Reactions: The next innovation for xAPI Learning Record Stores
Today we are announcing Reactions — the newest product feature available in Yet Analytics’ Apache 2.0 open source SQL LRS.
Typically, data consumers in an xAPI environment — such as an engine tasked with tracking proficiencies — use xAPI data stored in an LRS in order to make assertions. A high-level data flow may look like: a) events in a learning experience are captured as xAPI statements in the LRS b) when the proficiency engine notices that the required xAPI data is available, it pulls the data in order to process the assertion of a proficiency… essentially saying the learner has “leveled up” by demonstrating a skill.
While this may be useful in some use cases, it’s also an expensive proposition as it involves multiple systems and multiple layers of processing.
So, about a year ago we thought to ourselves: what if the LRS itself could make assertions? And not just for tracking how a learner “levels up”, but for any business use. Those assertions could take the form of new xAPI statements stored in the LRS itself — so essentially, “statements could make statements”. We brainstormed where this could be useful:
the LRS could issue a notification statement when an intervention should be made in a learning experience based on the real-time behaviors of a learner in the experience
the LRS could flag whether a learner is on a common or divergent pathway through a learning experience — whether in LMS-based content or in XR and simulations — and could generate a statement representing this flag
the LRS could issue a statement when certain qualifications were met that aligned with the needs of a tracking for compliance, readiness, and certification
the LRS could issue a notification statement when a learner behavior pattern suggests that something in the UX/UI of the training system or the design of the instructional content is perhaps throwing people off
the LRS could issue a warning statement if a learner is engaged in risky behavior on the platform such as attempting to get into content they are not cleared to see
the LRS could automatically generate statements of privacy-compliant synthetic data based on live real-world data — this data could be used to inform more efficient data design and could potentially be used to train AI systems
And all of this would happen within SQL LRS.
Imagine if all of this could be done in real-time.
Well, actually you don’t have to imagine it. Meet Reactions — the xAPI-based assertion generator built directly into SQL LRS.
Because we built it into SQL LRS, it is completely open source. And because it’s distributed under the Apache 2.0 license, you can use it for any purpose… including commercial.
Reactions is immediately available as of today to all of our customers and implementers. Just update to the latest release of SQL LRS.
Over the next few weeks, we’ll be sharing many of the things that you can do with Reactions. Stay tuned. In the meantime, we invite you to check out the open source or reach out directly to chat about how you might want to leverage the new capability in your learning tech stack.