Megan Torrance's presentation at Learning Technologies UK, on xAPI, data providers, Learning Record Stores, and what xAPI has to offer learning & development above and beyond what SCORM provides. (Note these are only Megan Torrance's slides and do not include the case study presented by R Pedley)
3. YOU PROBABLY
HAVE QUESTIONS
• What is xAPI?
• How do I send data?
• What data do I send?
• Where do I send it?
• How do I keep it organized?
• How do I learn more?
5. xAPI is …
X = experience
API = application programming
interface
Specification for sending, storing,
retrieving activity about learning
and performance experiences
Not so much “next gen SCORM”
as it is “WHAT WILL REPLACE
SCORM.”
Experience API is …
Tin Can API is …
9. Actor verb object
Actor verb object result context
Claire read Business Writing for Professionals
John practiced frosting birthday cakes
Lindsey watched the Company History video
Rashad completed Oil Change Upselling
10. Oron rated event xAPI for Instructional Designers 5
stars “coffee rocked, nice use of
PowerPoint” with @MMTorrance
Cynthia sold premium synthetic oil
Ladan simulated landing at LAS successfully
Arthi simulated landing at LAS successfully with a score of
98% in SimSuite #4 by Instructor Tim
Claire read Business Writing for Professionals
John practiced frosting birthday cakes
Lindsey watched the Company History video
Rashad completed Oil Change Upselling
Cynthia completed Oil Change Upselling score 60%
Actor verb object result context
Bob performed landing at LAS successfully on Runway 2;
windspeed 5; B737-900ER; Oct 20, 2019; 14:53
11.
12. What can you do
with xAPI?
• Learn more about the learning
experience – not just elearning
• Learn more about the performance
• Correlate learning with performance
• Offer more targeted training
• Support performance in better ways
• Use data to learn with others
• Connect data across different learning
experiences
• Compare performance and learning
across learners
• Deliver and track training outside of the
LMS
• Track offline training
16. STEP #1
SEND xAPI DATA
1. Use your elearning authoring tools
2. Get your favorite product vendor to
send the data
3. Use aggregator like xapiapps to
assemble things into a trackable path
4. Write some custom code (not hard!)
5. Import from business data
17. AUTHORING TOOLS
Out of the box:
• SCORM-like transactions
• Individual page views
• Actions and triggers (depends)
With a little JavaScript or with
xapi.ly statement builder:
• Any action or trigger you want
BONUS: use both xAPI and SCORM
THIS LIST IS GROWING & THEREFORE INCOMPLETE
18.
19.
20.
21.
22. OTHER DATA
PROVIDERS
Not really “authoring tools,” but
deep learning experiences, LXPs,
LMCSes, etc. that send xAPI data.
Ask your vendor:
• What data do they send?
• Do they send to an outside LRS?
THIS LIST IS GROWING & THEREFORE INCOMPLETE
24. NON-LEARNING
TOOLS, TOO!
Tools that originate outside of the
L&D space are starting to adopt
xAPI … because someone asked!
THIS LIST IS GROWING & THEREFORE INCOMPLETE
26. STEP #2
THE LEARNING
RECORD STORE (LRS)
• receives, stores, & gives back your
xAPI data
• can be tested for conformance
which ensures interoperability
(https://adopters.adlnet.gov/)
• is not a learning management
system (LMS)
27. 3 WAYS TO RECEIVE
DATA IN AN LRS
1. Your LMS has an LRS inside it.
Your LMS has a conformant
LRS inside it.
2. You send data to an LRS
separate from an LMS.
3. You build your own LRS.
(the code is open source)
28. A TYPICAL
LMS TODAY
(and who has just one?!?!)
Certs
Badges
SocialLearning
Messaging
Performance,Talenthooks
Games Sims
Perf
Supp
Dash
boards
eCommerce
Import/Export to Biz Data
Reporting
Users
Enrollments
SCORM
Data
Courses
Classes
34. LEARNING RECORD
STORES
Out of the box:
• Data storage & retrieval
• Visualizations & reporting
Connecting to warehousing & analytics
• Tableau, Microsoft BI, Envision BI,
Snowflake, Clique, etc.
LIST OF CONFORMANT LRS:
https://adopters.adlnet.gov/
34
THIS LIST IS GROWING & THEREFORE INCOMPLETE
35. ENTERPRISE LMSes
WITH LRS INSIDE
Out of the box:
• Learning management functions
• SCORM & AICC
• Full xAPI LRS
Data includes both LMS (SCORM &
other) + xAPI
LIST OF CONFORMANT LRS:
https://adopters.adlnet.gov/
35
LearnShare
THIS LIST IS GROWING & THEREFORE INCOMPLETE
36. LMSes OFFERING
xAPI SUPPORT
These are non-conformant LRSes.
Out of the box:
• Learning management functions
• SCORM & AICC
• Launch xAPI elearning & record a
completion
They may struggle with:
• Accepting statements from outside the
LMS
• Data from non-elearning sources
• Reporting data in extensions
36
THIS LIST IS GROWING & THEREFORE INCOMPLETE
37. LMSes THAT SEND
TO YOUR LRS
These systems are generally learning
record providers.
