WORKBOOK

The Digital Learning

Ecosystem
T HE D I G I TAL LE A RNIN G ECOS YS T EM VA L A MIS • 2

Introduction Workbook contents

1 Why is Learning Ecosystem Thinking

Important?
This workbook is written for everyone tasked with building a more holistic digital learning
system where all of the bits and pieces of learning are linked together. We will look 2 What is an Ecosystem?
into the concept of Total Learning Architecture and how it can help you build more
connected learning systems. 3 Learning Ecosystem
WORKBOOK / TASK 1

• Learn why the Total Learning Architecture and learning ecosystem concepts are important for learning
organisations.
4 Start Building Your Learning Ecosystem
WORKBOOK / TASK 2
• Get to know what a digital learning ecosystem is and what pieces it can consists of.

• Learn to analyse your learning from different user perspectives, including the learner, manager, and L&D
specialist. 5 Resources
• Access a list of helpful guiding questions and tasks to support you with understanding your current
learning ecosystem and ways to develop it further.
• Understand how technology can help you in building a learning ecosystem that is easy for learners to use.

• Gain insight into the role of data in a learning ecosystem and how having a xAPI and LRS can help you to collect and
store quality learning data.

Subject-matter expert: Jani Lemmetyinen Lead Learning Solution Partner (Valamis) Valamis Group / 2022
Editor: Jenni Härkin Senior Marketing Specialist (Valamis) Questions or feedback? Contact us:
contact@valamis.com
Layout & visuals: Kimmo Pukkila Visual Marketing Designer (Valamis)
T HE D I G I TAL LE A RNIN G ECOS YS T EM
1 VA L A MIS • 3

Why is Learning Ecosystem Thinking Important?

It helps you to understand your entire It allows you to link different entities, apps, and With all of the data in the same place, you will
organisation’s learning. data streams together. be able to make connections and examine the
impact learning has in relation to performance
and business.
T HE D I G I TAL LE A RNIN G ECOS YS T EM VA L A MIS • 4

What Is an
Ecosystem?
It’s all about flow.

An ecosystem is a term used in ecological sciences to describe the

network between living organisms, their physical surroundings, and
their relationship.1 In an ecosystem, matter, energy and nutrients
flow from one place into another.
The term has been adopted from ecology in other sciences, busi-
nesses, and services. The term platform economy is closely related
to the term ecosystem when used in business, but the approach is
slightly different. An ecosystem is widely used to describe a system
consisting of both living and inorganic components that interact
with each other. In business ecosystem people interact with data
that flows between different system and the relations between all
of these.
T HE D I G I TAL LE A RNIN G ECOS YS T EM VA L A MIS • 5

Example 1 / Mobile Ecosystem

In a mobile ecosystem, everything we do with mobile devices is part of a mobile ecosystem, as well as everything
else listed in the chart and more. The ecosystem encompasses consumers and their environments, even other
objects and devices such as wireless speakers and connected cars.

Platform providers Google, Apple

Device makers Apple, Samsung, Huawei, Lenovo, OnePlus, Sony, LG, etc.

Network providers Nokia, Ericsson, Huawei, etc.

Network operators AT&T, Verizon, Telefonica, Vodafone, Orange, Deutsche Telekom AG, Telia, etc.

App providers Google, Apple, Microsoft, Meta, Atlassian, ByteDance, etc.

Apps Google Maps, Youtube, Safari, Keynote, Outlook, LinkedIn, Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Jira, Confluence,
TikTok, Fortnite, Spotify, Disney+, Reddit, Duolingo, WeTransfer, Dropbox, BookBeat, PS App, etc.

Consumers millions of people globally

T HE D I G I TAL LE A RNIN G ECOS YS T EM VA L A MIS • 6

Learning
Ecosystem
Understanding the components of
a learning ecosystem.

