Demystifying the Connections Between the LMS, LRS, and xAPI

If you’ve attended any learning conference in the lastseveral years, you’ve inevitably heard the buzz around learning record stores(LRSs) and the Experience API (xAPI). With so many sessions and articlesfocused on the future potential for disruption that these technologies hold,many organization leaders are looking for ways to get started using this datainteroperability solution in their own learning ecosystems. While leaders canclearly see the value of a seamlessly connected learning program on theirroadmap, many are still having difficulty identifying a practical startingpoint.

To help demystify this emerging technology, we present threeexamples of actual projects in which we combined data from the learningmanagement system (LMS) with high-powered analytics to solve today’schallenges.

The future of the learning ecosystem

With the introduction of so many new and specialized tools,apps, and microlearning options, the possibilities when it comes to designing alearning and development program have dramatically increased. While there hasbeen much conversation regarding the evolution of the learning management system and its role in the learning ecosystem,the LMS will continue to serve as a hub of learning activity. By making xAPIand a learning record store part of your learning environment, you can collect datafrom across the tools and technologies that you use and translate it into asingle, standardized data format. You can then bring that xAPI data into theLRS, which serves as a database and which offers real-time data dashboards andreporting tools for your organization, allowing you to get a 360-degree view ofthe complete experience of your learners.

Formal vs. informal learning

Many corporate clients that have switched to Moodle may not have previously had an LMS, orwere utilizing an extremely outdated and limited system. Updating to a modernand flexible LMS like Moodle is their immediate focus, but it is important tobe aware that there are some limitations in the type of learning that happenswithin the LMS. For many organizations, the LMS sits at the center of thelearning ecosystem, but it is not the only place where learning happens. It is,however, the main source of formal learning experiences.

Formal learning is the structured, programmatic courseworkthat is generally prescribed as part of initial onboarding or ongoingprofessional development within an organization. However, this typicallyrepresents only a small percentage of the actual learning that takes placewithin an organization. It is the informal or experience-based learning thatrepresents a much larger and more valuable part of employee development in anorganization. The collaboration between employees, the mentoring that happensas a team grows, the articles and videos that an employee engages with on theirown time because they are hungry to learn more—these are all day-to-dayinstances of informal learning; they are critical experiences that happenoutside the LMS. xAPI and the LRS were created to help us capture this activityso that we can track the progress of employees as they gain valuable skillsacross the many technologies used in today’s modern workplace.

Collect and store information acrossplatforms

The combination of these xAPI-powered technologies hasopened a world of possibilities for the learning technologist. By offeringsignificantly new and improved ways of understanding employee performance,training leaders are now able to improve outcomes that are relevant to thebusiness as a whole, with real-time insight into skill gaps and employeestrengths, improving efficiency and productivity across all teams. Ifimplemented strategically, this can significantly increase revenue and lowertraining costs across an organization, making human capital management acritical value-add to key stakeholders at all levels of the business.

Powering your learning ecosystem withxAPI

The ideal learning ecosystem provides a way to connect,utilize, and apply data from multiple types of formal and informal learning experiences.By powering your learning with xAPI, you will be able to leverage data fromacross platforms, improve training programs and performance outcomes, andpositively impact the experience of team members and business processes.

Here are a few client case studies in which organizationsconnected interoperable data across systems and used analytics to solve aspecific business challenge.

Case study #1: Automated contentrecommendations to improve time to mastery and personalize on-the-job training

Business goal: Reducethe time to proficiency, amount of seat time, and resources used in a trainingprogram.

Approach: Amilitary training project trained people as individuals for a task for a fixedperiod of time and then formed groups. In the group training, a certain amountof time was available to achieve a target level of performance.

The organization collected data during individual training fromboth an LMS and a simulation program using xAPI. The data from individuals wasused to define groups and select scenarios for training. These groups achievedthe desired level of proficiency 40 percent faster with 60 percent lesscontent.

Additionally, they used data collected via xAPI to providefuture training recommendations. By building a focused system that watched thedata for a deficiency in performance, the system identified learningexperiences that they could use to mitigate the deficiency. They then provided recommendationsto users to assist their longer term skill development.

Outcome: People didtasks faster, and longer-term personalized content assignment helped to resolvedeficiencies on the job.

Case study #2: Delivery ofjust-in-time learning content to meet risk management regulations in high-riskwork environments

Business goal: Ensurethat technicians have necessary knowledge of policy and procedures to operatesafely.

Approach: Changingroles and information can lead to gaps in employee understanding and knowledgeto accomplish tasks effectively, especially in a high-risk environment withlots of turnover.

The organization collected data about each technician andtheir role; course completion data from the Moodle LMS and informal data througha mobile app about resource use went into the LRS. They created a datadashboard of conformance vs. nonconformance for the organization at anindividual, team, and work-site level to provide insight into both individual learningactivity and overall workforce capacity.

Additionally, in order to mitigate risk in real time, theyconnected this learning data with location data in order to provide push notificationsto the technicians and on-site management directly if someone was out of compliance.

