Storyline 360: How to Send the Value of a Variable to an LMS/LRS

You can report the value of any variable to an LMS/LRS. View the following techniques, depending on the standard you used.

• Using Custom xAPI Statements (xAPI and cmi5)
• Using Survey Questions (Any LMS Standard)

Using Custom xAPI Statements (xAPI and cmi5)

Custom xAPI statements make reporting the value of variables to a learning management system (LMS), a learning record store (LRS), or both ​​easier than ever when publishing for xAPI or cmi5. Follow the steps below, depending on the Storyline 360 variable you'd like to report.

Built-in or Custom Variable

Report one or more Storyline 360 variables—built-in or custom—to an LMS/LRS. Install the January 2022 update or later, then follow these steps:

1. In the Triggers panel, create a new Send xAPI statement trigger.
2. In the trigger wizard, click the + xAPI link to access the statement editor.
3. Place your cursor between the empty quotation marks on line 12 and choose a variable from the Variables drop-down arrow or type the variable you'd like to report inside the quotation marks.
4. Then, position your cursor between the empty quotation marks on line 15 and enter a valid URN (Uniform Resource Name) to identify the activity.
5. Click OK twice to save your changes.

{
    "objectType": "Activity",
    "definition": {
      "name": {
        "en-US": "%CustomVariable%"
      }
},
    "id": "ValidURN"
  }

Elapsed Time Variables

Communicate elapsed time variables to your LMS/LRS. Install the January 2022 update or later, then follow these steps, depending on the elapsed time variable you'd like to report.

Cumulative Elapsed Time Spent on an Entire Course

1. Go to the last slide in your project. Then, in the Triggers panel, create a new Send xAPI statement trigger.
2. In the trigger wizard, click the + xAPI link to access the statement editor. Then, click the xAPI drop-down arrow and select Result. This adds the following line of code to the editor.
   
   {
  "result": {
    "duration": "%Slide.ElapsedTime%"
  },
    
3. Highlight this text: %Slide.ElapsedTime%
4. Then, click the Variables drop-down arrow and select Project.ElapsedTime. This updates the code to:
   
   {
  "result": {
    "duration": "%Project.ElapsedTime%"
  },
    
5. Click OK to save your changes.

Cumulative Elapsed Time Spent on a Scene

1. Go to the last slide of a scene in your project. Then, in the Triggers panel, create a new Send xAPI statement trigger.
2. In the trigger wizard, click the + xAPI link to access the statement editor. Then, click the xAPI drop-down arrow and select Result. This adds the following line of code to the editor.
   
   {
  "result": {
    "duration": "%Slide.ElapsedTime%"
  },
    
3. Highlight this text: %Slide.ElapsedTime%
4. Then, click the Variables drop-down arrow and select Scene.ElapsedTime. This updates the code to:
   
   {
  "result": {
    "duration": "%Scene.ElapsedTime%"
  },
    
5. Click OK to save your changes.
6. Repeat steps 1-5 for each scene you want to track.

Cumulative Elapsed Time Spent on a Slide

1. In the Triggers panel, create a new Send xAPI statement trigger. Then, in the trigger wizard, click the + xAPI link to access the statement editor.
2. Click the xAPI drop-down arrow and select Result. This adds the following line of code to the editor.
   
   {
  "result": {
    "duration": "%Slide.ElapsedTime%"
  },
    
3. Click OK to save your changes.
4. Repeat steps 1-3 for each slide you want to track.

Tips:

• Elapsed time variables report time in milliseconds. However, Storyline 360 automatically converts the time measurement from milliseconds to the ISO 8601 date-and-time format required by the xAPI specification. (This FAQ includes an example of how to display a different measurement of time to learners.)
• Storyline 360 lets you send the value of a variable to an LMS/LRS per Send xAPI statement trigger. You can include multiple variables and custom text.
• Your LMS and LRS use a URN, a unique string of characters, to identify an activity, the actor (learner), or other resources in a course. When you create a custom xAPI statement, Storyline 360 assigns %Project.ActivityId%/%Slide.Id% as the default URN value in the id field. However, you may sometimes need to change the value in this field—for example, if your organization has established naming conventions for identifiers. You can make sure the URN is valid by following the RFC 8141 URN guidelines.
• One way to fill in the values for the en-US and id fields for your xAPI statement is to select an object (e.g., slide, object, or custom text) for your verb in the trigger wizard before clicking the + xAPI link.

Using Survey Questions (Any LMS Standard)

Unless you're using custom xAPI statements, Storyline 360 doesn't report the value of variables to an LMS. However, you may be able to communicate variables to an LMS using survey questions. Since Storyline 360 reports quiz answers to an LMS, the idea is to assign the value of each variable to a Short Answer survey question. Essentially, the process looks like this:

• Create a Short Answer survey question for each variable that you want to report to the LMS.
• Assign each variable that you want to report to one of the question slides.
• Hide the question slides.
• Link the question slides to a result slide.
• Select that result slide as your tracking option when you publish.

Note that this method works for any LMS standard. If you're publishing for xAPI or cmi5, though, use the technique above for an easier way to send variable values to an LMS/LRS.

To report one or more Storyline 360 variables to an LMS, do this:

1. Add a Short Answer survey question to your Storyline 360 project. The question text can say anything you'd like. We'll hide this slide later, so learners won't see it.
2. Add a new trigger that adjusts the default text-entry variable for the question when the timeline of the slide starts. Make it equal to the custom variable that you want to report to the LMS. Use these trigger wizard parameters:
   • Action: Adjust variable
   • Variable: Select the TextEntry variable from the drop-down list that corresponds to this question slide.
   • Operator: = Set
   • Value: Variable (Select the variable that you want to report to your LMS.)
   • When: Timeline starts
   • Object: Select the current slide.
   
   Tip: Storyline 360 uses a default name of TextEntry for the first text-entry variable. For additional text-entry variables in the same course, Storyline 360 numbers them: TextEntry1, TextEntry2, etc. You may want to rename the default variables to make them easier to identify.
3. To hide this slide from learners, edit the default Submit interaction trigger so it executes when the timeline of the slide starts. Use these trigger wizard parameters:
   • Action: Submit interaction
   • Interaction: Short Answer
   • When: Timeline starts
   • Object: Select the current slide.
   
4. Link the Short Answer survey question to a result slide. If you already have a result slide in your course, use the drop-down on the ribbon to select it. Or, create a new result slide—see this tutorial for details.
5. Repeat steps 1-4 for any other variables that you want to report to your LMS.
6. When you publish for LMS/LRS, select the result slide from step 4 as the one that you want to track.