two. Especially because everything I've ever seen (glad to read what you find otherwise) says that it makes little sense to record every single click just because. If someone implemented an xAPI statement to fire every time a learner clicks, I would imagine the LRS would fill up really quickly with a bunch of meaningless click statements.
Additionally, since you seem to have identified the issue as your LMS/LRS, is that something Articulate manages for you? If your LRS is through another company, I expect the people in that company would be the best equipped to help refine LRS reporting.
Looking at your last post, I think you are on the right path. When we get complaints like this from learners, the first thing we ask them to do is sign in from another computer and see if it works from there. With all the stuff we jam into our computers, sometimes memory gets full.
3/20,000 is an incredibly low error rate. What is different on these 3 user's computers from your standard? You do have a standard target audience you're designing for, right? If you don't, then that's something to work on -- it's almost impossible to guarantee consistent results without defining the target. Anyways, check the browser, the environment (how many apps are running, etc), the OS, and the network.