TASK 1

Orientation
Think about your current
A learning ecosystem is like the traditional ecosystem and platform learning ecosystem. What
does it consists of?
economy; they both consist of organic (people) and inorganic matter,
and in this case, system components and information flows. We have
all been a part of a learning ecosystem at school and are now working
with organisational learning ecosystems.
A learning ecosystem begins with learners and instructors or teachers your learning ecosystem – a hospital, bank, and software company all
and continues to the learning premises and content, all the way to the need very different learning systems.
digital learning platforms and learning data. Each learning ecosystem In a learning ecosystem, the matter that flows is knowledge and
is different, and you should choose the components for your learning information. In a digital learning ecosystem, data joins the stream with
ecosystem according to your organisation’s needs and circumstances. knowledge, and a big part of managing digital learning ecosystems is
Context has a big effect on the components you need to include in managing and controlling data streams.
T HE D I G I TAL LE A RNIN G ECOS YS T EM VA L A MIS • 7

Total Learning Architecture

The best-known tool for building digital learning ecosystems is Total

Learning Architecture (TLA), created by Advanced Distributed Learning Example 2 / Acme’s learning ecosystem
(ADL) in 2016. ADL is a US government program reporting to Defense
Human Resources Activity (DHRA).2 ADL is a central global player in Throughout this workbook, we will show examples of Acme developing its learning ecosystem.
the digital learning field, and it has produced many digital learning Acme is a fictional IT company developing software in multiple countries.
standards, including SCORM and xAPI.
The keynote of TLA is that digital learning tools interact with At Acme, this is their starting point:
each other, and learning data flows through all of them. In short,
TLA also:
INTERNAL SYS TEMS G LOBAL REG IS TER LOC AL REG IS TERS E X TERNAL RESOURCES

• Makes learning possible with any device, when and wherever.

• Is a user-centric and data-driven concept.

Acme LMS Competence register Training register
LinkedIn Learning
• Includes practises and technical standards needed employee training employee qualifications Germany
to build and track lifelong learning in different Training register
contexts, including non-formal training. France

• Is an adaptive and holistic approach to learning. Training register

Spain other external training
HR System
employee information
silo ed, suppliers and content
libraries/services
dis c o n n
ec
It is worth stressing that TLA is not one single technology but a in fo rm t e d
ation
concept – a TLA solution for an organisation can be built using ea ch in a sepa rate n o way to track
various tools that best fit that specific organisation’s needs. Excel shee t

As you can see from the picture, Acme has many good building blocks in their learning, but the blocks are not connected
to each other. They also have several different systems in use, but the learning management is not centralised; data is
siloed and can’t be analysed in one place. Data from external training and learning materials also can’t be saved.
T HE D I G I TAL LE A RNIN G ECOS YS T EM VA L A MIS • 8

A learning ecosystem can consist of many things, for example: User-Centric or Data-Driven?

A digital learning ecosystem can be examined from two different

viewpoints: the user-centric viewpoint and the data-driven viewpoint.
Ideally, in a user-centric digital learning ecosystem, the learner is
offered ways to learn in a one-stop shop. They can find all the
learning they need in the same, easy-to-use-system. With corporate

Learners Instructors Mentors Managers Content learning, learning experience platforms (LXP) are designed to gather
learning from all the different sources in one place.
The other point of view is data-driven. This approach examines
what kind of data flows throughout the ecosystem. Where can
we get data, and how can we utilise it in different applications?
For example, the data from the HR system can be brought to the
learning system or learning performance data can be directed to
some other systems to be compared with other data sets. Where
Premises Intranet Timetables Culture Search engines
is the data used? In which systems? Where is the data processed,
and by whom? Who has access to data and reporting? Ideally, the
data flows in the ecosystem seamlessly, but it is often more or less
siloed in practice.

