*Dynamic and Adaptive Playout of Competency-Based Learning Games Based on Data… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.105513*

The "metadata" type [33] is used in the e-learning context to ensure that data is stored, indexed, searched, and retrieved appropriately [33]. For this purpose, corresponding standardized exchange formats have been developed for platform-independent exchange by different organizations [33]. The type "Content packaging" [33] is used to exchange course data between different learning systems [33]. Specification examples according to [33] are IMS Content Packaging specification, IMS Simple Sequencing specification [33], Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM) [34] or Aviation Industry CBT Committee (AICC) guidelines [35]. The "Learner profile standards [33] allow different system components to share information about learners across multiple system components. Learner profile information can include personal data, learning plans, learning history, accessibility requirements, certifications and degrees, knowledge assessments (skills/CQs), and the status of participation in current learning" [33]. According to [33], examples of specifications for the Learner profile standards are IMS Learner Information Package (LIP) [36] or the Personal and Private Information (PAPI) [37] specification. The Learner Registration standard is intended to enable learning management components to know what learning content to deliver to each learner [33]. Examples of this are IMS Enterprise and Schools Interoperability Framework [33]. The Content Communication Standard allows information about various activities to be communicated to individual pieces of learning content [33]. Activities can include but are not limited to the start of the learning content or the completion of a learning content [33]. The completion status ranges from test results to course grades or achieved CQs [33]. Currently, two initiatives create standardized communication protocols and data models for content communication [33]. One is the Computer Managed Instruction (CMI) [38] standard of the AICC [35], and the other is the SCORM standard [39]. An even newer standard in the context of content communication is the Experience Application Programming Interface (xAPI) standard [34, 40]. In addition to the standard scope of SCORM functionalities, the xAPI standard also offers further functionalities such as tracking data in serious games or simulations [34].

To export CQs from the personal CQP, currently, only an interoperability standard of the type "Learner Profile" [33] can be considered. This allows information about the learners to be shared, such as personal data and data about degrees or assessments of knowledge [33]. According to [33], the exchange formats LIP [36] and PAPI learners [37] can be considered. IMS LIP was chosen because it also supports the transfer of CQs. One standard published by IMS is the learner information package specification (LIP) [36]. The purpose of the specification is to define a set of packages that can be used to import data into an IMS LIP-compliant system and extract the data from it [41]. In addition to a textual description of the standard, an extensible markup language (XML) [41, 42] schema is also provided. The LIP is based on a data model that describes the characteristics of learners [43]. A LIP consists of 11 main information pieces considered the basis for the learner information data structures [43]. The learner information [43] element acts as the container [43]. Each of the 11 main structures can occur any number of times within the learner information structure [44]. The content information, the so-called content type [43] element, refers to the data described with the LIP [43]. Each content type consists of a referential [43], temporal [43], and privacy [43]. The 11 main structures can contain content information and sub-content in addition to their content. The content information here allows a specific reference to the data described there, for example, for a CQ, an ID with the help of which one can find the CQ in a table [43]. With the sub-content, recursive substructures can be defined [43].

To import CQs into a personal CQP, the interoperability standard of the type "Content Communication" is used since results of, for example, learning games or a quiz can be transmitted with this. As shown above, the CMI guidelines [38] and xAPI are available from the AICC. Since the CMI [38] is a standard that can only communicate with systems that have also implemented the CMI standard, xAPI was chosen. The experience API (xAPI) is a free specification that enables learning technologies to collect data about a person's diverse experiences (online and offline) [40]. The collected data are managed consistently about a person or group [40]. Disparate systems can thus communicate securely by capturing and sharing this stream of activities using xAPI's simple vocabulary [40]. xAPI statements describe an experience (usually a learning experience, but it can be any other activity or state of affairs) that a person has performed [45]. The general structure of a statement is described in English as "I did this" or formalized as "[actor] [verb] [object]" [45]. An xAPI statement is represented as a JavaScript Object Notation (JSON) document [46]. It contains at least three components, namely actor, verb, and object [46]. An actor is an individual or a group whose activity is recorded with the statement [46]. A special feature is that no ID has to be used for internal identification (in the sense of a record within a database table) [46]. Instead, other data or methods can be used for unique identification, such as e-mail addresses. The verb is the action performed by the actor within the activity [46].

Verbs are represented as Internationalized Resource Identifiers (IRI) and can optionally be extended with a short textual description in different languages. IRIs are an evolution of the Uniform Resource Identifier (URI), using Unicode characters instead of American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII) characters [47]. There are no restrictions on the definition of verbs. It only has to be a valid IRI [46]. However, this circumstance makes it possible for a verb to be defined multiple times with different URIs. To prevent this, there is a central registry for normalizing common verbs [48]. An object represents the experience, activity, or other states of affairs that an actor has performed [46]. A type property can be used to specify what type it is. By default, an activity is assumed. Depending on the type, the further structure of the object is determined. As with verbs, there is also a registration point for normalization [49, 50].
