The document discusses the landscape of xAPI and how to work with xAPI solutions. It describes typical xAPI projects like data strategy, content strategy, and reporting. It explains that xAPI solutions are put together by technology partners and your own team, and can happen in three ways: using a natively built tool, modifying an existing data source, or building your own. The document provides questions to ask technology partners and your own team to vet different solution approaches. It also introduces the Data Interoperability Standards Consortium, a non-profit that will handle ongoing operations and maintenance of the xAPI specification.

1. xAPI: The Landscape
Torrance Learning Cohort
September 29, 2016
Megan Bowe & Aaron E. Silvers

2. What does someone who works
with xAPI do?

3. Typical xAPI Projects
• Data Strategy
• Content Strategy
• Learning Architecture
• Systems Integration
• Reporting
• Experience Design

4. How do I work with xAPI?

5. Mindsets
Systems Thinking Integration Facilitation
A Maker Mindset
Assume you have permission
to tinker
Make, maintain and grow
useful connections
Surface goals big & inviting
enough to motivate action
Be The Change
Interrogate perceived
boundary conditions
Identify new paradigms
supported by both sides of
double-binds
Inspire others, modeling how
to navigate through shifting
paradigms
“Yes. And..”
Augment rather than change
discrete systems
Seek connections and overlaps
that add value beyond the
immediate context
Help others avoid negation

6. Who puts xAPI solutions together?
Technology Partners
Vendors, consultants, tool providers, etc.
Your Team
Stakeholders, team members, customers.

7. How xAPI solutions happen…
• Use a tool that is built with xAPI, natively, from the ground-up
( “Native” )
• Leverage an existing data source that is modified, extended or
translated into xAPI ( “Modified” )
• Build Your Own ( “BYO” )

8. Native Modified BYO
Technology
Partners
xAPI from
ground-up
APIs or other
data sources
that can
translate to xAPI
Whatever
You Want
Your Team
Balancing
wants, needs
and
sustainability
Creating &
maintaining
middleware
Practices,
Resourcing &
Scaling

9. Native Modified BYO
Technology
Partners
xAPI from
ground-up
APIs or other
data sources
that can
translate to xAPI
Whatever
You Want
Your Team
Balancing
wants, needs
and
sustainability
Creating &
maintaining
middleware
Practices,
Resourcing &
Scaling

10. Questions for technology partners
If there’s support for xAPI from the ground-up…
• What activities are designed?

11. Common Needs
Social Custom mobile applications Play existing courses Create new courses
Track/report progress
Off-the-shelf applications
integration
Testing Competency management
See the learner’s journey See content usage Work activities Sensors
Simulations Recruitment Compliance activity Reporting

12. Questions for technology partners
If there’s support for xAPI from the ground-up…
• What activities are designed?
• How are activities tracked?

13. Recipes and Profiles
• Communities of Practice
• Controlled Vocabularies
• Domain Profiles

14. Questions for technology partners
If there’s support for xAPI from the ground-up…
• What activities are designed?
• How are activities tracked?
• What data points are in each statement?

15. “Observations”
Someone Did SomethingActor Verb Object
Context Result

16. Questions for technology partners
If there’s support for xAPI from the ground-up…
• What activities are designed?
• How are activities tracked?
• What data points are in each statement?
• How do I input or change endpoint credentials?

17. Prompt Hack Fixed
You’ll have a prompt to input one
or multiple LRS endpoint
credentials.
As an example, while there’s a
default configuration, there’s
JavaScript or other code as an
interface that can be amended
with knowledge of how the
technology works.
The technology is in a published
or executable-only state (a .exe
file, a .swf file — something
server side) that makes it difficult
if not impossible to change.

18. Questions for technology partners
If there’s support for xAPI from the ground-up…
• What activities are designed?
• How are activities tracked?
• What data points are in each statement?
• How do I input or change endpoint credentials?
• How does it rely on the LMS or other software applications?

19. Native Modified BYO
Technology
Partners
xAPI from
ground-up
APIs or other
data sources
that can
translate to xAPI
Whatever
You Want
Your Team
Balancing
wants, needs
and
sustainability
Creating &
maintaining
middleware
Practices,
Resourcing &
Scaling

20. Questions for your team
If considering a tool built with xAPI from the ground-up…
• Is what’s baked-in going to be enough?
• Does the right data align across tools?
• If not…
can we support our own unbiased reporting,
knowing the caveats?

21. Native Modified BYO
Technology
Partners
xAPI from
ground-up
APIs or other
data sources
that can
translate to
xAPI
Whatever
You Want
Your Team
Balancing wants,
needs and
sustainability
Creating &
maintaining
middleware
Practices,
Resourcing &
Scaling

22. Questions for technology partners
If there’s support for APIs or other data sources that can translate to
xAPI…
• What APIs does the technology offer?
• Of these…
Can we capture the right activities?
• What data will fill in the gaps in information we need?

