Tin Can API Adoption is Slow at Best

By: Justin Ferriman • November 20, 2013
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tincanimageTin Can (Experience) API has been known in the industry for quite some time, and version 1.0 happened in April of this year, roughly seven months ago. The industry has been talking about it in anticipation for a while.

Despite this, from our perspective adoption has been… slow.

Here at LearnDash, every day we have conversations with people about SCORM. I think there are a variety of reasons for this, but mainly because SCORM (the brand) has been around for quite some time, and it is known by learning and non-learning professionals alike.

The short of it is that people still want it SCORM.

In many cases, non-elearning industry professionals just don’t know about the new API, but even more surprising are conversations I have with elearning professionals who still request SCORM compatibility with their learning management systems.

It would kind of be like me asking Best Buy for a computer built in 2004.  Who would want such a thing!?

The technology is dated, plain and simple. It just can’t keep up with today. Yet for some reason people still request it… Often.

Listen, I understand that it is going to take quite a bit of effort to get Tin Can API known outside of the learning community (heck, with a name that silly, it will be an uphill battle).

The Onus is on Us

Our community has a job to do. We need to better educate others about the new (and significantly better) reporting tools we have available. When the client asks for SCORM, then educate them on the better option.

I understand that this can be difficult, especially since the client gets what the client wants. But the reality is that your elearning modules are less effective by leveraging a protocol that is nearly a decade old.

It’s going to be hard work, but we owe it to the folks who have put in the hours upon hours of development time to bring our industry up-to-speed.

Justin Ferriman

Justin started LearnDash, the WordPress LMS trusted by Fortune 500 companies, major universities, training organizations, and entrepreneurs worldwide. He is currently founder & CEO of GapScout. Justin’s Homepage | GapScout | Twitter