The learning and training landscape is changing rapidly with newer technologies emerging. While SCORM (Sharable Content Object Reference Model) has been the de facto eLearning industry standard, SCORM has not been extensible enough to support these technologies and does not provide enough guidance on capturing robust learner performance data.

Making the transition from SCORM to the more flexible Experience Application Programming Interface (xAPI) specification is key to supporting the vision and goals for modernizing learning within the Department of Defense while meeting the distributed learning policy (DoDI 1322.26) related to learning analytics and interoperability. SCORM and xAPI can be implemented together, but the divide is wide. 

The cmi5 specification was released in 2016 to help bridge the gap and define a set of rules for how online courses are imported, launched, and tracked using an LMS and xAPI. While cmi5 presents a promising solution, adoption across the DoD has been slow, but now there are tools and templates that are freely available from ADL to help migrate legacy content to the improved cmi5 specification.

In 2020, The Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL) Initiative awarded Rustici Software a contract to design and build tools to aid in the adoption of cmi5, including sample cmi5 course templates to aid in converting legacy content and a cmi5 Content Test Suite, known as cmi5 Advanced Testing Application and Player Underpinning Learning Technologies (cmi5 CATAPULT). 

This tutorial will help attendees better understand how to utilize cmi5 and the freely available course templates from cmi5 CATAPULT to migrate, create, and test their courseware to ensure they conform to the cmi5 specification. After an introduction to cmi5, where it fits into the Total Learning Architecture (TLA), and why eLearning standards are a necessary component of modern learning ecosystems, this tutorial will walk attendees through converting legacy SCORM content to cmi5 using the sample course templates and describe the importance of testing in ADL’s cmi5 Content Test Suite. 

The cmi5 specification plays an important role in the DoD’s learning modernization, facilitating progress in migrating from SCORM-based LMS-centric courseware to a distributed learning “ecosystem” that delivers diverse learning opportunities across federated platforms. With the cmi5 Conformance Test Suite and example course templates, there are now ways to validate that content conforms to the cmi5 specification and migrate existing legacy courseware, which will help increase adoption of the specification and move toward the DoD’s TLA goals.

Keywords
ELEARNING, EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES, EXPERIENCE API, INTEROPERABILITY, LEARNING STANDARDS, LEARNING TECHNOLOGY STANDARDS, OPEN STANDARDS, STANDARDS, TRAINING, XAPI