The Experience API can describe a wide variety of experiences. It moves us beyond simple web-based models, promotes adaptive design and development, and accelerates integrations with other systems. xAPI can help you inform better business decisions, helping you connect an individual’s activities across multiple applications.

The xAPI is really three things. 1) An API. The “application programming interface (API)” in xAPI is what makes it possible to store and retrieve xAPI data in an interoperable way. 2) A Data Standard. xAPI also specifies a standard format for how its data should be structured. And finally, 3) xAPI is a Technical Specification. It provides a suite of technical documentation for how to use the API.

The xAPI data protocol offers learning professionals the opportunity to collect more and better data about the programs we create and their effectiveness. It helps us move beyond the narrow (only elearning) and shallow (only a few data points) that we get from SCORM and into a rich variety of data about what happens during and after learning, with the promise of the same global interoperability that SCORM has offered. Of course, with “more, better and richer” data comes a bit more intention and effort about the data we collect. This is both exciting and challenging for learning professionals as we move toward a more data-centric environment.

xAPI is a learning technology that makes it possible to capture granular data about your students’ learning experiences. Advantages: 1) Data can be collected from learning experiences that occur outside the LMS. 2) Learning content does not need to reside in a browser, enabling the tracking of data from mobile apps, social learning, gaming and simulations. 3) Learning content can be easily distributed since it does not need to reside on the same web site as your LMS. 4) The xAPI data model can be extended to track exactly the data needed for analysis.