xAPI Data

How learning-activity records (xAPI) relate to credentials in LearnCard, and how to name your activities.

A credential says what someone achieved. An xAPI statement says what they did. LearnCard stores both, and the second is often the evidence for the first.

What xAPI is

xAPI (Experience API) records learning activity as simple statements — actor, verb, object:

Jane — completed — "Module 2: Machine Learning Basics"

It isn't tied to courses or an LMS. A statement can describe reading an article, finishing a level in a game, attending a workshop, or passing a quiz. Each statement is a small JSON object with a standard shape, so tools from different vendors can read each other's records.

How LearnCard uses it

• Storage. The LearnCloud Storage API accepts xAPI statements at /xapi/statements. Statements are stored under the learner's DID and are the learner's data — you write them with the learner's permission, not to a store you own. See Send xAPI Statements.

• Evidence. When you issue a credential, you can point its evidence at the statements that justify it. "Completed AI Fundamentals" becomes more useful when a verifier can see the four module completions and quiz passes behind it.

• Triggers. Your system decides when a pattern of statements earns a credential — four modules complete → issue the course badge. LearnCard doesn't do this automatically; it gives you the store and the send().

Naming your activities

Every statement's object.id is a URI you choose. Verbs are usually taken from the ADL registry as-is:

verb: { id: 'http://adlnet.gov/expapi/verbs/completed', display: { 'en-US': 'completed' } },
object: {
    id: 'https://docs.yourgame.com/xapi/activities/level-1/custom-challenge',
    definition: {
        name: { 'en-US': 'Level 1 Custom Challenge' },
        type: 'http://adlnet.gov/expapi/activities/simulation',
    },
},

Three rules that save pain later:

1. Use a domain you control, with a consistent path structure. A made-up domain is valid xAPI, but a real one lets you publish what the activity means.

2. Make the URI resolve to a description if you can — what the activity is, what it demonstrates, which skills it maps to. Verifiers and analysts will look.

3. Never reuse an ID for a different activity. New version, new ID. An ID is a permanent name, not a label.

Related

• Building Verifiable Credentials — the evidence field

• xAPI reference — endpoints, authentication, and the X-VP header