What is xAPI? A Beginner’s Guide to the Experience API and Learning Record Stores

Learning Happens Everywhere — But Are You Capturing It?

Most organisations only see a fraction of their learners’ activity. An LMS might tell you who finished a course, but it won’t show that the same person watched a YouTube tutorial, practiced in VR, or had a coaching session.

That’s where xAPI comes in.

So, What Exactly is xAPI?

xAPI (short for Experience API) is a standard way of capturing and sharing learning experiences, no matter where they happen.

Think of it like a fitness tracker for learning:

A Fitbit doesn’t just record your gym sessions — it tracks your steps, your sleep, even your heart rate.
In the same way, xAPI doesn’t just track eLearning completions. It captures videos, simulations, mentoring, classroom workshops, mobile apps, and more.

It’s a simple, universal way of answering the question:

Who did what, with what, and how did it go?

Every xAPI record is called a statement.

It’s basically a sentence:

Actor + Verb + Object

Julian completed Motorcycle Safety Module 1
Aimee watched VR Forklift Simulation

And we can add details like: how long it took, if it was successful, where it happened, and even attachments like videos or files.

All these statements flow into a Learning Record Store (LRS) — your single source of truth for learning data.

Example: “Learner played a video”

In xAPI, every event is written as Actor + Verb + Object.

Here’s the human sentence first:

“A learner played the video Fire Safety Basics (2:30).”

And here’s the equivalent xAPI statement (using the xAPI Video Profile verb played):

{
  "actor": {
    "objectType": "Agent",
    "account": {
      "homePage": "https://example.org",
      "name": "user-12345"
    }
  },
  "verb": {
    "id": "https://w3id.org/xapi/video/verbs/played",
    "display": { "en": "played" }
  },
  "object": {
    "id": "https://video.example.org/watch/fire-safety-basics",
    "definition": {
      "type": "https://w3id.org/xapi/video/activity-type/video",
      "name": { "en": "Fire Safety Basics (2:30)" },
      "description": { "en": "A short training video on fire safety fundamentals." }
    },
    "objectType": "Activity"
  },
  "result": {
    "extensions": {
      "https://w3id.org/xapi/video/extensions/time": 15.4,
      "https://w3id.org/xapi/video/extensions/position": 15.4,
      "https://w3id.org/xapi/video/extensions/length": 150.0
    }
  },
  "context": {
    "contextActivities": {
      "parent": [
        {
          "id": "https://lms.example.org/course/workplace-safety",
          "objectType": "Activity"
        }
      ]
    },
    "extensions": {
      "https://w3id.org/xapi/video/extensions/session-id": "5f2c9c10-87a4-4931-94b5-91d2a07f12b3",
      "https://w3id.org/xapi/video/extensions/cc-enabled": true
    }
  },
  "timestamp": "2025-09-24T00:12:34Z"
}

This may look complicated, but broken down it’s very simple to understand

actor = who did it (learner, anonymised with an account ID).
verb = what they did (played).
object = the Fire Safety video they interacted with.
result = how far into the video they got (position, length, time).
context = where this activity sat (Workplace Safety course) and session details.
timestamp = when it happened.

This shows how xAPI captures something as everyday as watching a video, and makes it measurable, trackable, and reportable across systems.

Why Does This Matter?

Because xAPI gives you:

✅ The full picture of learning — not just LMS completions

✅ Cross-platform tracking — VR, apps, classroom, workplace learning

✅ Smarter reporting — compliance, skills, engagement, time-to-competence

✅ Data for AI and analytics — powering insights you can’t get from siloed systems

In short: xAPI turns learning data into business intelligence.

Real-World Examples

RTOs: Capture assessment evidence from Moodle, VR simulations, and workplace checklists — all in one place.
Schools: Connect online courses, classroom activities, and even student reflections.
Corporates: Track onboarding across Teams, eLearning, mentoring, and shadowing.

If learning happens there, xAPI can track it.

Where to find out moreIf you’d like to explore xAPI in more detail, these resources are a great place to start:

xAPI.com.au Articles — practical guides and case studies from real projects here in Australia.

xAPI Specification (1.0.3) — the official technical spec maintained by the ADL Initiative.

ADL Initiative – xAPI Project — background, history, and ongoing updates from the group that created xAPI.

IEEE 9274.1.1-2023 – Official IEEE Standard for xAPI

xAPI Profiles Registry — browse reusable activity patterns like the Video, SCORM, or Question profiles.

The Ultimate xAPI Resource List — as it states, the ultimate list of xAPI resources from Veracity

Learning Record Stores (LRS) — platforms such as Watershed, Learning Locker, Yet Analytics, and Veracity that collect, store, and report on xAPI statements.

What is xAPI?