Interactions Admins Learning Management Systems Virtual classrooms Learning data

LXPs are designed to gather

learning from all the different
sources in one place
On-the-job learning Learning Experience Platform API External content providers Learning Record Store
T HE D I G I TAL LE A RNIN G ECOS YS T EM
Example 3 / Analysing the learning ecosystem from different user perspectives
USER PROFILE
Needs as a learner
_____
_____
_____
_____
I want to see all my certificates in one
place and see when they expire.
Last year, I took part in several external
courses and webinars. I also took a LinkedIn
Alex
Learning course. The company values learning,
Software Developer and it is one of the criteria for getting
promotions. I can’t show them conveniently
Responsibilities
all the learning I have done. It would be great
Works in customer projects to collect all that I have learned in one place.
Role in the learning system I would like to know how to align my
Learner, Acme learning initiatives and career goals.
I would like to have my continuous professional
development logged within my learning
platform, accessible in the same way.
Information can be collected
from interviews or surveys and
molded into personas
VA L A MIS • 9
Questions to ask
• What material does the learner need to access?
What do they need to see, search, and do?
• Are there different learning material libraries? Is there a
need for some specific learning libraries (e.g., Harvard
Business Publishing, Udemy, LinkedIn Learning, etc.)
• What value do the different learning materials offer?
• Can we connect the organisation’s learning needs
to rewards and incentives for the learner? Like career
advancement to open positions and promotions?
• Is there a need for a competency register/skills matrix?
• Where are certificates managed?
• Can the learner track their progress?
• How often do the learning materials need to be
updated and maintained to be valuable?
Typical challenges
Materials are spread between different apps, drives and services.
Certificates are in one place, and competencies in another. The
same data needs to be updated in several areas (HR system,
learning system etc.). The learner cannot have an overall view
of what they have learned or what they are supposed to learn.
The learner doesn’t understand how their learning will affect
them – if they learn, what positive outcome will happen in
their lives, so they stay motivated to make time to learn?
T HE D I G I TAL LE A RNIN G ECOS YS T EM VA L A MIS • 10

Example 3 / Analysing the learning ecosystem from different user perspectives

USER PROFILE Questions to ask

• How detailed does the data need to be?

Needs as a manager
• Is it possible to form reports about my team?
_____
_____
_____
_____
• Where can I find the information and
insights I need to make decisions?
I would like to know who the best people
are to work on our new customer
Typical challenges
project. I need information about their
skills, studies, and competencies. Data and information are scattered across different
Mark systems. It is time-consuming to get all the data.
I need to find information from the LMS, and
Project Manager
then I need to check the competency register
and ask the L&D team. It would be great if all
Responsibilities the competencies and performance data were in
Works on several customer projects one place. I can’t get the big picture right now.

Role in the learning system

Manager, Acme

Information can be collected

from interviews or surveys and
molded into personas
T HE D I G I TAL LE A RNIN G ECOS YS T EM VA L A MIS • 1 1

Example 3 / Analysing the learning ecosystem from different user perspectives

USER PROFILE Questions to ask

• What needs to be tracked and reported?

Needs as a L&D specialist
• Which different systems does data come from?
_____
_____
_____
_____
• Do you understand the long-term strategy? How
detailed does the tracking need to be?
The CEO asked us, what was the impact of the • Does the law require some tracking/competency directory?
new onboarding? How can we measure that? • Are there some limitations to collecting data (e.g., GDPR)?

We need to be able to report all the • Who can see the data and where can they find it?

hours used for learning in the company • What data findings should trigger which
Carly
to get tax deductions (possible eg in actions? Who acts, and how?
L&D Specialist
Finland). Manual reporting takes two • Is there a need to track the time used for
weeks of my work time every year. learning (for tax purposes, etc.)?
Responsibilities
Internal learning and development How can we prove to management that Typical challenges
L&D brings value to the business?
Role in the learning system Lacking access to all data or missing a link for data
Admin, Acme from different sources. We can’t compare learning data
to business data because of siloed data. Measuring
the wrong things and not linking learning to business.
Learning data is scattered across different systems.

Information can be collected

from interviews or surveys and
molded into personas
T HE D I G I TAL LE A RNIN G ECOS YS T EM VA L A MIS • 1 2

Start Building
Your Learning
Ecosystem
Your organisation’s learning ecosystem is probably
a mixture of digital and live events and learning
activities. When you are aware of your current learning
ecosystem’s primary needs and challenges, you can
build your own vision.
T HE D I G I TAL LE A RNIN G ECOS YS T EM VA L A MIS • 1 3

TASK 2 Example 4 / Ecosystem goals in Acme’s vision

Define your starting point

and create your vision
Get rid of siloes Having one channel that The same solution
What does your current organisational learning ecosystem in learning can be used to deliver should work for both
look like? What systems, services and other entities (eg.
and target learning with own employees and
people, groups) are included? Are the different parts external materials, partner networks
linked/integrated to each other? Does the data flow? plus competency and
• Draw a diagram or map of your learning ecosystem
certificate manager

