The lingo normally thrown about with regard to xAPI, and what it means in as plain a language as we can make it.

1. The Vocabulary of xAPI
November 17, 2015
Megan Bowe & Aaron E. Silvers

2. Matthew McConaughey
“I have my own
vocabulary. I love
linguistics. That
surprises people.”

3. What exactly is xAPI?

4. The Experience API is a standard way of
talking about our experiences, using data.

6. The Experience API (xAPI)
• Can track many different types of experiences — including things that
people do on the web, in mobile applications, with wearables, in
classrooms and in workplace environments
• Moves beyond a web-based, didactic model
• Promotes better design and technology practices
• Makes integration with other systems and practices easier
• Provides a way to gather and use more useful information.

7. It answers a lot of ‘How’ type questions…
• How can I inform better business decisions?
• How do I avoid locking us into a solution?
• How can I make investments in learning development last longer and
more future-proof?
• How can I make sure what I evaluate today is useful in the future?
• How will I connect a learner’s activities across multiple applications?

8. How Does Experience API Work?
• People interact with “stuff”
(i.e. content, apps, business systems, etc.)
• These interactions are observed and described in JSON.
• The “stuff” sends the statements to a Learning Record Store.

9. What is a Learning Record Store, or LRS?
• It’s a database that stores activity statements - the “data”
• LRSs can be software (even hardware) that stands on its own.
• LRSs can be a part of data appliances, enterprise applications and
learning management system (LMS)

10. LMS vs. LRS
A Learning Record Store (LRS) addresses one capability of a typical
Learning Management System (LMS).
User Management Learning Records Scheduling
Course Management Statistics Grade Book
Tracking eLearning Content Storage Search
Assignments Sequencing Delivery
Preferences Reports Assessment

11. Someone Did Something
Activity Statements are “Observations”
Actor Verb Object
(To Someone) (Using Stuff) (With Some Result)

12. {
"actor": {
"mbox": "mailto:n3ed8rw7r39@adlnet.gov",
"name": "n3ed8rw7r39@adlnet.gov",
"objectType": "Agent"
},
"verb": {
"id": "http://adlnet.gov/expapi/verbs/passed",
"display": {
"en-US": "passed"
}
},
"object": {
"id": "http://z2.vc/xapi/activities/passed",
"objectType": "Activity",
"definition": {
"name": {
"en-US": "HTML5 data attribute prototype"
},
"description": {
"en-US": "Example generation of a passed activity using an HTML5 data attribute with unobtrusive js"
}
}
},
"id": "d3574611-8092-4616-bfdc-4f48933a0d42"
}

14. What are other terms we might
hear?

15. Adaptive Learning assesses someone’s current
knowledge state and recommends a sequence of
activity that moves that knowledge state toward a
defined learning outcome.

16. CMI5 is a profile of xAPI that defines
“plug-and-play” interoperability between
learning content activities and LMSs.

17. A profile is a set of rules that govern
how to use xAPI in specific ways for
specific experiences.

18. Sometimes a profile is called a recipe. When
followed, it ensures consistent data to describe
similar activities can be generated by different
activity providers.

19. Interoperability is the expectation that what works
in one system will work in a set of other systems by
default with no configuration necessary.

20. For xAPI, interoperability means that data created
in one system can be shared with appropriate
security and used by other systems with complete
integrity and authority.

21. An experience is a set of
activities.

22. An activity provider is some form of content,
software application or other media that creates
activity statements that can be sent to an LRS.