If xAPI is “electricity”, then cmi5 is your “wall socket”!

Bill McDonald

Sabashiro Beach, LLC

cmi5 Working Group Leader

Overview

• What is cmi5 ?

• Why is cmi5 important ?

• What does cmi5 get you ?

• What are the “extra rules” that cmi5 defines ?

What is cmi5 ?

• cmi5 is a set of “extra rules” for xAPI

• The “extra rules” in cmi5 define “plug-and-play” interoperability between traditional LMS systems and learning content activities

• Logical components• LMS – Learning Management System (includes a LRS

learning record store)

• AU – Assignable Unit (learning content/activity launched by LMS)

If xAPI is the greatest thing since electricity, then cmi5 is your “wall socket”.

Another electricity analogy…

• Imagine that xAPI is like the electrical service in your home and cmi5 is like a wall socket.

• The wall socket is a simple “plug and play” standard for using electricity with consumer appliances (a very common “use case”).

• The additional rules imposed by the wall socket for connecting to the electric wiring make it much easier to use.

• You don’t have to have special knowledge or hire an electrician – you just plug it in and works (as long as the appliance and the wall socket follow those “extra rules”).

Why is cmi5 important ?

• It is a BIG improvement over SCORM and AICC !(Many new features and can map to existing ones)

• Profiles like cmi5 are crucial for plug-and-play interoperability. xAPI is not interoperable by itself because it is too broad.

• cmi5 is the “training wheels” that the industry needs to adopt and understand xAPI. • The Industry understands the current LMS model

• LMS adoption of cmi5 will lead to other xAPI profiles.

What cmi5 does for you…

The most wicked, awesome, epic

learning experience you

ever had.

Your LMS

Record ANY data you want..

and get it back!

Here’s what you get with cmi5

• The benefits of xAPI

• Content will plug-and-play with your LMS (no custom xAPI engagements)

• Record ANY data you want (and get it back!) – LMS is required to provide a user interface to access all cmi5 sessions recorded in the LRS.

• Eliminate Pass/Complete confusion

• Eliminate embedded vs. separate window launch issues.

• Better support for hosted content/content as a service

So what does that mean ?

• Your content can now do really cool things that you can record in the LMS !• Language training – record voice responses• Detailed custom “telemetry data” of what happened in the

content session• Give assignments where learners must take photos or draw

pictures • Have your content generate a PDF certificate and send it to

the LMS

• No more hassles with windowing !• No more confusion over Passed vs Completed• You can host content in other domains much more

easily.

What does this mean for LMSs?

• LMSs need to implement an LRS and manage access to that LRS.

• LMSs will need to write to the LRS prior to launching content

• LMSs will need to change the way they launch content (a URL query string with a content defined window)

• LMSs must determine when to void erroneous statements – cmi5 doesn’t allow content to void statements.

• LMSs will need to provide a reporting capability that queries the LRS to provide access to all statements, extensions, attachments, etc.

In general, the cmi5 rules are …

• Rule #1 – You must conform to xAPI.• Rule #2 – You can do whatever you want in xAPI as long

as it does not conflict the cmi5 specification. • Rule #3 – LMS must use the cmi5 defined launch

mechanism to a launch cmi5 AU’s.• Rule #4 – All sessions must include the required cmi5

statements.• Rule #5 – LMS is required to support a (XML) course

structure to define implied sequence and completion criteria for learning activities in a registration

• Rule #6 – The LMS must provide a user interface to access all data recorded.

cmi5 defines the following

• Launch Requirements • URL launch line

• LRS Authentication• Basic Authentication delivery via “fetch URL”

• LRS/LMS Reporting Requirements

• (Additional) Statement API requirements

• (Additional) State API requirements

• (Additional) Agent Profile API requirements

• Course Structure• (XML) defines implied sequence, moveOn rules, launch

window properties, launch parameters.

Vocabulary

Session Verbs

• Launched

• Initialized

• Terminated

Status Verbs

• Passed

• Completed

• Waived

• Failed

• Abandoned

• Satisfied

cmi5 status

• cmi5 “Sandstone” released May 2015 for vendors to begin coding/validating.

• Next cmi5 release is “Quartz”. Originally scheduled for Sept 2015 but will slide until sufficient vendor feedback is collected.

• RISC, inc (LMS vendor) has made a cmi5 ”AU Simulator” freely available to cmi5 implementers.

• ADL is trying to acquire resources for cmi5 reference implementations.

If you want cmi5, ask for it !

• Let your vendors of learning content, content creation tools, and LMS’s know that you want the benefits of cmi5 !

• The “voice of the customer” is the most critical factor in driving adoption on any new standard.

• Make your voice heard !

Summary

• cmi5 is a set of extra rules that make sure learning content and LMS systems can work together.

• cmi5 will greatly enhance the interoperable features for the current LMS model.

• cmi5 will serve as an example for other “xAPIprofiles” and accelerate more xAPI adoption.

Join Us !

• The cmi5 working group holds weekly web conferences every Friday at 10:30am Eastern/7:30am Pacific.• https://github.com/AICC/CMI-5_Spec_Current/wiki

• Follow us on Twitter:• @cmi5spec

• #cmi5

• Questions ?• cmi5wg@adlnet.gov