In June 2013 my colleague and I attended mLearnCon 2013. As SAP Learning Solution professionals we were mostly interested in SCORM and it’s evolution which brought us to Tin-Can.
Tin-Can has become a recent buzzword in the world of learning and for good reason; it is being dubbed as the “next generation of SCORM.” The Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM) has been the prevalent standard of e-Learning for over a decade but has seen few improvements since 2004. SCORM emerged when laptops just started gaining a foothold in the enterprise and the first iPhone was still seven years away.
In 2010 the agency responsible for SCORM, Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL), partnered with Rusticci Software to engage the learning community and initiate research into developing a new standard to take SCORM’s place. This project had been named Tin-Can.
“Tin-Can API” has been officially renamed “eXperience API”, or “zappy” for “xAPI”. Name aside, version 1.0 is here, and the industry is pulsating with excitement to see what early adopters are going to come up with to take advantage of the new technology.
The beauty of Tin-Can or xAPI is its flexibility and its simplicity. The idea behind this technology is to transcend the Learning Management System (LMS) and open up the learning experience to the world around us. The restrictions for communicating across domains have been eliminated allowing xAPI to be used across multiple locations, devices, and 3rd party vendors.
Technology is all around us. Most cary a mini-computer disguised a phone in their purse or pocket and interact with a laptop or a piece of machinery the majority of the day. Humans learn through interactions such as on the job training on operating a forklift, interacting with a flight simulator, or perhaps a more academic experience such as learning a mathematical formula from an e-learning course. xAPI provides a standard for describing these experiences and storing them for analysis.
Terminology
TIN-CAN API = eXperience API = xAPI
“The xAPI is a specification that describes an interface and the storage / retrieval rules that developers can implement to create a learning experience tracking service.” – ADL
Learning Record Store = LRS
“A Learning Record Store (LRS) is a system that stores the tracking statements communicated through the Experience API (xAPI). The LRS works with the xAPI to collect and return statements. It can be integrated into a larger system like an LMS or it can stand alone as a separate system, and use the xAPI to allow other systems to add and retrieve statements.” – ADL
xAPI Statement
“The format of these statements is based on Activity Streams(<Actor, Verb, Object> or ‘I did this.’).” – ADL
The xAPI statements are framed after the Activity Streams specification, an open source project for defining statements in social networks.
Example: “User X completed Chapter 5”
History
The eXperience API is owned by Advanced Distributed Learning group. It is a U.S. government funded agency focused on learning, working in cooperation with Department of Defense and various partnership laboratories across the United States and the globe.
The current e-learning standard, SCORM, is starting to show its age. It has left a lot of people underwhelmed in both its complexity and lack of tools taking advantage of its advanced features. These standards are not capable of providing a one-stop solution for tracking education, career development, and self-improvement across devices and networks. The education industry has been ready for a new standard to come and sweep it off its feet. Enter eXperience API, code name: Tin-Can.
“The xAPI is an ongoing community-driven specification with contributors participating from around the world.” – ADL
Rustici Software was heavily involved in developing this project. They were selected by ADL to assist in drafting the standard and develop a proof of concept. The project was named “Tin-Can”. As other organizations got involved with the project, the momentum grew and the fruit of their labor is xAPI Specification 1.0 which was announced on April 29, 2013.
“Tin-Can” is catchy and memorable and courtesy of Rustici Software has a URL and a logo. “xAPI” looks like another XML derived acronym, but is the official name behind the standard. Which name will win in the end remains to be seen, but for the time being we’ll be using these terms interchangeably.
Concept
The idea behind xAPI is to offer maximum flexibility at minimum complexity. This standard allows the content creator to set up triggers in any software of any device to send a message to the LRS. This could be literal interaction such as: “User X Pressed #3” or a perceived interaction such as: “User X Completed Chapter 5”.
Example
Imagine an app on a mobile phone that lists a set of tasks for operating a construction crane. As each task is completed the operator crosses off each item. (In a more complex scenario the crane can communicate with the app or the LRS directly check off task items automatically.) For each item the operator checks off of his/hers list, a record is stored in the xAPI record store (LRS).
The information gathered from this fictional app can be used for training a new operator or minimizing liability. The records from the LRS can be used to show the operator’s satisfactory learning requirements or help identify a cause of an incident.
