What is xAPI and Why Should You Deploy It?

SCORM was the original standard used by the eLearning industry to track learner activity and performance. It works well for what it was designed for: tracking a learner's progress through a course launched from an LMS. It cannot see anything that happens outside that course.

xAPI has a much broader scope. It can record activity across devices and platforms, offline as well as online, and from contexts such as simulations, social learning and job performance. The data is richer too, especially when it comes to the context around each activity.

SCORM is still widely used, and many organizations run both. A related specification, cmi5, defines how xAPI content is launched and tracked from an LMS, which closes part of the gap between the two. For a fuller comparison, see the differences between SCORM, Tin Can and xAPI.

The Benefits of the Experience API

The Tin Can API gathers data from several sources and consolidates it in a learning record store, which gives a more accurate reflection of a learner's journey.

It creates a more accurate picture of where learning happens and how a learner progresses, and gives insight into how a learning path can be improved.

Using xAPI-compatible tools allows you to deliver content, track activity and performance linked to that content, and use the information to recommend next steps for each learner or to measure whether a programme is working.

xAPI also supports mobile learning properly. Activity on a phone or tablet is recorded in the same way as activity on a desktop, so the learner's record stays consistent across devices.

Learners can pick up where they left off, see more relevant recommendations, and follow a learning path that takes into account learning that happens outside the LMS, or on the job.

Connecting eLearning data with job performance data is another major benefit. It makes it possible to assess the real impact of a programme, and to use performance data to see where each person needs support.

How to Deploy xAPI

Deploying xAPI is less about technology than about decisions. In practice it comes down to four steps:

• Decide what to track. List the activities outside your courses that matter, and the verbs you will use to describe them. Without this, xAPI collects data nobody uses.
• Choose a learning record store. Your LMS may include one, or you may need a standalone LRS. Our guide to learning record stores and the xAPI API explains what an LRS does and how to choose one.
• Check your content and tools. Confirm that your authoring tools, content providers and LMS can send xAPI statements, and whether your LMS can launch xAPI content.
• Plan the reporting. Statements are only useful once someone can read them alongside the rest of your learning data. Our buyer's reference on choosing a learning analytics platform covers where xAPI fits in that picture.

The modern learning path is complex and different for each person. xAPI gives learning teams a way to capture that complexity and turn it into data that improves programmes and the learner experience.

If you run Moodle or Totara and are weighing whether xAPI is worth it for your organization, our team can talk it through with you.