SCORM, LTI, xAPI and cmi5 explained simply

Without standards, every course would be tied to the system it was built in. Switching learning platforms would mean rebuilding all content, and every external tool would need its own integration. Standards solve this by defining how content is packaged, launched and scored and how systems exchange data.

The standards do different jobs. Some describe content packages, others the exchange of learning data, others again the embedding of tools. Knowing the differences lets you ask targeted questions when choosing an LMS.

SCORM stands for Sharable Content Object Reference Model. A SCORM package is a ZIP file containing web content and a manifest. The LMS unpacks the package, launches it in the browser and provides an interface through which the course reports progress, time spent, score and completion. Versions 1.2 and 2004 are the most widely used.

SCORM is robust and supported almost everywhere. Its limits: it only works while the course runs in the browser inside the LMS, it knows only a small set of fixed data fields, and mobile or offline scenarios are difficult. For existing course libraries, SCORM is still often the most important standard, because many authoring tools export it.

xAPI, also called the Experience API, describes learning events as simple statements following the pattern “actor – verb – object”, such as “Learner 17 completed module 3” or “A service technician passed the simulation with 80 percent”. These statements are collected in a learning record store (LRS). They can come from an LMS, but also from an app, a simulation or classroom training.

xAPI’s freedom comes at a price: without shared rules, every system interprets the statements differently. cmi5 closes this gap. It specifies how an LMS launches xAPI content, which statements it must send and when it counts as complete. cmi5 is therefore seen as the modern successor to SCORM for courses launched from an LMS.

LTI (Learning Tools Interoperability) solves a different problem. It is not about course packages but about tools: a university might want to launch an exam tool, a simulation or a course library directly from its learning platform without students having to sign in again. With LTI, the platform launches the tool and securely passes on who the user is and which course they are in.

The current version, LTI 1.3, builds on established security protocols such as OAuth 2.0 and OpenID Connect. Additional services allow content selection (deep linking), retrieval of class rosters and returning grades to the platform.

In practice you register the tool once in the platform, exchange keys and URLs, and can then use it in any course. Older versions such as LTI 1.1 are still common but considered less secure; for new integrations you should insist on 1.3.

The table helps match typical tasks to standards.

Universe imports SCORM packages in versions 1.2 and 2004, which then run in the player with progress and score, and takes over Common Cartridge courses with QTI question pools. Courses can be exported as SCORM 1.2 packages for other learning systems. Universe can be registered as an LTI 1.3 tool in another LMS, and learning events can be sent via xAPI to a learning record store. Anything that cannot be transferred is reported with a reason rather than bent into shape.