We are constantly learning, in fact as much as 90 per cent of training occurs outside a formal environment (face-to-face training) or via a formal medium (e-learning) and so it isn’t logged, meaning we don’t really have an accurate record of education and training.

Tin Can API (also known as Experience API, or xAPI) could change all of that and replace SCORM as the go-to e-learning specification. Why? Because; unlike SCORM, all of the informal learning activity data is reported to a learning record store (LRS). The LRS sits outside of the Learning Management System (LMS), but reports its data to the LMS. 

Our needs for learning and support are much more varied and diverse than formal training can fulfil; the xAPI is a new specification for learning technology that makes it possible to collect data about the wide range of experiences someone has both online and offline. It captures data in a consistent format about a person or group’s activities from many technologies.

With xAPI the type of learning that can be tracked is infinite. You can track online learning, offline learning, games, simulations, informal learning, interactive learning, adaptive learning, real-world performance or on-the-job training, blended learning, team-based learning, and long-term learning for example.

All this tracking results in a substantial increase in the quantity and quality of learner data being captured. This data can be used to review previous learning experiences and, more importantly, it can be analysed to plan for future learning by mapping what the learner knows to what they need to know, and help define goals for the learner to work towards.

Moreover, we can now get a clearer picture of the return on investment of learning and development budgets, as xAPI enables us to track the data needed to justify these departmental budgets.
 xAPI can also be tied in to real-world performance and so answers questions about training that we could never answer before. Workers passed an e-learning module, but how has the business benefited? Did it improve job performance?

How does it work?

When an activity needs to be recorded, the application sends secure statements in the form of ‘Noun, verb, object’ such as: ‘I did this’ to an LRS. The LRS records all of the statements made and can share these statements with other LRSs.

Any enabled device can send xAPI statements (mobile phones, simulations and games for example) and a constant network connection isn’t necessary.

xAPI is not a new way to present your content, but it is capable of tracking all learning experiences allowing you to capture each learner’s activities, which means you can see the bigger picture to the benefit of your business.