Outcome: Theright information, to the right people, at the right time to ensure anefficient, safe, and always-up-to-date workforce.

Case study #3: Early-alert retentionprogram to improve completion rates in a distributed-workforce training program

Business goal: Providethe appropriate intervention to keep individuals engaged with their team andlearning content.

Approach: Attentionspans and time can be short when a workforce is distributed, making critical theidentification of which activities and behaviors lead in the most engaging way tothe success of employees in a skill development program.

To track formal and informal learning, the organizationcollected data in the LRS from multiple platforms including asynchronouslearning in an LMS, synchronous in-person training, a soft-skill developmentgame, and team member collaboration in a mobile communication app.

They used the real-time insights into the activity patternsof highly engaged team members to alert instructors to outlier behaviors ofdisengaged team members. This triggered personalized re-engagement interventionsto drive improvement in team member experience and increase program completion.

Outcome: Increasedprogram completion rates and employee engagement through personalizedintervention success.

Future-proof solutions to businessproblems with the xAPI-powered LRS and LMS approach

There are many strengths of the xAPI approach to solvingbusiness problems with learning solutions. As we’ve shown here, “xAPI-enabled”means that technologies are made interoperable and use xAPI data to communicateand share data across platforms. This also means that if you design your modernlearning ecosystem with xAPI and a learning record store, your ecosystembecomes extensible, flexible, and future-proofed. Whatever challenge you face,app or microlearning delivery tool you decide to adopt, or new complianceregulation you are required to meet, you can extend and connect your system ina modular way. Each of these tools and technologies becomes a building block,interconnected and fluid, creating a seamless experience for the learner and apowerful understanding of the experience of the organization as a whole for thebusiness leader. All of this through data.

We want to leave you with some next steps, but first, a fewthoughts. No matter where you are coming from in your organization, and nomatter what current challenge your business is facing, an xAPI approach canhelp you solve your problem. The hard part to start with is finding the rightpiece of the problem, the right individual challenge, where you can have ameasurable impact. If you can work with your team to identify a tightly scopedproject for which you can design a proof of concept, you’ll be able to quicklydemonstrate the value of an xAPI solution to stakeholders in your organization.

Consider the following challenges:

• Onboarding—Manycompanies have fixed onboarding times. Could you combine assessments andself-guided learning to help people get to proficiency faster?
• Resource use—Jobsare complex combinations of learning, performance, and supporting content. Canyou collect data about learning pathways and use of resources in the LMS torecommend the best content to your learners?
• Competencytracking—The greatest limitation to organizational performance is employeeknowledge capacity. Could you measure the competency of your employees over timeto predict when you will need to hire in advance of need?
• Human capitalanalytics—Learning and training programs have a direct impact onperformance outcomes. How can you use that data to improve the quality of thelearning experiences provided to your team?
• Key performanceindicators (KPIs)—Every organization and every department has unique KPIsthat their success is measured by. How can you triangulate data across systemsto identify why successful team members are successful?

Next steps for creating yourxAPI-powered learning ecosystem

To get started in adapting your learning ecosystem tobenefit from xAPI-enabled products and services, you need to build the righttechnology foundation. This foundation needs to include two main components.

The first is an LMS that offers the ability to externallylaunch xAPI activities, log events, and send data to an LRS. Moodle does thisthrough free plugins you can add to your site. You can enable the ability tolaunch xAPI activities in your Moodle site via the free xAPI Launch Link plugin,and you can add the ability to produce xAPI statements from across learningactivities via the free xAPI Logstore plugin.

Once you have your LMS making xAPI data, the secondcomponent you will need is an LRS to serve as the data hub to collect data fromacross your systems.

The next time you are at a learning conference, keep an eyeout for products and services that use xAPI. If you have set up an xAPI-enabledLMS like Moodle and an LRS, you’ll be set to fully leverage these products.

There are bound to be additional needs that will surface atyour institution where an off-the-shelf product or service won’t suffice, andthis is where a conversation with companies who build custom applications usingxAPI becomes helpful. Once you clearly identify your target goal, they can helpplan and build an application that fits into your xAPI-enabled ecosystem.

As xAPI technologies continue to come to the market, it’simportant you are ready to take advantage of the benefits they can bring toyour organization. By helping you to deliver educational materials at the timethey are needed, at lower costs, and—most importantly—in a way that engageslearners to better support your outcomes, xAPI is sure to become a criticalpart of your learning and development programs.

Additional reading

• Josh Bersin, “The Disruption of Digital Learning: Ten Things We Have Learned”
• Michael Hruska, “The Experience API (xAPI): A GPS for Learning”
• Michael Hruska, “Stay Current at the Experience API (xAPI) Camps”
• Andy Johnson, Steve Foreman, Craig Wiggins, andPeter Berking, “xAPI and Analytics: Measuring Your Way to Success”
• Anthony Altieri, “Getting Started with xAPI: Four Lines of Code”
• MeganTorrance, “Getting Started with xAPI: Take a Hike with an Expert”