Introduction

The xAPI (formerly Tin Can API) API is an E-learning software specification. This type of software allows learning content and learning systems to speak to each other in a way that records all types of learning experiences, which are then recorded in a Learning Record Store (LRS). An LRS can exist within traditional Learning Management Systems, or on its own.

Requirements & Limitations

• Docebo supports the Tin Can Standard 1.0.
• The maximum file size is 1024 MB.
• The xAPI (Tin Can API) content must be uploaded as a ZIP package.
• Docebo LRS works in pairs with Docebo Learn, to be able to link activities completed by the users to course progress, they are required to recognize the activity ID passed in the xAPI statement. To make the LRS recognize these activity IDs, upload xAPI packages with a proper tincan.xml descriptor in them.
• You can upload xAPI/TinCan content into e-learning, Instructor-Led Training (ILT) and Virtual Instructor-Led Training (VILT) courses.

Uploading xAPI Packages to your Platform

You can upload an xAPI package from your device, or you can do so from an external link. Begin by logging into your platform as the Superadmin or as an instructor.

From the Admin Menu (the gear icon in the top right corner of your platform), find the Courses Management item in the E-Learning section. Look for the course for which you would like to upload the xAPI training material and click on its description, then move to the Training Material tab.

From here, select the Add Training Material button, then select xAPI (Tin Can) from the dropdown menu.

On the upload page, there are three tabs: xAPI (Tin Can), Additional Info, and Enhanced Security. In the Tin Can tab, select Upload File to choose the xAPI (Tin Can API) file from your device and set whether you want to track all activities in the package. If checked (this is the default setting), the platform will track ALL of the activities, including activities and sub-activities. In this way, when completing the first module of the Tin Can training material (considering that a Tin Can training material is composed of multiple modules), the entire Tin Can is marked as completed. If the Track all activities option is not selected, only the main activities of the package will be tracked, and all modules have to be completed for the Tin Can to be marked as completed.

The platform identifies Tin Can content as completed when learners press the Close button (also named Exit or Submit). Failing to press this button may result in the learning progress not being sent from the Tin Can package to the platform and in the Tin Can content not being marked as completed. For this reason, it is highly suggested to include a completion screen in your Tin Can packages to be displayed when the Tin Can package confirms that tracking data has been transferred and to show the Close button on this screen.

While the file is uploading, move to the Additional Info tab to fill in a short description for your file and select a thumbnail. You can also change the title or the thumbnail of the training material later.

You can also add tags to your training material to improve its searchability in your platform’s global search. If the auto-tagging feature is enabled in your platform, some tags may be automatically generated based on the content of your training material, as understood by your platform using artificial intelligence (note that this only works for English, Spanish, French, German, Italian and Portuguese content). You can edit or remove tags at any time, with a limit of 15 tags per training material and of 32 characters per tag (find out more about taggable content types). Please note that, for security reasons, the platform artificial intelligence does not access private content (that is, content requiring authentication to be accessed) and can thus automatically generate tags only for public content. When uploading private content, we suggest you add tags manually.

Please note: The auto-tagging feature may encounter problems when processing xAPI training material created through the use of certain authoring tools embedding textual contents directly into programming files, and compressing images so that their quality does not allow Optical Character Recognition (OCR). We are currently working to confront this limitation by collaborating with some of the major authoring tools providers.

When you're finished, press Save Changes. If the file format is correct, the xAPI package will be uploaded as course material, and a message will be displayed on the top left of your screen.

Linking xAPI Content as Training Material

Before you can link xAPI content as training material in a course, you must first create a predefined list of links in the platform for your platform to be able to play the content for learners. To do so, access the Admin Menu, then select the Advanced Settings option from the Settings section. Then, access the E-Learning tab.

In the xAPI (Tin Can) External Content section, add the link to the material in the corresponding text field. Alternatively, you can also insert only the domain (for example http://www.domain.com/*), without the name and the extension of the file and with an asterisk at the end of the URL, and then add the file name and extension in an individual training material in a course (e.g. file_name_1.zip after the domain). When you have added the domain, press Add. It will then appear in the list below.

Repeat the procedure to add up to 20 external URLs. By adding only the domain, you can upload as many xAPI training materials as you want, without limits or restrictions, because for each domain that you insert in the xAPI (Tin Can) External Content field, you can then specify the file name and extension in the xAPI training material’s configuration.

In this way, the domain you inserted will be considered as one URL out of 20, but you’ll be able to add beyond 20 xAPI external content. Refer to the following paragraphs to learn more about this option. When finished, press Save.

If you want to add a salt secret to the link, return to the xAPI (Tin Can) External Content section, find the link and press the lock icon in the link's row. Add and confirm the salt secret and press the checkmark. Then, press Save again. If you do not add the salt secret to the link, it will enable the third party to work like normal xAPI content launched from your platform. Providing the salt secret will validate a call out, adding a "checksum" of the parameters and salt secret, which makes the third party available to validate the content's launch.

Once you've added the link, return to the Training Material page for a course (see instructions above, if necessary). Then, select xAPI (Tin Can) from the Add Training Material dropdown menu. On the upload page, select the From URL option. Then, choose a URL from the Select URL/Domain dropdown menu. These are all of the links that you added in the E-Learning tab of the Advanced Settings area of the platform.

If you select a domain that doesn’t contain the name and extension of the file, the Suffix URL field will appear below the Select URL/Domain field. Here, you’ll insert the name and the extension of your training material file.

Please note: You can add the folder or the subfolder in which your file is located either in the Select URL/Domain field or in the Suffix URL field, giving you a considerable flexibility when uploading your xAPI training material.

Set whether you want to track all activities in the package. If checked (this is the default setting), the platform will track ALL activity, including activities and sub-activities. If not selected, only the main activities of the package will be tracked. Then, add a title and description of the content in the corresponding text fields, and move to the Additional Info tab. Fill out a short description for your file and select a thumbnail. You can change the training material's description or thumbnail later, as desired.

You can also add tags to your training material to improve its searchability in your platform’s global search. If the auto-tagging feature is enabled in your platform, some tags may be automatically generated based on the content of your training material, as understood by your platform using artificial intelligence (note that this only works for English, Spanish, French, German, Italian and Portuguese content). You can edit or remove tags at any time, with a limit of 15 tags per training material (find out more about taggable content types). Please note that, for security reasons, the platform artificial intelligence does not access private content (that is, content requiring authentication to be accessed) and can thus automatically generate tags only for public content. When uploading private content, we suggest you add tags manually.

Lastly, move to the Enhanced Security tab, select the option to add an OAuth code to the launch URL, and then select the OAuth client from the corresponding dropdown menu. Then, press Save Changes to create your training material.

Managing the Settings of the Training Material

Once the training material has been uploaded, you can manage the additional settings. Press the menu icon in the content's row, then select Settings.

In the pop-up box, decide if the training material is visible or hidden, the publishing timeframe, how many times the users can see the training material (until completed/passed, infinite times or only one time), and the dimensions and launch mode of the training material. Press Save Changes when finished.

Best Practices

• If you want to track your xAPI (Tin Can) package remotely, you need to upload the package directly into your platform. Your Docebo platform does not support completely anonymous tracking. If you want to send xAPI (Tin Can) statements to our platform, you can do so using the following link format: https://www.lmsaddress.com/tcapi/. Additionally, users must have a valid email address associated with their account for the platform to store tracking data for xAPI training materials. While you can upload xAPI (Tin Can) packages directly into the Central Repository, we suggest you upload them directly into a course. You can push them into the Central Repository after uploading them into the course if desired.
• The only place where xAPI content can be updated is via the Central Repository.