History of Learning records
Learning records have a rich history, with the concept having evolved significantly over the past couple of decades due to the new possibilities offered by the emerging of new digital learning technologies.
Before the advent of digital learning, the collection, storage, and use of learning records relied heavily on traditional, manual methods.
Collection: Learning records were generated from various activities in and out of the formal (physical) classroom setting. Data on attendance, classroom participation, assignments, projects, and exam scores contributed to a learner's cumulative record. This information was collected manually by teachers on paper, who may have kept individual logs, grade books, or class registers to document student performance and behavior.
Storage: Learning records were physically stored on paper in a variety of formats. Cumulative folders or student files were often used to store individual student records throughout their educational journey within a particular school or institution. These folders would typically contain report cards, standardized test scores, attendance records, disciplinary notes, and other details of a student's academic history. Libraries and dedicated record rooms were often employed to store these physical records.
Use: The use of learning records was primarily for progress tracking, report making, parent-teacher discussions, and placement decisions. Trainers, teachers, or school administrators would review the records to understand a student's performance, identify areas where the student might be struggling, and make educated decisions about appropriate intervention or support strategies. Moreover, the records were used for administrative purposes, as well as to meet local and national reporting requirements.
The transition to digital learning has dramatically changed the landscape of how learning records are collected, stored, and used. Today, digital learning platforms can collect a much wider array of learning data more efficiently and accurately, store it securely in databases with vastly larger capacities, and analyze it to yield insights far deeper and more actionable than was formerly feasible.
The concept of standardized (digital) learning records gained momentum in the early 2000s with the advent of Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM). As an e-learning software specification, SCORM marked a significant step toward achieving interoperability of learning content, the concept that various technological systems could communicate, exchange data, and use this data in a seamless and integrated manner. SCORM became the de facto standard for e-learning interoperability, guiding course structure, sequencing, and data interactions within LMS platforms from 2001 onward.
The governing body of SCORM is Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL) Initiative, a US government program that conducts research and development on distributed learning and coordinates related efforts broadly across public and private organizations. ADL reports to the US Defense Human Resources Activity (DHRA), under the Director, DHRA. Although it is a United States Department of Defense (DoD) program, ADL serves the entire US federal government, operates a global partnership network including international defense ministries and US-based academic partners, and collaborates closely with industry and academia.
Despite its success and widespread use, ADL recognized that SCORM couldn't keep pace with the rapid evolution of information technology, especially given the surge of mobile devices, social media, and cloud-based technologies that transformed the global learning landscape. Accordingly, ADL initiated in 2010, a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) soliciting detailed research papers on possible improvements to the SCORM standard. The BAA was awarded to Rustici Software, resulting in a year-long research and development project known as Project Tin Can. The project aimed to overhaul the existing SCORM specifications to create a more modern, flexible, and extensible standard that could keep pace with the evolving tech world.
The finale of Project Tin Can was the introduction of the Experience API (xAPI), which offered a significant advance over the SCORM model. xAPI, colloquially known as Tin Can API, provided a new way to capture learning experiences from a wider range of sources and contexts, delivering more granular, diverse, and all-encompassing data about learners' activities.
Also developed was the concept of the Learning Record Store (LRS), a crucial component in the xAPI specification. The LRS offered a new type of data storage specifically for learning records, acting as a repository for storing, retrieving, and processing learning data, all these, regardless of where learning occurred or what platform or device was used.
Now, the xAPI and LRS concepts are revolutionizing the e-learning industry, fostering data-rich, personalized, and effective learning environments. However, it is with deep appreciation of the path paved by SCORM and the pioneers of learning record interoperability that xAPI and LRS maintain their stride into the future of e-learning.
Sources :
Learning Record Store - Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Learning_Record_Store