xAPI

What is an API?

What is an API? API stands for Application Programming Interface. It allows you to connect one app to another. xAPI in the learning realm is an API that connects a learning experience (x) in some activity to a Learning Record Store (LRS).

So you can track learning behavior inside an LRS, which is ready to collect these experiences and compile the learning data in meaningful charts. The data allows you to see if the learner's experiences have the impact you want them to have. So xAPI is the agreed-upon language between that digital experience (most often the eLearning course) AND the LRS.

Historically working with APIs has needed code, but luckily there are tools that make it easier to connect the two apps. In this video, I dive into what APIs are and how it applies to learning development.