• If entities, are linked, draw the links between them

• Remember to include both digital and non-digital

parts of your learning ecosystem

• Use the examples shown to help you get started (page 7)

Collect all learning Ability to link work Make it possible to
• Did you remember to mark every part? Check the list of
data in one place performance data to report the relevant
possible elements in the learning ecosystem on page 8
learning data to make information to
If you want to, take a trip down memory lane and think about it possible to examine HRD and executive
what elements of a learning ecosystem are the same as when the learning impact managers to support
you were at school and what is unique to the workplace. Is there Track classroo m decision-making
something that could be useful to bring into the work-life from training and webinars
school? What did your favourite teacher/mentor do differently? in this sa me solution

Vision: what would you like the organisation’s

learning ecosystem to be? Common workshop methods can be employed. For example
post-it-notes are easy to use for collecting and sorting ideas.
• As always, when defining L&D goals, start with the 2-sided
coin, what serves the business needs and our people

• Look at the picture you drew, visualising your current

learning ecosystem. Are any crucial parts are missing?

• Dare to dream – what would your dream ecosystem be like?

T HE D I G I TAL LE A RNIN G ECOS YS T EM VA L A MIS • 14

xAPI is a standard that makes it

xAPI & LRS – how technology helps possible to collect and transfer
you to bring it all together
the data of these interactions
xAPI (Experience API, TinCan) is one of the cornerstones of the TLA
approach. The basic idea is that learning is always an interaction that
happens in some context within learning content, learning systems and/
or other people, both online and offline. Interactions that xAPI measures
can be, for example, the consumption of learning content or answering ments. Every statement also contains a timestamp and some tags.
a question in a learning system. xAPI is a standard that makes it possible Technically speaking, the statements are in JSON format. Check out
to collect and transfer the data of these interactions. the following simplified examples to understand how different xAPI
The xAPI standard is based on SUBJECT, VERB, and OBJECT state- statements are formatted.

User experienced Page User completed Lesson

The learner opens a new page The learners have passed all pages of the
in the learning module. learning module and/or have answered all the
questions correctly required for passing the
module and then closed the learning module
User correctly answered Question
Learner answers a question in the learning User played Video
module with the correct input. The learner clicks the play button in the
video inside the learning module.

User incorrectly answered Question

Learner answers a question in the learning User completed Video
module with the incorrect input. The learner has watched the whole video.
T HE D I G I TAL LE A RNIN G ECOS YS T EM VA L A MIS • 1 5

Example 5 / What is possible for

learning analytics with xAPI?

In this example, data collected with xAPI shows information from one
course. We can drill down to each learning module where square
markers represent one page in the module, and each square is one
xAPI statement recording expressing how the learner acted on the
page. In this case, we can see if learners completed all the pages
and how they succeeded in answering the questions asked in the
module.
A green marker means that the item has been completed and
the question has been correctly answered. Yellow means that the
learner has partly completed the module, and red indicates the user
has failed to meet the success criteria.
This can be valuable information for the content creators. For
example, if many learners have failed to complete the same question,
there might be room for development on the pages leading to the
question or the question may be worded badly. Perhaps learners
misinterpret what is being required from them.
T HE D I G I TAL LE A RNIN G ECOS YS T EM VA L A MIS • 16

Example 6 / Learning data INTER AC TION FORM AT

and Jira data combined
analytics and
reporting solutions
Jim watched a video Company
In the following example, we have brought together learning xAPI statement in JSON
Policies in Onboarding
data and performance data from Jira. Jira is a project manage-
ment tool often used by software developers. When combining
these two data sets, L&D can search for correlations between Jack passed Installation Process
xAPI statement in JSON
tasks done and learning items completed. In this example, you with score 95% in VR Training

see a visualisation of how learning has impacted the accuracy learning data
LRS
of time estimation of solving Jira tickets.
The line graph counts learning path completions. The bar Laura completed a learning
xAPI statement in JSON
path about EU GDPR
chart represents Jira data, with blue bars showing actual time
spent on Jira tasks and green bars represeting the time esti-
mation of completing them. As a result of learning, we can
Dylan registered in a Design
see an increased alignment between estimations and actual xAPI statement in JSON
Systems workshop
time spent, meaning better visibility for business.

