Training Today: What Is “Tin Can”?

Tin Can is the first technology being developed under the Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL) Initiative's Training & Learning Architecture (TLA), which encompasses technologies designed to create a rich environment for online training and learning.

 

By Dr. Kristy Murray, Director, ADL Initiative, and Aaron E. Silvers, Community Manager for ADL and a contractor with Problem Solutions

After 15 years of e-learning shaped largely by a technology known as the Sharable Content Object Reference Model, or SCORM for short, 2012 has seen the debut of a new technology called Experience API or commonly referred to as “Tin Can.” This is the first technology being developed under the Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL) Initiative’s Training & Learning Architecture (TLA). The TLA is an umbrella term encompassing all technologies designed to create a rich environment for online training and learning. The four pillars of the TLA are:

  1. Experience Tracking
  2. Learner Profiles
  3. Content Brokering
  4. Competency Infrastructure

Version 0.95 of the Experience API was released in September 2012; Version 1.0 is expected to be released in April 2013. System and authoring tool vendors already are implementing the API into their products.

To read the complete article, visit http://trainingmag.com/content/what-experience-api. For more information, visit http://tincan.adlnet.gov.

Lorri Freifeld
Lorri Freifeld is the editor/publisher of Training magazine. She writes on a number of topics, including talent management, training technology, and leadership development. She spearheads two awards programs: the Training APEX Awards and Emerging Training Leaders. A writer/editor for the last 30 years, she has held editing positions at a variety of publications and holds a Master’s degree in journalism from New York University.