The learning environment of business is growing both in complexity and usability. As learning management systems (LMS) become more and more complex, it is easing the learning process. We are all engaging in content in a completely different way than we used to. Data integration now plays a massive role in our lives. It also plays a role in the ways that we approach training. This article is about why you should be adopting an xAPI-based learning system and the benefits that come along with data-integrated learning.
It's All About Language
If you still have an older training system, then it is likely that it is based on SCORM. SCORM training is still useful, don't get us wrong, but Experience API (or xAPI or Tin-Can API) is more dynamic and far better suited to fast-paced and engaging environments where a multitude of things are being learned simultaneously. SCORM allows simple language; it tells you who passed what, and that's about it. Experience API, on the other hand, communicates in a way that SCORM never could; it gives you context and connectivity. In a fast-paced working environment like restaurants and retail, learning is more complex than passing a test, and context is what promotes and creates training opportunity. SCORM lets you know that Kyle passed his test. Experience API lets you know why Kyle passed his test, and all of his progress leading up to him passing.
Activity Streams
Experience API is able to track activity better than ever before through the use of it's "activity streams". Activity streams can track activities that your employees do in a whole new way. Track work activity on computers or through mobile devices and see progress in work tasks, testing outputs, and see achievements in training-related games and videos. Experience API is learning through communication and data-integration.
Why Should You Implement xAPI?
Picture an entire world of data opening up to you. Instead of SCORM based learning methods where you can simply see that Kyle passed his safety test with a 90%, you can now track how Kyle passed his test and why. This provides opportunities to promote learning in a whole new way. Provide your employees with dynamic tools and suggestions, connect them to an overarching knowledge base that helps them learn-on-the-go. Picture xAPI as an economy of learning, one that promotes progress more than it promotes results.
Kyle didn't only pass his test, his learning results were stored. All of the training modules leading up to the test were stored and recorded. He was given interactive video games along the way which were all tracked and recorded.
Ongoing Training
Now that Kyle has learned how to cook products and greet customers, suddenly xAPI has become the measure of his on-the-job performance. By tying in the xAPI to your inventory system, all of the product that Kyle uses are tracked, and his usage can be measured. Experience API can connect to knowledge bases, helpdesk solutions, portals, inventory systems, and all of the other software-based systems that can provide opportunities for learning. This provides dynamic training opportunities that were never present in old SCORM based LMS programs.
If you would like to learn more about how modern data analysis and xAPI systems affect learning, check out our free ebook "Trust the Data: How Modern Learning Impacts Your Operational Performance."
