Every business is investing its time and money on the next emerging technology trend. The challenge is how to effectively move forward with solutions to problems they face today when the next technology has yet to be widely adopted. This is exactly what the L&D industry is facing with the emergence of the next eLearning standard, xAPI. Chris Tompkins, Director of Sales at Rustici Software, gave this presentation at xAPI Cohort during the Fall 2020 Virtual Party.

1. By the Numbers: A Behind the
Scenes Look at xAPI and cmi5
Adoption
Chris Tompkins
Director of Sales, Rustici Software

2. About Rustici Software
eLearning technology experts
since 2002
We help connect content and
platforms across the eLearning
ecosystem, leveraging our expertise
in SCORM, xAPI, cmi5, LTI, and AICC.

3. What we’ll cover
● Refresher on the eLearning standards
● Behind the scenes look at xAPI and cmi5 usage in our SCORM Cloud
● Growth of xAPI adopters across the industry
● Underutilized features
● Value of using standards
● Future of cmi5

4. What are these standards?
Standards help eLearning content and systems play well together
AICC
Aviation Industry Computer-Based
Training Committee
SCORM
Sharable Content Object
Reference Model
IMS LTI
Learning Tools
Interoperability
xAPI
Experience API
or Tin Can API
cmi5
computer managed
instruction
1998 2000 - 2009 2010 2013 2016
Today
cmi5
Advancement

5. What is cmi5?
cmi5 is the newest learning specification
● “Set of rules” that makes it easier to use xAPI packages
● Defines how to handle xAPI activities in launched
scenarios, like playing a course in an LMS
● Launch mechanism to establish a learning session
● Information model that provides a template for how xAPI
statements can be tied together
● Could actually replace SCORM

6. cmi5 Conformance Test Suite
12-month project to develop and deliver:
● Prototype player - which, in theory, could be integrated into an
existing LMS/system to make it cmi5 capable, assuming connection
to a compliant xAPI LRS
● Content player testing tool - manual + automated way of confirming
conformance of the cmi5 launching system (LMS)
● Content testing tool - UI + backend system allowing for arbitrary cmi5
content to be tested
● Documentation, best practices, sample SCORM courses converted to
cmi5, webinars, etc.

7. Why are looking at SCORM Cloud?
30K+
SCORM Cloud users
1.8B
xAPI statements
generated since 2013
624K
eLearning courses
imported in 2020 alone
Lots of users Lots of courses Lots of data

8. Packaged content imports
36K total xAPI course
packages imported
Over 5K cmi5 course
packages imported

9. Packaged content imports
xAPI accounts for 1.4% of
course packages
imported in 2020
cmi5 accounts for 0.2%
of course packages
imported in 2020
SCORM 1.2 is still the
defacto, but a large %
also using AICC

10. xAPI out of the box
In 2020, nearly 500 million
xAPI statements have been
generated in SCORM
Cloud, both launches and
outside content sending
statements!

11. xAPI connected tools and systems
We’ve seen continuous
growth in the number of
external tools configured
to send and receive xAPI
statements from the
SCORM Cloud LRS.

12. xAPI adopters
26
LRS products listed as an ADL
conformant LRS
216
Products and services listed on
xAPI.com adopters directory
52
Vendors listed on ADL’s xAPI
adopters registry
xAPI.com/adoptersadopters.adlnet.gov/adopters/0adopters.adlnet.gov/products/all/0
eLearning software and applications that support xAPI

13. xAPI adopters
Over the last 8 years, we’ve
seen growth in the types of
adopters using xAPI.

14. Underutilized features
xAPI Statement Signing
● Enables the validation of xAPI data. Using xAPI Statement Signing
enables you to know both who sent the data and validate it hasn’t
been changed.
xAPI Profiles
● Allows people building xAPI tools and using the data produced by
those tools to know exactly what is expected of them and more easily
make sense of that data.

15. Adoption and value
xAPI is a thing
cmi5 could replace SCORM
Cohort participants are leaders
● You’re our leaders
● Your demand from vendors matters
● Your reports and insights will drive adoption

16. Helpful resources
xAPI tools
● Try SCORM Cloud for free
○ https://cloud.scorm.com/sc/guest/SignUpForm
● ADL’s list of conformant LRSs
○ https://adopters.adlnet.gov/products/all/0
● ADL’s LRS Conformance Test Suite
○ https://lrstest.adlnet.gov/
● 2019: State of xAPI Adoption Research Report
○ https://www.learningguild.com/insights/242/2019-the-state-of-xapi-adoption/

17. Questions? Ask us anything.
Email us: chris.tompkins@rusticisoftware.com
Learn more: rusticisoftware.com | scorm.com | xapi.com