It is up to the software of a device to record experiences and synchronize them with the LRS. These experiences are recorded as xAPI statements:
xAPI Statement = Noun + Verb + Object
Example: John Smith checked the brakes
Analytics vs Performance Metrics
“Analytics is the discovery and communication of meaningful patterns in data”
“Performance metric is a measure of an organization’s activities and performance”
Organizations have been able to record performance metrics with the help of SCORM and an LMS for years. They have been able to report on the fact that all the appropriate personnel has completed required training and perhaps what score was achieved for the final exam. The piece that has always been missing is the ability to go beyond compliance reporting and get to the core of learning: experiences. xAPI’s ability to record multiple interactions across devices offers an unprecedented opportunity to collect valuable data for analysis.
With the help of xAPI an organization can analyze user behavior to improve efficiency, safety, and compliance. They can better track comprehension and behavior to identify peak performers and help other reach maximum potential.
Technology
There is no magic software behind xAPI. It is a standard. The software now needs to be built to take advantage of this new standard. There are very few limitations on how to implement xAPI. A developer can use a programming language of their choice and either build an LRS or leverage one of many 3rd party options.
xAPI can aggregate user data from multiple LRS’s, so that a single entity can have different LRS’s for separate type of tracking. Scholastic/academic achievements can be recorded in one repository, while business related tracking is stored elsewhere. There is even a conversation on who should own the LRS data. Should the person in question own the xAPI data or should the organization that produced it own it?
eXPerience API is championed for it’s simplicity and flexibility. Forming, recording and retrieving xAPI statements for analysis is the core of this standard. The technology that is used to leverage this standard is up to the developer. One is not constrained by platform, programming language or the database. The possibilities are seemingly endless, which explains the excitement of the developers behind this project.
Advantages
- No browser required
- No LMS required
- Ability to use native applications
- Real-world activities tracking
- Simulation tracking
- Offline activity tracking
Disadvantages
- No standards defined to aid in compliance reporting
- Easy candidate for data overload
- 3rd party tool fragmentation
- Relies heavily on good planning practices
Beyond training
Learning and training are not the limits of xAPI. Almost any experience can be recorded in an LRS.
- Examples:
Your ID badge software sends a statement to an LRS when you enter the facility
(User:XYZ entered Building A) - Your sales app sends a statement to an LRS every time you make a sales call
(User:XYZ called Sales Prospect: ABC) - Your RFID key sends a statement to an LRS when you turned on the crane
(User:XYZ turned on Crane #XX)
Since the standard allows a single user to have more than one LRS, non-training data can be stored in separate container. This standard has the potential to disrupt a number of technologies such as timekeeping and gate entry systems.
Open Questions
- Is xAPI ready to replace SCORM?
The xAPI evangelists will each answer this question differently. Some will jump up and scream: “Absolutely,” while others will point out that xAPI is not here to replace SCORM, but simply add the flexibility that SCORM has been found to lack. - Who will ultimately own the LRS data?
Like a college transcript the LRS data can serve as a permanent record of an individual’s achievements, but in order to even approach this question a slew of privacy and technology experts need to establish some additional standards around storing and migrating such data. - When is xAPI coming to my LMS?
The answer is: Maybe never! The xAPI standard is so flexible it allows an organization to forego an LMS altogether and rely exclusively on the LRS. There will be plenty of LMS’es that will promptly add support however to ease adoption and offer flexibility. Some LMS’es might have to re-think their business strategy and convert to becoming analytics tools sitting on top of LRS’es. - How does data migration get addressed when moving to xAPI?
Some serious thought has to go into addressing legacy data. - Can legacy SCORM data be converted to the LRS?
If there is a will, there is a way. Completion records should transfer nicely into xAPI statements (User:XYZ completed Business Ethics) - SHOULD legacy SCORM data be converted to the LRS?
The answer will be strongly influenced by how an LRS is being used. Will it be replacing an LMS or simply enhancing it. - Is xAPI the future?
There is certainly no shortage of people invested in xAPI. There is a void in the industry and there doesn’t seem to be a lot of competition fighting for the space. - Will xAPI evangelists deliver a clear message to facilitate greater user adoption?
- Will the vendors provide modern tools to help tackle the challenges of today’s ever-changing eLearning landscape?
Summary
Many content creation tools have added Tin-Can support. The companies invested in this technology are offering free LRS’es in hopes of attracting more users to the standard. This is a great start to exploring this new standard and to start thinking of way it can benefit your organization. It is obvious that xAPI is in its early stages of development and adoption. An organization that takes on eXperience API now should have a dedicated resource to code xAPI functionality to really take advantage of the standard. In a world where corporate learning budgets are constantly squeezed this seems like a tough sell.
References
- ADL Team Member: Aaron Silvers
http://www.adlnet.gov/getting-involved-with-the-next-generation-scorm-tin-can-api - Rustici Software – Project Tin Can
http://tincanapi.com/overview/