Layers of the xAPI Onion

What is the Experience API?

xAPI is interesting on so many levels and to so many audiences that it is hard to provide a succinct answer.

It’s helpful to describe xAPI using layers. On the surface, xAPI is quite interesting with many capabilities to explore and understand. Just as you start to take it all in though, you realize there is more goodness hiding just beneath the surface.

This section will answer the question “What is the Experience API?” layer by layer.

Experience API Layers of the Onion

To whet your appetite, here is a short preview of the layers:

  • Layer 1: The Experience API is a modernized version of SCORM that frees us from the obsolete constructs of old.
  • Layer 2: The Experience API allows us to record any learning experience, including informal learning, giving us a much richer picture of an individual’s learning path.
  • Layer 3: The Experience API frees your data from the confines of your siloed LMS.
  • Layer 4: The Experience API is capable of achieving the holy grail sought by training departments everywhere by correlating job performance data with training data to assess training effectiveness and much more.