Here's a quick primer on how xAPI can improve your Performance Support.
By now, you’ve heard the buzz regarding what’s variously called Experience API, xAPI, or The Tin Can API. And you know that it’s an emerging learning technology standard that facilitates the collection and communication of data related to the wide range of ways in which a learner interacts with formal or informal learning assets. However, at this point, you might be wondering how xAPI is relevant to performance support and workflow learning.
But before we get into the uses of xAPI in EPSS, let’s quickly review the basics of how xAPI is intended to work.
But before we get into the uses of xAPI in EPSS, let’s quickly review the basics of how xAPI is intended to work.
In a nutshell, learners go about their business learning stuff from a system like Ontuitive that supports xAPI. As they learn, their activities (viewing a video, reading content, assessing content, commenting, completing a task, etc.) are written -- using xAPI statements -- to an xAPI-compliant Learning Record Store. Later, a report of those informal and previously untracked learning activities may be generated to assess the learners activities or the performance of the EPSS system.
With that as background, here are the 3 Reasons your Performance Support should speak xAPI:
With that as background, here are the 3 Reasons your Performance Support should speak xAPI:
- xAPI-enabled Performance Support ensures that you can provide evidence of real, quantifiable business value derived from a learning investment. It’s no secret that business leaders are often skeptical of the ROI on learning expenditures. Having the ability to track learning activities and associated outcomes from your Performance Support Platform gives you evidence of genuine ROI.
- xAPI-enabled your Performance Support ensures you’re getting value from your investment in your xAPI-compliant LMS. Don’t have an xAPI-compliant LMS? Don’t bother reading on. My guess, though, is that your company has probably invested substantially in its LMS. You can make sure it’s relevant to how employees actually learn: on-the-job.
- Finally, an xAPI-enabled Performance Support Solution engages and motivates learners. Employees are motivated and successful when they know that their learning activity and performance matter – to them and to their employers. Sharing evidence-based ROI with employees demonstrates that their informal learning activities are valuable to their employers.