23. Native Modified BYO
Technology
Partners
xAPI from
ground-up
APIs or other
data sources
that can
translate to xAPI
Whatever
You Want
Your Team
Balancing wants,
needs and
sustainability
Creating &
maintaining
middleware
Practices,
Resourcing &
Scaling

24. Questions for your team
If considering a tool built for APIs or other data sources that can translate to xAPI…
• Can we get enough from this/these APIs?
• How much value will we get from this system?
• What resources will we have…
• to do custom API development?
• to keep up our code with the different specs, ongoing?
• to build the translation layer?

25. Native Modified BYO
Technology
Partners
xAPI from
ground-up
APIs or other
data sources
that can
translate to xAPI
Whatever
You Want
Your Team
Balancing wants,
needs and
sustainability
Creating &
maintaining
middleware
Practices,
Resourcing &
Scaling

26. Questions for technology partners
If your technology partner will build whatever you want…
• What learning experience are you designing?
• What interactions are needed to support the learning experience
design?

27. Native Modified BYO
Technology
Partners
xAPI from
ground-up
APIs or other
data sources
that can
translate to xAPI
Whatever
You Want
Your Team
Balancing wants,
needs and
sustainability
Creating &
maintaining
middleware
Practices,
Resourcing &
Scaling

28. Questions for your team
If you can build whatever you want…
• What learning experience are you designing?
• What interactions are needed to support the learning experience design?
• What interactions are needed but don’t evidence or disprove the learning
experience?
• What recipes exist?
• What is the data model and information architecture it should conform with?
• What is our ability to support this at scale?

29. How do I vet technology
partners for xAPI projects?

30. When considering technology partners…
• Consider the know-how and investment of those who contribute to the
actual spec
(example: https://github.com/adlnet/xAPI-Spec/graphs/contributors)
• Consider those who can demonstrate xAPI interoperability
(example: http://tincanapi.com/2015/04/16/tale-three-lrss/)
• Consider those who stay current with the spec
(example: https://github.com/aaronesilvers/IEEE/blob/master/
2014_State_of_xAPI_Tools_Survey_Responses.csv)
• Consider those who won’t lock you into one size fits all
(example: http://connectionsforum.com/case-studies/)

31. This seems like a lot… right?

32. How do we address all that?

33. The Data Interoperability Standards Consortium
(Data Interoperability) is the international, nonprofit organization
that will handle the operations and maintenance of xAPI into
perpetuity.

34. Board of Directors
Megan
Bowe
Kirsty
Kitto
Eric
Nehrlich
Brenda
Sanderson
Aaron
Silvers
Robert
Todd
MakingBetter
Queensland
Univeristy
Google IxDA MakingBetter
Learning
Invention

35. Stewardship > Evolution > Standardization

36. DISC’s Focus Areas
Services Partnerships Certification Stewardship
• Schema to validate profiles
• Recognize and document
community-of-practice
activities, normalizing
profiles by domain (vs
global approaches)
• Federated registry and
associated APIs, freely
available for individuals;
fee-based for products
• Relationships with
stakeholder groups
wanting to leverage xAPI in
their own specs
• Supporting interests
beyond just US DoD
• Identifies software and
hardware that conforms to
requirements of the xAPI
specification
• Guarantees xAPI’s value
proposition
• Supports xAPI’s relevancy
to market needs
• Provides resources and
vehicles to support xAPI
adoption

37. RENEWCERTIFICATION
Concept: Certification
APPLICATIONIMPLEMENTINDUSTRY KNOWLEDGE
Vendor is
interested in
offering a
product or
service using
xAPI.
Vendor
makes
contact with
DISC with
request for
information.
Vendor
develops
xAPI
functionality
in their
product or
service.
Vendor
applies for
certification
testing of
their product
or service.
Vendor
successfully
earns a
digital badge
certifying
product
authentically.
Vendor
renews
certification
to keep
current with
any changes
to xAPI.

38. Workstreams
INFORMATION CERTIFICATION SPECIFICATION COMMUNICATION
Vocabulary
and Profile
Services
Index of
Certified
Products
Maintaining
Requirements
Third-Party
Testing
Program
Maintenance
Strategic
Evolution
Communities
of Practice
Working
Groups
2017 2017 Ongoing 2017 Ongoing Ongoing Ongoing 2017
Supporting Vendors Informing Customers Delivering Market Relevance Engaging Contributors

39. 5) Reach Out
contact@makingbetter.us
http://makingbetter.us/