The Learning Record Store (LRS) Valamis works like this) or in your cloud-based eLearning authoring
tool. The LRS makes it possible to utilise the learning data for different
Next to xAPI, a Learning Record Store is another cornerstone of Total kinds of analytic purposes.
Learning Architecture. It’s a system that receives and saves xAPI state-
ments from several different forms. The data can be sent to an LRS, for
example, from the learning platform, content packages, videos, simula- LRS makes it possible to utilise
tors, or learning games, if the source data can be saved in xAPI format.
An LRS can be a system separate from your learning platform, or the learning data for different
it can be integrated to be a part of your learning platform (for example

kinds of analytic purposes

T HE D I G I TAL LE A RNIN G ECOS YS T EM
LE ARNING CONTENT
Acme’s internal digital learning content
Authored and delivered on LXP
External digital learning content
LinkedIn Learning, delivered on LXP
Acme’s partner network’s training
Delivered on LXP as dedicated subsites
Performance data
Imported from Jira, etc.
Example 7 / Acme’s new
learning ecosystem
Remember the Acme examples from earlier
in this workbook? Now, let’s look at what
the learning ecosystem could look like
when TLA is taken into action.
CENTR AL HUB
Learning Experience Platform (LXP)
Personalised user interface, learning paths,
passing criteria
Learning Record Store (LRS)
Secure storage for learning data, xAPI statements
Learning analytics
Reports to superiors, HRD, etc.
Other non-learning data
Imported from different sources
CROSS -REFERENCING DATA
In the heart of the new learning ecosystem, visualised above, you can
see a Learning Experience Platform (LXP) and Learning Record Store
(LRS). They act as a central hub, collecting all data related to the learning
ecosystem in one place and acting as a starting point for any learning
initiative.
Also, as identified as ecosystem goals earlier, data and content can
be brought to the stack from outside the platform, and data can be
moulded into reports with actionable insights. Acme can easily track
Jira data (performance data) similar to an IT company. They track how
VA L A MIS • 17
USER DATA
HR system
Employee information, integrated into LXP
Competence register
Integrated into LXP
Other external data sources
Integrated into LXP
long it takes to solve one Jira ticket. They then compare the learning
data to performance data and see if there are any correlations. They
decide to test if offering relevant learning content can make the ticket
solving time shorter based on the data.
As a result, Acme has designed a complete learning ecosystem that
breaks the silos Acme suffered from before. This enables a better user
experience and allows managers and L&D specialists to tap into credible
data, which can be used to iterate and develop the solution, content,
and business-related upskilling initiatives.
T HE D I G I TAL LE A RNIN G ECOS YS T EM VA L A MIS • 18

1 Britannica.
Accessed 16 May 2022.
5 https://www.britannica.com/science/ecosystem

2 Advanced Distributed Learning Initiative.

Accessed 16 May 2022.

Resources https://adlnet.gov/about/

We hope you are now one step closer to realising

your ideal digital learning ecosystem. For deeper
understanding of different aspects of L&D and digital
learning, we recommend checking out the following
assets.

Next steps / Tools to help you build your learning ecosystem

L&D Strategy Framework Develop and Maintain a Strategy- Skills Matrix How to Build an End-to-End
White paper Driven Learning Culture Template Learning Ecosystem for Today’s
Workbook Workforce
Webinar with Josh Bersin
www.valamis.com

Valamis is an international technology company specializing in cloud-based digital learning solutions that
empower millions of learners, companies, and societies to solve their challenges with transformative learning
experiences. Valamis’ end-to-end learning solution includes Valamis’ LXP, LMS, LRS, Content Authoring
Lesson Studio, eCommerce, CareerBurst, and extensive integrations. Valamis creates long-term value for This work is licensed under a Creative Commons
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0
businesses and their people by being a strategic partner in learning and workforce development. Founded
International License.
in 2003, Valamis is headquartered in Finland and maintains offices in countries around the world.