What you can expect:
• xAPI statements from courses &
experiences
• Maybe non-SCORM LMS activity
sent as xAPI statements
• To have to buy an LRS also
• To ask about what data it sends
37
THIS LIST IS GROWING & THEREFORE INCOMPLETE
39. STEP #3
DO SOMETHING WITH
THE DATA
• Evaluate & improve the learning
experience
• Dashboards and visualizations for
decision-making
• Personalization of pathways
• Recommendations for content
• Action triggers & rules
43. xapicohort.com
• Free 12-week, vendor-neutral,
virtual learning-by-doing-in-teams
• Every Spring & Fall
• Weekly web meetings 2-3pm ET
(recorded).
• Ad hoc teams form to tackle a
project together and provide
weekly report-outs.
• Learning-by-lurking is just fine!
Editor's Notes
Poll Question: Where are you on your xAPI journey?
Stay standing if you can spell xAPI
Stay standing if you know what the x stands for in xAPI
Stay standing if you have sent an activity statement
Stay standing if you have received an activity statement in an LRS
Stay standing if you have made a business decision based on an activity statement you’ve received in the LRS
xAPI is …
X = experience
API = application programming interface
Specification for sending, storing, retrieving activity
Some say that xAPI is next gen SCORM
Like my smart phone
SCORM only tracks 5 boring things
There are three “parts” to xAPI: The Learning Record Provider, the Activity Statement and the Learning Record Store.
The Learning Record Provider is what’s sending the data – if it’s an elearning situation, then the activity provider is the course.
You are the one doing the thinking here.
The content is what you’re talking about. Again, if we’re talking about elearning, the content is … your content.
The Activyt Statement is the format with which we’re sending the data. To be honest, the funnel doesn’t really hold up well as a metaphor.
And we’re pouring all these statements into a Learning Record Store, which is a database that stores it all. At some point it may or may not have to mix in with some legacy content and data in order to make sense.
The pattern is that there’s an Actor, a verb, and an object.
We can also add context about any of the items – actor, verb, or object
“X” for Experience, not LAPI – “learning” … track all sorts of things.
And here’s the thing: you can do all of these things without xAPI. You just build them yourself. The technology is there – actually, its existed for years and some of you are already doing this.
When you do these things with xAPI you are using an interoperable platform for communication – you can add and change pieces, vendors, platforms with far greater ease.
HOW TO GET STARTED
Pick a first project
Platform & tools you’ll need to get started
What I’ve learned in working with vendors & partners
Out of the box, you can expect data that’s a lot like SCORM, plus individual page views, question answers and a few other things you couldn’t get with SCORM. dominKnow and Lectora support a wider variety of statements based on actions and triggers. All of these tools you can add custom JavaScript to action triggers and send statements to the LRS.
ADD SLIDE: For example, our project with University of North Carolina – see us at DemoFest – where we have custom JS added to all sorts of actions in a Storyline course – question sets individually and totals, downloading resources, entering text on screen.
With xapiapps you’ll get transactions like
With the integrated approach, a single platform does all the things, including both SCORM and xAPI. It’s all the things that you have come to expect from your LMS provider, with xAPI thrown in, too.
One of Megan’s clients has a major integrated learning management system and that platform is adding xAPI support. This means that all the work they did in the last two years to select and implement a major piece of software doesn’t have to be undone, or they don’t have to start over in order to support xAPI projects they have waiting in the wings.
Rob’s clients use xAPI-enabled training to train non-employees, where they access the training completely outside the LMS. The integrated LRS permits tracking of the training no matter if the user takes the course on the LMS as an employee, or on a website for business partners… it’s integrated and seamless from a reporting perspective.
With the integrated approach, a single platform does all the things, including both SCORM and xAPI. It’s all the things that you have come to expect from your LMS provider, with xAPI thrown in, too.
One of Megan’s clients has a major integrated learning management system and that platform is adding xAPI support. This means that all the work they did in the last two years to select and implement a major piece of software doesn’t have to be undone, or they don’t have to start over in order to support xAPI projects they have waiting in the wings.
Rob’s clients use xAPI-enabled training to train non-employees, where they access the training completely outside the LMS. The integrated LRS permits tracking of the training no matter if the user takes the course on the LMS as an employee, or on a website for business partners… it’s integrated and seamless from a reporting perspective.
The managed system approach usually puts the LRS at the center of a whole set of systems all talking together. The core system desired around and optimized for xAPI, that then lets you get best-of-breed tools to hook into it. Since you don’t have to be confined to just elearning courses in an LMS for tracking, you you’re tracking things that happen in the real world, and you’re able to go out and do all sorts of things outside your LMS and that pretty well rocks.
One of Megan’s clients currently doesn’t have a strong LMS. In fact, their LMS is so “weak” within their organization that the L&D team is using a Wordpress site as a Content Management System from which to offer training – not a WordPress LMS, mind you. An internally hosted Wordpress site. They’re bringing on an LRS product that will be a hub for xAPI transactions from courses launched from the WordPress LMS. And as they bring on other xAPI conformant tools – right now we’re putting in a Curatr learning platform for a key customer group – all of that will feed back into the LRS.
The Sidecare LRS is a nice happy medium to get started.
Out of the box, you can expect data that’s a lot like SCORM, plus individual page views, question answers and a few other things you couldn’t get with SCORM. dominKnow and Lectora support a wider variety of statements based on actions and triggers. All of these tools you can add custom JavaScript to action triggers and send statements to the LRS.
ADD SLIDE: For example, our project with University of North Carolina – see us at DemoFest – where we have custom JS added to all sorts of actions in a Storyline course – question sets individually and totals, downloading resources, entering text on screen.