Abstract
Military medical training faces significant interoperability challenges due to disparate and legacy data standards (Pettitt & Nortfleet, 2024), hindering integration of diverse training technologies and limiting effective competency tracking across interdependent environments. The Experience API (xAPI) offers a standardized method to capture, store, and share learning experiences across different training modalities, including live simulations, virtual reality/augmented reality, task trainers, real-time physiological monitoring, and assessment platforms. By serving as an interoperability layer, xAPI enables simulation platforms to exchange evidence-aligned training data in a standardized manner, supports cross-platform performance tracking, and facilitates competency-based training strategies.
Building upon prior research demonstrating the viability of integrating learning analytics from multiple platforms using xAPI-enabled content (Presnall, 2020; Salkutsan et al., 2021), this research project leverages the U.S. Army's Generalized Intelligent Framework for Tutoring (GIFT) to address interoperability gaps in virtual and live medical training events. GIFT aggregates diverse training data from multiple sources (virtual reality, task trainers, live exercises), standardizes them into xAPI performance metrics to provide real-time insights into learner progress, and delivers personalized learning pathways based on demonstrated competencies.
In collaboration with local stakeholders, field care competency frameworks aligned with BoldQuest 24 Medical Thread Mission Essential Tasks were developed, with instrumented analytics embedded into the full training cycle, encompassing pre-training, manikin-based scenarios, virtual reality simulations, and live exercises. GIFT ingests data from various sources, processes them using a domain knowledge file housing relevant competency frameworks, and generates xAPI statements sent to a Learning Record Store (LRS) for retrieval by competency assessment platforms.
In this paper, we will highlight GIFT and xAPI's potential in addressing modularity and interoperability challenges in military medical training, offering a scalable, data-driven solution aligned with Department of Defense modernization priorities, ensuring warfighters receive standardized training that can be effectively scaled across different units.