✍️ Self-Contained SCORM is a beta feature. Access is limited to approved customers, and features may change. To request access, contact your Customer Success Manager.
Self-Contained SCORM turns your interactive Synthesia video into a single SCORM package that runs inside your LMS. Hub menus, branching, hotspots, click-to-continue gates, quizzes, and external links stay clickable for your learners. Your LMS still receives completion, score, pass/fail, and question-level results.
The package works offline. Nothing in the package connects to Synthesia during playback, so you can use the package in restricted or air-gapped LMS environments.
How Self-Contained SCORM works
Self-Contained SCORM builds one ZIP file for your LMS. The ZIP file contains:
A single MP4 file of your video
A player that runs the interactive elements
Your captions
The interactive buttons your learners see are already part of your video's image. The player places invisible, selectable hotspots over those buttons at the moments the buttons appear. Selecting a hotspot moves the learner to the right scene in the video.
Self-Contained SCORM reads your video's own data, such as scene timings, animation markers, scripts, and captions. The tool sets up the interactivity for you, so you don't need to configure each video by hand. If some video data is missing, the player waits for the learner instead of guessing what to do next.
Self-Contained SCORM vs. standard SCORM export
Self-Contained SCORM and the standard SCORM export both create a package for your LMS, but the two packages work in different ways.
Standard SCORM Export | Self Contained SCORM | |
Resume where the learner left off | Restarts from the beginning when the learner leaves and comes back. | Resumes at the learner's last position with a "Welcome back" prompt. |
Offline playback | Loads the Synthesia-hosted player. The package is under 100KB because it embeds the hosted video instead of including an MP4 file. | A single ZIP file with no connection to Synthesia during playback. |
Completion rules | Completion percentage for standard videos. Fixed at 100% for interactive videos, which complete at the designated end scene or results scene | Automatic, watch a percentage, reach the end, or pass the quiz. |
Attestation, scrub blocking, and exam mode | Not Available | Available |
SCORM versions | SCORM 1.2 and SCORM 2004 | SCORM 1.2 and SCORM 2004 (4th Edition) |
When to use Self-Contained SCORM
Self-Contained SCORM works well when your training needs interactivity and LMS delivery at the same time. Common uses include:
Learning and development or compliance training delivered through your corporate LMS, with branching scenarios and click-to-continue gates.
Assessed learning, where quizzes are graded inside the package and the score and pass/fail result go to your LMS.
Branching role-plays and decision paths that need to run without a live Synthesia connection.
Air-gapped or restricted LMS environments where your LMS can't connect to Synthesia during playback.
Things to know before you use Self-Contained SCORM
Self-Contained SCORM has a few behaviors to plan for:
New videos need processing time. Right after you generate a video, Synthesia's video data can take a few minutes to catch up, and the tool may show "no branching detected." Wait for processing to complete, and then import the video again.
Some elements may appear slightly early or late. If an interactive element has no animation marker or script mark, the tool estimates when the element appears. The video pauses at the scene's natural hold point.
Quiz answers are stored inside the package. Grading happens offline inside the package, so the correct answers ship with the package. Keep this in mind for high-stakes assessments.
Quizzes support single-choice and multiple-choice questions.
Continuous playback works with linear videos. The single, scrubbable timeline option isn't available for branching videos.
💬 FAQs
Can a learner stop a video, leave the LMS, and resume later?
Can a learner stop a video, leave the LMS, and resume later?
Yes. A Self-Contained SCORM package saves the learner's position in the LMS bookmark field, which is cmi.core.lesson_location in SCORM 1.2 and cmi.location in SCORM 2004. When the learner returns, a "Welcome back — Resume or Start over?" prompt takes the learner back to the scene and point they reached. Resume works after the learner leaves the LMS, not only after a page refresh, and resume is on by default. The standard SCORM export and regular embeds don't support resume, so the video restarts from the beginning when a learner leaves and comes back.
Do menus, branching, quizzes, and hotspots work inside the LMS?
Do menus, branching, quizzes, and hotspots work inside the LMS?
Yes. In a Self-Contained SCORM package, hub menus, branching, click-to-continue gates, hotspots, external links, and quizzes stay intact and selectable inside your LMS.
Are Self-Contained SCORM quizzes graded and reported to the LMS?
Are Self-Contained SCORM quizzes graded and reported to the LMS?
Yes. Single-choice and multiple-choice quizzes are graded offline inside the package. The package sends the score, the pass/fail result, and each question result to your LMS as cmi.interactions.*. Retry loops and branching based on the learner's answer are supported.
How does Self-Contained SCORM decide when a course is complete?
How does Self-Contained SCORM decide when a course is complete?
You choose a completion rule for each export:
Automatically (recommended)
Watch a percentage (you set the percentage)
Reach the end (best for branching videos)
Pass the quiz
With Pass the quiz, a failed attempt stays incomplete so the learner can try again. The pass mark comes from the quiz's passing score in Synthesia, and the default pass mark is 75%.
Does Self-Contained SCORM work offline or in an air-gapped LMS?
Does Self-Contained SCORM work offline or in an air-gapped LMS?
Yes. Each Self-Contained SCORM export is a single ZIP file that contains one MP4 file, the player, and the captions. Nothing in the package connects to Synthesia during playback, so the package runs offline and in air-gapped or restricted environments.
Can Self-Contained SCORM collect an attestation before completion?
Can Self-Contained SCORM collect an attestation before completion?
Yes. When you turn on Require an attestation, learners must check a confirmation box before the course completes. The learner's name and the date are recorded in your LMS, and the course can't complete without the attestation.
Which SCORM versions and languages does Self-Contained SCORM support?
Which SCORM versions and languages does Self-Contained SCORM support?
Self-Contained SCORM supports SCORM 1.2 and SCORM 2004 (4th Edition). For more than one language, you can create a separate package for each language or use an in-player language switcher with selectable captions. The player interface is available in English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish.
📚 To learn more about the standard export, check out How do I export my video as a SCORM package.
📚 To build interactive elements, check out How do I add interactivity to a Synthesia video.