What is a Learning Record Store?

A Learning Record Store is a necessary component of any Experience API (xAPI) ecosystem. As its name suggests, it is a store where learning experience data is stored in the form of statements. xAPI-enabled activities generate experience data based on triggers, this data is sent to the LRS to be stored in the given standard format.

Learning Record Store can receive and store data coming from various sources:

eLearning Course
Websites
Games and,
Simulations

An LRS can live inside an LMS, can stand on its own, or provide additional value-added services apart from storing xAPI records. You can connect your LRS to any analytics platform to create reports based on data present in the LRS. Some premium LRS options like GrassBlade Cloud LRS, have some built-in reports that can save you a ton of time and money.

Data Sources

History of LRS

In 2011, the Learning Record Store was introduced along with Experience API to make some significant upgrades in the field of eLearning. Before the Experience API standard, SCORM and AICC standards were out there, but later xAPI is taking over the advanced reporting segment of the eLearning industry.

SCORM is still there. However, it doesn’t meet the advancement of technology. So, Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL) planned to make some changes to meet future requirements. For this purpose, ADL collaborated with Rustici Software to make it happen.

After one year of research and development on this project, they named it Project Tin Can. Later, ADL released it as Experience API (xAPI) in 2013. You can read, Experience API vs SCORM for a more clear understanding of both eLearning standards.

How LRS Works - Learning Record Store infographics

How do an LRS works?

The working of LRS is simple and it is primarily used to store data coming from xAPI-enabled content. The content can be an Online Course, Games, Simulators, or a webpage. Also, you can use LRS to generate beautiful reports quickly and analyze data with graphs, and charts.

For Example:
You created a quiz for your learners. When they start the quiz; your xAPI content will start recording learners’ activities. As they take the quiz, it will send all data to LRS, and you can see the following verb statements: attempted, answered, completed, and passed or failed.

Also, you will be able to see, which option your users are selecting as an answer, whether is it correct or not. How much they scored on the quiz? You can track almost everything like that.

LRS Vendors

Benefits of Learning Record Store

The major benefit of an LRS is “You own the data”. As you might know, LMS companies do not let you export all the learning data and reports. With a learning record store, you have full control over your data. It is an organized store and you can perform actions on data to get user insight into their learning experiences.

There are some other benefits also, you can read 7 key benefits of the Learning Record Store to know all about them.

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