Sparkium and SparkLink

Sparkium is a standardized schema for structuring eLearning materials, enabling materials to be managed consistently and migrated across LMS platforms through Sparklink.

Sparkium organizes eLearning materials in a structured file system using text-based, human-readable formats. SparkLink connects Sparkium content with LMS platforms, making it easier to access, transfer, and reuse your eLearning materials across systems, while reducing vendor lock-in and enabling better change management, quality assurance, and automation.

EXPLORER
  • Example Course
    • Module 1
      • Material 1
        • content.md
        • material.json
      • module.json
    • course.json
content.md
Example Course / Module 1 / Material 1
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Material 1

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Who is Sparkium for?

Sparkium is made for anyone working with eLearning materials:

For individuals

Do you want to update your course materials without going through the hassle of editing inside LMS?

Sparkium allows you to edit your eLearning materials locally, and deploy them to your LMS when ready, making it easier to keep your courses up-to-date.

Optician instructor teaching students sitting at a desk

For organizations

Do you miss the days when schools bought textbooks directly from you?

Sparkium helps you bring that model into the digital era. Create eLearning materials once and deliver them to different LMS platforms like Moodle, making your product easily be sold and launched on customers’ LMS.

Learning books being sold digitally and reused across different LMS platforms

Does this sound like you? Have a try and see how Sparkium can help you to create, manage and distribute your eLearning materials more efficiently!

Why use Sparkium?

Sparkium is designed to tackle your pain points of building eLearning materials.

Human-friendly text-based file formats

Use human-friendly text-based file formats to store your eLearning materials, making it easy to read, edit and maintain.

Human-friendly text-based file formats

You can use any text editor to work with your eLearning materials, and you can easily track changes and collaborate with others using version control tools like Git.
  • Use Markdown to write your course content
  • Use YAML or JSON to define your course structure and metadata
No need to learn complex XML or proprietary formats and waiting for Microsoft Word to load!

Support for multiple languages

Provide your eLearning materials in multiple languages and reach a wider audience.

Support for multiple languages

  • Supports as all languages and dialects
  • Assist translation and localization by being able to use machine translation tools
No need to fiddle around with complex localization features in your LMS or create separate courses for each language!

Modular, portable and reusable design

Design your eLearning materials in a modular and reusable way. Easily reuse and adapt existing courses for various cases.

Modular, portable and reusable design

  • Reuse parts of your materials across different courses
  • Share and collaborate on course modules with others
No need to copy and paste content across different courses or create separate courses for each use case!

Change management and quality assurance

Track, compare, and easily manage changes to your eLearning materials using version control tools like Git.

Change management and quality assurance

  • Track changes to your eLearning materials over time
  • Collaborate with others to review and improve your materials iteratively
No need to worry about losing track of changes or having broken links in your course materials!

Platform agnostic and interoperable

Sparkium gives you flexibility and control to your content.

Platform agnostic and interoperable

By separating your eLearning materials from the LMS, Sparkium allows you to export, modify and re-upload your eLearning materials to different LMS platforms that support Sparkium, giving you more flexibility and control over your content.

Vendor and platform lock-in prevention

No more lock-in to specific LMS or platforms.

Vendor and platform lock-in prevention

Having your eLearning materials stored in a structured file system and text-based formats allows you to avoid being locked into a specific LMS or platform, giving you more freedom and control over your content.

Assistance and automation possibilities

Free to use AI tools to assist your content creation.

Assistance and automation possibilities

Due the nature of Sparkium’s file formats, you can easily use AI tools to assist you in creating and maintaining your eLearning materials, and automate parts of your content workflow.

Sparkium, what else?

We are not the first one with this ideas, but we believe that Sparkium’s approach is superior and more practical than the existing solutions.

Comparison of schemas

SCORM and xAPI are the most widely used standards for eLearning materials, but they are complex. Their focus is on packaging and data tracking, which can be limiting and inefficient for content creation and management. Sparkium, on the other hand, focuses on content creation and management, making it more intuitive and user-friendly for educators and content creators.

Schema comparisonSCORMxAPISparkium
AdoptionWidely adoptedGrowing adoptionEmerging standard
Meta dataComplex XML formatComplex XML formatReadable YAML/JSON format
Content formatComplex HTML formatComplex JSON formatHuman-friendly Markdown format with front matter
StructureRigid and complexMore flexible but still complexIntuitive by using folders and files
FocusPackage-centricData-centricContent-centric

Comparison of eLearning material management approaches

Most eLearning materials are either managed as files in storage platforms such as Google Drive or Dropbox, or created directly inside LMS platforms. Both approaches can make content difficult to reuse, version, and maintain over time.

Sparkium and SparkLink provide an alternative workflow. Sparkium stores learning materials in a structured, human-readable format, while SparkLink publishes and synchronizes that content with LMS platforms. Together, they enable a more maintainable and portable approach to eLearning content management.

Approach comparisonStatic files (e.g. Google Drive, Dropbox)Directly inside a LMS (e.g. Moodle, Blackboard)Sparkium and SparkLink
Where materials livesInside proprietary files (e.g. .docx, .pdf)Inside LMS databaseInside a structured file system using open, text-based formats
Editing experienceEditing inside proprietary software (e.g. Microsoft Word)Editing inside LMS content editorEditing with any text editor and version control tools
Publishing workflowManual file sharingContent is immediately tied to the LMSContent is published to LMS platforms through SparkLink
Updating eLearning materialsManual editing and sharing new versions of filesManual editing inside LMS content editorEdit locally and synchronize updates through SparkLink
eLearning materials reuseLimited reuse due to proprietary formatsLimited reuse within the same LMSEasy reuse across different platforms and courses
PortabilityLow portability due to proprietary formatsLow portability within the same LMSHigh portability across different platforms
TransparencyLow transparency due to proprietary formatsLow transparency within the LMSHigh transparency due to open and readable formats
OwnershipLimited ownership due to proprietary formatsLimited ownership within the LMSFull ownership of content and structure
Vendor lock-inMediumHighLow