xAPI Captures Learning Activity, Wherever It Occurs

Where does learning occur?

Less and less corporate training takes place in physical classrooms;a shrinking proportion of eLearning takes place in formalized settings, such asa synchronous meeting in a virtual classroom. So, where does learningtake place?

The eLearning industry is increasingly recognizing thatlearning is mobile, informal, and spontaneous; it can be independent as well ascollaborative—in short, learning takes place anywhere and everywhere. In thisunpredictable environment, how can managers capture progress or even trackparticipation, and how do they know what learners know?

Traditionally, a learning management system (LMS) has beenthe place where most learning occurred, via formal frameworks, such as onlinecourses that learners completed asynchronously or synchronous virtual classroommeetings and webinars. The LMS also is the tool that has historically tracked learnerparticipation, recorded test scores, and maintained a record of each learner’sprogress. But the LMS misses a lot of relevant activity.

If it’s not recorded in the LMS, did learning really occur?

The LMS generally only tracksand records learning that takes place within the LMS or in the samebrowser-based environment. This risks leaving out a lot of important learning:

• If colleagues share content on a curated webpage, discuss an article they’ve both read, and decide to change the way theyapproach a common problem because of that informal learning… the LMS has noidea.
• If the instructor in a virtual classroom posts alist of recommended articles, and some students read them, the LMS record willnot reflect that extra learning.
• If an eLearning developer creates a mobile appthat quizzes sales personnel on the features of new products, learners spendtime using the app, and their sales performance improves as a result… again,the LMS misses that success.
• If learners use a simulator to practice theirresponses to a common event, and their performance in real-life situationsimproves, injuries are reduced, and significant cost savings are realized, theLMS—and therefore the manager—has no way to note the correlation between thetraining and improved results.
• If learners attend a conference or (gasp!) readan actual book—or even an eBook—the LMS has no way to record that learning.

Much of what people learn—both in and away from theworkplace or classroom—comes about through informal learning; many adultsactively seek to learn new information and skills. But learners might feel thatthese efforts are wasted, especially if they are asked to complete formal,inside-the-LMS learning on topics they’ve already mastered through theirinformal or “off-the-grid” activities.

xAPI offers a solution

The xAPI standard, which allows for tracking and recording of learning activity overa broad spectrum of devices and environments, offers a solution. Managers canget a complete picture of each learner’s eLearning activity by tracking it viaxAPI-enabled devices.

Using xAPI (short for “Experience API”) and compatible devicesand apps, an eLearning “ecosystem” can capture activity on any enabled devicethat has an occasional network connection, even if the learning activity occurswhen there is no Internet or network connectivity. Equipment like adriving-school simulator or a CPR dummy can generate xAPI statements and, whenconnected to a network, send those statements to a database called a learningrecord store (LRS), according to “Why should I implement the [Experience] API?” In fact, managers can use apps tocapture any type of learning, even offline, old-fashioned learning like readinga book or attending a conference (in person). How? Compatible apps could allowlearners to scan a barcode on a book or capture attendance at a conferencesession, then create xAPI statements to record that learning and enter it intoan LRS.

The xAPI approach reflects the reality of today’s eLearninguniverse, where learning happens everywhere. There’s no need to give up on themore formal learning that still occurs within an LMS; developers can integratexAPI with most LMSs, making it possible to capture that learning. Thus an xAPI-basedeLearning program supports traditional and formal eLearning frameworks, but eLearningdevelopers—and learners—are not limited to those frameworks.

Correlation between learning and activity

Managers, eLearning developers, and learners all “know” thatinformal learning occurs, is relevant, and helps learners improve their skillsand job performance. But LMSs do not offer a way to measure the connectionbetween learning and performance, or even to conclusively show that learning—whetherformal learning captured in the LMS or informal learning—is being applied.

To determine whether there is any correlation betweenlearning and performance, managers need data on both. Here’s where xAPI onceagain offers a solution: It can use “activity streams” to capture non-learningactivities as well as learning activity. An activity stream is a collection ofactivities that the learner performs on a single website, such as reading anarticle, watching a video, liking a post, or writing a comment.

By creating statements that describe this activity, xAPI cancapture social media interactions and informal learning; it can also capture actionsthat reflect a learner’s job performance or knowledge. For example, a learnerstudies a technical concept, shares advice with colleagues on a learningnetwork, writes a series of blog posts, publishes a white paper—and becomesrecognized within her learning community as an expert.

The learner’s manager might need to know this whenconsidering promoting the learner; the learner might like to parlay thatexpertise into a raise, a leadership position, or even a new job. Fortunatelyfor both, xAPI makes this possible.

The xAPI statements about each learner’s activities arestored in an LRS. An employer might track each learner’s activities andprogress and store that information, along with information on all otheremployees in the organization, in a single LRS. All of that data, whether itreflects online or offline activity, learning or work, is available fornumber-crunching and analysis. Managers can see whether there is anycorrelation between learning activities and job performance; they can aggregatedata to identify activities and eLearning that correlates with highperformance; they can use the data to identify experts within an organization.

But learners might also want ownership and use of their ownlearning data. That’s becoming more feasible: An xAPI ecosystem can supportmultiple LRSs. Each learner can set up a “personal” LRS that contains dataabout his or her own learning activities, social media activities, and workperformance activities.

Non-academic credentials are emerging that will offerlearners ways to document skills and knowledge they acquire informally orthrough formal eLearning. As xAPI matures, and various types of digitalcredentials demonstrate their value, it will become easier to know what peopleknow. An individual will be able to create a personal LRS, build a digital résumé that showcases digitalcredentials, and demonstrate mastery of relevant skills—to managers,colleagues, and potential employers. This can be especially valuable to peoplewho do freelance or contract work, a growing segment of the workforce.