Start tracking xAPI data with SCORM Cloud and Elucidat

If you don’t have a Learning Record Store (LRS) already, SCORM Cloud is a great place to get started.

SCORM Cloud is a training delivery platform that can host elearning content, providing a platform by which you can deliver it to your learners. While it doesn’t offer many of the more complex features that more widely-used Learning Management Systems (LMS) can provide, it does offer an LRS that can receive and display data reported via xAPI (sometimes known as TinCan API).

SCORM Cloud offers a free trial account that doesn’t expire (usage limits apply) so it’s a great place to start if you’re new to LRS reporting.

In this tutorial, you'll set up a SCORM Cloud account and create an Activity Provider. Then, you will set up a new xAPI endpoint in Elucidat, configure an Online Link course to report xAPI data, and view that data in the SCORM Cloud LRS.

1. Open a SCORM Cloud account

To use the SCORM Cloud LRS, you need to create an account. Go to https://cloud.scorm.com and click Sign up now. 

Once you've created an account, you'll be taken to the SCORM Cloud homepage. 

Keep SCORM Cloud open—you'll need it in the next step.

2. Retrieving the LRS endpoint URL and credentials

Now that you have a SCORM Cloud account, you can begin setting up your xAPI endpoint.

To begin reporting xAPI data to SCORM Cloud, you need to provide the following from the SCORM Cloud LRS:

• An endpoint URL
  Tells Elucidat where to send the data.
• Credentials
  Adds a layer of security, ensuring that your statements aren't going somewhere they shouldn’t. 

You need to create an Activity Provider in SCORM Cloud LRS to generate these credentials. 

1. In SCORM Cloud, select xAPI LRS from the left-hand sidebar menu
   
   
2. Under the LRS Endpoints tab, there is a list of URLs. The URL labelled SCORM Cloud is your endpoint URL. Make a note of this, you’ll come back to it later.
   
   
3. Switch to the Activity Providers tab
   
   
4. Click Add Activity Provider to create a new LRS. A box titled Unnamed Account will appear showing your credentials, labelled Key and Secret (sometimes also referred to as ‘user-name’ and ‘password’).
   
   

Now that you’ve generated your credentials, you can use them to create an endpoint in Elucidat Create.

3. Using the LRS details to create an endpoint in Elucidat

You will now use the LRS credentials to create an endpoint in Elucidat. The endpoint is like a set of instructions that can be applied to a course to tell it where to send its xAPI data. 

You only need to set up an endpoint once.

1. Go to the Create home-page
2. Click Integrations in the left-hand menu
   
   
3. Click Add endpoint
4. Type a name for your new endpoint in the Endpoint name field. This can be anything you like but we recommend you name it something easily identifiable.
5. Add the endpoint URL from earlier to the LRS endpoint URL field
6. Add the Key to the LRS key field
7. Add the Secret to the LRS secret field
8. Use the checkbox labelled Set this as the default endpoint for your account to choose whether to make this integration the default endpoint used by your courses
   • Checked: This integration will be pre-selected when you release your course
   • Unchecked: You will need to manually select this integration every time when you release your course
9. Click Add endpoint

Your new endpoint will appear in the list and is ready to be used in your courses.

4. Applying an xAPI endpoint to a release

To report xAPI data, you need to apply your endpoint to a release. For the best results, we recommend configuring your course to also collect the learner’s personally identifiable information (PII) as it allows each learner’s statements to be specifically attributed to them.

1. Open the Project you’d like to release
2. Click Export
   
   
3. Switch to Online Link
4. Choose Email Domain from Who can access
5. Add allowed email domains to the Specify domains with access field. Separate multiple domains with a comma, semi-colon, space, or line break.
6. Choose one or more endpoints from the Include LRS endpoint (optional) drop-down menu. If you set the endpoint as your organization’s default, it will already be chosen for you.
   
   
7. Enable Capture Analytics for this export 
8. Enable Capture Personally Identifiable Information 
9. Click Create Release to release your course

5. Release the course and test

Once you've set everything up, you should test the course to confirm that xAPI data is being sent correctly.

1. Paste the course URL in your browser and launch it
2. Give your email address and name so you can be identified. You’ll received a unique link in your email inbox—check your spam if you cannot find it.
3. Open the course and complete a few interactions (e.g. answering a question, completing a page)
4. Return to SCORM Cloud and go to LRS Viewer—ensure that SCORM Cloud is selected in the View Statements In: drop-down menu
5. Look for new statements with your Project name or activity ID
   
   

If you see recent statements, congratulations! Your course is successfully sending xAPI data to the SCORM Cloud LRS.