What is xAPI
If you are in any way connected with digital learning you would have certainly heard the words xAPI by now. I had heard the words xAPI for a good six months or so before I actually understood what it stood for.
xAPI stands for experience API (That's where the X comes from). It is also known by another name called Tin can API. So what is xAPI and why is it all the rage nowadays? OK maybe it's not so much as a rage but I think it certainly qualifies as "an interesting topic" among training and development professionals.
API stands for application programming interface and can be described as a list of commands that one computer program sends to another to provide and retrieve information. API is how two software "talk" to each other. API makes it possible for us to browse the internet transfer information from one software to another, do coding etc.
xAPI is an API developed by Advanced Distributed Learning , a part of US department of defence. xAPI is an API that has tremendous usage in training and development. The basic premise behind xAPI is that people learn from a number of sources and events and all these interactions and events should be recorded so that we may know what sort of knowledge or skills does an individual possess (as far as possible). Elearning courses, generally use the SCORM standard along with an LMS. SCORM is a type of API. Remember the published output from all those authoring tools - those are called SCORM objects. These objects are inserted into an LMS to be then accessed by learners as elearning.
Now as good as SCORM objects are they tend to be very limited and limiting in how they operate and what they can do. That is why a need was felt to capture all the learning that was happening outside of the traditional elearning course as well. For example - while doing an elearning course a learner felt the need to go on the internet and browse the Internet to find out more information about the topic that they were learning in their elearning course. This act of indulging in research is bound to end up in some sort of learning for the learner. Unfortunately SCORM does not record this learning. There can also be the situation where a learner did not do an elearning course but read an article on the topic or watched a video or performed a simulation, which resulted in them developing a greater knowledge than that provided by the elearning course. But, with SCORM this learning or knowledge could not be recorded and the learner would still be required to do the elearning course. This is where xAPI comes in.
xAPI will record any and all types of learning, including informal learning, for a learner thereby reflecting a much better record of learner knowledge and skills than SCORM and giving the organisation a much better understanding of the knowledge and skill set that it enjoys through its staff. A good comparison between SCORM and xAPI can be found here.
But the real fun part of xAPI is in its ability to provide us with a much clearer picture of how our learners are learning. For example - It will also tell us if our learners are skipping a particular part of the course or if they are spending a large amount of time on one particular page or concept, what additional sources are they looking at when doing a course, how many times do they look at sources outside of our course etc. which will tell us which parts of our course need further tweaking and improvements to make it more suitable for our learners. All of this can have a significant bearing on how learning courses and activities are designed and developed as well as how learning is reinforced and embedded in the learner. .
xAPI stands for experience API (That's where the X comes from). It is also known by another name called Tin can API. So what is xAPI and why is it all the rage nowadays? OK maybe it's not so much as a rage but I think it certainly qualifies as "an interesting topic" among training and development professionals.
API stands for application programming interface and can be described as a list of commands that one computer program sends to another to provide and retrieve information. API is how two software "talk" to each other. API makes it possible for us to browse the internet transfer information from one software to another, do coding etc.
xAPI is an API developed by Advanced Distributed Learning , a part of US department of defence. xAPI is an API that has tremendous usage in training and development. The basic premise behind xAPI is that people learn from a number of sources and events and all these interactions and events should be recorded so that we may know what sort of knowledge or skills does an individual possess (as far as possible). Elearning courses, generally use the SCORM standard along with an LMS. SCORM is a type of API. Remember the published output from all those authoring tools - those are called SCORM objects. These objects are inserted into an LMS to be then accessed by learners as elearning.
Now as good as SCORM objects are they tend to be very limited and limiting in how they operate and what they can do. That is why a need was felt to capture all the learning that was happening outside of the traditional elearning course as well. For example - while doing an elearning course a learner felt the need to go on the internet and browse the Internet to find out more information about the topic that they were learning in their elearning course. This act of indulging in research is bound to end up in some sort of learning for the learner. Unfortunately SCORM does not record this learning. There can also be the situation where a learner did not do an elearning course but read an article on the topic or watched a video or performed a simulation, which resulted in them developing a greater knowledge than that provided by the elearning course. But, with SCORM this learning or knowledge could not be recorded and the learner would still be required to do the elearning course. This is where xAPI comes in.
xAPI will record any and all types of learning, including informal learning, for a learner thereby reflecting a much better record of learner knowledge and skills than SCORM and giving the organisation a much better understanding of the knowledge and skill set that it enjoys through its staff. A good comparison between SCORM and xAPI can be found here.
But the real fun part of xAPI is in its ability to provide us with a much clearer picture of how our learners are learning. For example - It will also tell us if our learners are skipping a particular part of the course or if they are spending a large amount of time on one particular page or concept, what additional sources are they looking at when doing a course, how many times do they look at sources outside of our course etc. which will tell us which parts of our course need further tweaking and improvements to make it more suitable for our learners. All of this can have a significant bearing on how learning courses and activities are designed and developed as well as how learning is reinforced and embedded in the learner. .
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