Excerpt from an interview with DigitalChalk CTO, Troy Tolle, on the impact of xAPI in the learning industry.

What is xAPI?

xAPI is a set of new data collection standards that provide enhanced flexibility in the way we record and communicate learning experiences.

How does xAPI improve the learning industry?

A primary limitation in learning industry technology is data collection.  Currently, SCORM is most often used to collect learner data, but SCORM is limited to collection of general learner data, such as overall grade, time completed, and the name of the student.

xAPI opens the door to infinitely more sophisticated reporting and tracking, by giving you the ability to collect incredibly detailed learner data with ease. Because xAPI statements can be used to describe almost any user activity, integration of xAPI into learning technology provides the capability of capturing a learner’s actions at any point in the learning process. xAPI captures data in a standard format making it possible to look at aggregate data across multiple students and multiple courses for a particular action. For example, you can easily see a test question that the majority of users are missing in a test.

How do you see xAPI in the future of the learning industry and in the future of DigitalChalk development?

In the learning industry, you will see an increasing number of tools that support xAPI. You will also see support for xAPI in non-traditional learning tools, like virtual reality (VR) or physical environment simulations.

DigitalChalk has embraced xAPI as the next big standard in the learning industry. All our current feature sets are enabled for xAPI technology, and, wherever it makes sense, we plan to incorporate xAPI into future development.

If you have an xAPI question you would like to ask Troy, send us a question via Twitter @digitalchalk.