Usage Simulation and Testing with xAPI for Adaptive E-Learning

Abstract

The systematic development of adaptive e-learning systems benefits from the principles of test-driven development, i.e., pre-defined software test cases help to improve the systems to meet the expected (adaptive) behavior. However, the inherent variability of adaptive systems can make test case development tedious and inflexible to maintain. This paper presents a concept for an interoperable, flexible testing tool for adaptive e-learning system development and systematic testing of xAPI compliant e-learning systems. It provides visual inspection and editing functionalities, xAPI simulation, and checks for adaptivity responses. This enables the systematic testing of adaptive systems and an improved development process. An xAPI recording functionality combined with a visualization of the usage flow helps in the test case development. A prototype implementation in a serious game for image interpretation verifies the concept. The concept is domain independent and valid for any xAPI compliant system.