xAPI-enabled learning activities generate statements, or records of e-learning in the form of "I did this" or "Actor verb object". These statements are transmitted over
HTTP or
HTTPS to an LRS. The main function of an LRS is to store and retrieve the data that's generated from Experience API statements. An LRS can exist inside a traditional
learning management system (LMS), or on its own. Systems sending data to an LRS are known as "Activity Providers". Individual learners can have their own LRSs, or Personal Data Lockers, in which they store all of their learning data for their own personal records. xAPI statements are capable of being sent to multiple LRSs at once. With traditional LMSs, a learner's data stays with the organization that administers the LMS. When the LRS is introduced, the sharing of learning data is possible, and the learning data can follow the learner wherever the learner goes (for example, from job to job or from school to school). LRSs offer the ability to create very in-depth e-learning
analytics because of the large amounts of learning data they record and store. Traditional e-learning specifications like SCORM are limited to storing simple data points such as a final score, or that a course has been started or completed. With the statement structure that the LRS records, there are many data points that can be reported against. Reports can be pulled on any number of combinations of "actor", "verb" and "object". However, an LRS that is built strictly to the Experience API specification doesn't have a built-in reporting mechanism. The LRS administrator (or the administrator of the LMS in which the LRS exists) must provide means to access the data in the LRS, and in turn create a reporting system for the data. ==References==