The xAPI Glossary

There are many words and phrases unique to working with the Experience API. The following definitions are provided as a resource to help get you up to speed with the terminology. 

• Actor - An actor is a noun, the simple subject of your sentence. The actor identifies who or what the sentence or xAPI statement is about. An actor is part of the xAPI format that makes up an xAPI statement. 

• Activity Provider - Any technologies, tools, apps, or other resources that generate xAPI statements and can"provide" them to a Learning Record Store.

• Advanced Distributed Learning Initiative - The Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL) Initiative is the Department of Defense research and development epicenter for learning technologies.

• API - An API, or Application Programming Interface, is a software interface that makes it possible for application programs to communicate with each other and share data.

• Controlled Vocabulary - The controlled vocabulary, facilitated by the Advanced Distributed Learning Initiative (ADL), creators of xAPI, standardizes the definitions of verbs and activities so that all xAPI technologies reference a specific definite language. This vocabulary will continue to grow as xAPI and LRS adoption increases.

• E-Learning - E-Learning stands for electronic learning, learning that is delivered through an electronic media, generally online.

• Experience API - The Experience API (xAPI) is an open data interoperability specification for collecting the experiences people have across, with, and through technologies in the connected world.

• Experiential Data - Experience data is a combination of activity, behavior, learning, and performance data. Experience data can be captured and collected through interactions with content, context, technologies, and the environment, both internal and external and is captured as xAPI statements.

• Integration - A software integration is the process of connecting different technologies, software, or systems functionally or physically so that they can communicate with each other and work together. 

• Internet of Things - The Internet of Things (IoT) is the technological networked infrastructure created by the connectedness of our world. IoT technologies include devices, vehicles, buildings, sensors, electronics, computers, and anything else that is or can be connected to the web, and can exchange and collect data.

• Interoperability - Interoperability is the ability for the parts of a technology or system to be able to interact with and use the parts of another. In terms of xAPI, interoperability refers to the ability of technologies and systems to use the xAPI specification as the means of data exchange and communication. 

• JSON - JSON, which stands for JavaScript Object Notation, is a lightweight data-interchange format. It is easy for humans to read and write and it is easy for machines to parse and generate.

• Learning Management System - A Learning Management System (LMS) is a software application that allows for the management, administration, documentation, tracking, reporting, and delivery of e-learning courses or training programs in mobile and online formats. 

• Learning Record Store - A Learning Record Store (LRS) is a specialized database designed specifically to store data structured in xAPI format.

• Object - An object reveals the context of what and how the actor did what they did, it is the direct object of the verb. An object is part of the xAPI format that makes up an xAPI statement.

• Verb - A verb is the simple predicate of your sentence, it describes what the actor did. A verb is part of the xAPI format that makes up an xAPI statement.

• xAPI-Enabled - A phrase used to describe technologies, tools, apps, or other resources that generate xAPI statements natively.

• xAPI Format - A human and machine readable data format structured as Actor-Verb-Object as defined in the xAPI specification. 

• xAPI Integration - A phrase used to describe technologies, tools, apps, or other resources that have been connected through an integration bridge or translation later so that they generate xAPI statements.

• xAPI Specification - The xAPI specification is a definitive document authored specifically to define how learning experiences and learner activities can be tracked between Activity Providers and a Learning Record Store. The xAPI Specification was developed by and is maintained by the Advanced Distributed Learning Initiative in collaboration with xAPI community efforts.

• xAPI Statement - An individual piece of data structured in xAPI format. xAPI statements are also described as activity statements or activities, because they capture what activity occurred.