What’s included in an xAPI or cmi5 package?

Before troubleshooting completion or reporting issues, it’s important to understand what an xAPI or cmi5 course actually contains.

xAPI (Tin Can) packages

An xAPI course is usually delivered as a ZIP file containing the course content, such as HTML, JavaScript, videos, and images, along with the files required to launch and track the activity.
xAPI content sends learner activity as statements to a Learning Record Store (LRS). These statements can include:

• “User completed course”
• “User answered question”
• “User scored 85%”

xAPI packages commonly include a tincan.xml file, which helps TalentLMS identify and launch the content. Completion and reporting depend on the statements the course has been configured to send.

cmi5 packages

cmi5 is based on xAPI but follows a more standardized structure for launching, tracking, and reporting learning activity.
A cmi5 package is delivered as a ZIP file and includes a cmi5.xml file, which defines the course structure and launch information. Cmi5 also defines rules around:

• How the course is launched from the LMS
• How authentication works
• Which learner activity and completion statements are sent

Completion issues with xAPI/cmi5

Completion issues are usually related to how the course has been configured to report completion.

If a course is not marked as complete, learners can use the Check your status with this unit (1) option in the course player to review their progress.

In some cases, the course may not have met the completion criteria defined within the content itself. This can include actions such as completing the course, submitting a quiz, or meeting a required score.

If the expected completion is not reported, the course should be reviewed in the authoring tool to confirm that the appropriate completion statement is being sent.

Reporting issues with xAPI/cmi5

xAPI and cmi5 learner activity is recorded as xAPI statements. In TalentLMS, you can review these events from Reports (1) > Timeline (2). Use the Event (3) filter to select the xAPI activity you want to review, such as the following:

• [TC] activity
• [TC] attempt
• [TC] experience
• [TC] answer
• [TC] completion
• [TC] failure

These events can help you identify what the content reported for a particular learner and whether the expected completion, answer, or failure information reached TalentLMS.

You can also export the Timeline results as a CSV (1) file for further review.

If the expected activity is missing from the Timeline, review the package configuration in the authoring tool and confirm that the required xAPI statements are being generated.

Differences from SCORM reporting

SCORM, xAPI, and cmi5 use different methods to communicate learner activity. SCORM content has dedicated Learning Activity reports in TalentLMS, where you can review completion, attempts, scores, training time, and supported interaction data.

For xAPI and cmi5 content, learner activity is primarily reviewed through the Timeline, based on the statements received by the “TalentLMS LRS.”

The amount of information available depends on what the content has been configured to report.

xAPI/cmi5 compatibility with the mobile app

xAPI and cmi5 courses are not currently supported in the TalentLMS mobile app. Learners can still access and complete these courses through a mobile browser. For more information, see: Which content types are supported by the TalentLMS mobile app