Learning Record Store (sysadmin)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• 1 Introduction
  • 1.1 What the LRS stores
• 2 Before you start
• 3 Activate and configure the LRS
  • 3.1 Select which profiles are included
  • 3.2 Start collecting data
  • 3.3 Stop collecting data
• 4 Manage data retention
• 5 Manage third-party access
  • 5.1 Register new partner
  • 5.2 Grant partner access to data
    • 5.2.1 Manage organisation access
    • 5.2.2 Share client credentials with partner
  • 5.3 Revoke partner access to data
• 6 View or download LRS records
  • 6.1 Supported filters
  • 6.2 Search and view records
  • 6.3 Download a report
  • 6.4 Report messages
• 7 What data appears in the report
  • 7.1 Report columns
  • 7.2 Event categories
• 8 Security, audit logging and fair use
• 9 Troubleshooting

1 Introduction

The itslearning Learning Record Store (LRS) is a secure system for collecting, storing and managing learner activity and outcome data. It uses the xAPI structure to record learning events as statements, so that selected learning data can be stored centrally and made available for approved reporting or analytics use.

Customer administrators can activate or deactivate the LRS, define which user profiles are included, configure data retention, manage third-party access and view or download filtered LRS records.

The LRS is built around the open, standards-based xAPI data format, with near real-time data collection and storage of learning outcome data. Access for external systems, including AI-driven tools, is controlled by the customer through the third-party access settings described in section 5.

If a school connects an external system to the LRS, examples of the kind of analysis it could support include:

• Identifying frequently accessed courses and resources, to inform content development.
• Building adaptive learning paths.
• Detecting patterns that may indicate learner disengagement or underperformance.
• Generating personalised feedback based on a learner's submissions and interactions.
• Linking resource usage to learner outcomes, to help refine content.

1.1 What the LRS stores

The LRS stores learning activity and outcome data from supported learning events. The data is stored in a standards-based format and can be used for reporting, analytics and controlled export to approved third parties.

Each LRS statement follows the xAPI structure Actor > Verb > Object. A statement also includes context information, such as school and course information, and a timestamp in UTC.

The LRS follows a data minimisation approach. It is intended to store relevant learning data only and limit the time window to a maximum of 5 years for individual statements. Learners' names are not stored in the LRS; it operates by identifiers only. If names are needed, you should allow your partner to enrich data using other sources and match users by the synchronisation key.

2 Before you start

3 Activate and configure the LRS

Activating the LRS starts data collection for the selected user profiles. Deactivating it stops new data collection and starts a deletion grace period.

3.1 Select which profiles are included

Administrators decide which user profiles are included in the LRS using site profile settings.

1. Go to Admin > Profiles.
2. Open the profile that should be included in LRS data collection.
3. Enable Collect Learning Record Store data.
   
4. Save the profile.
5. Repeat the steps for each profile that should be included.

3.2 Start collecting data

1. Go to Admin > Logs and Services > LRS management.
2. Click Start collecting data.
3. Confirm the activation.
   

After activation, learning activity data begins feeding into the LRS for the selected profiles. Data retention policies start applying to stored data, and third-party access can be configured.

3.3 Stop collecting data

1. Go to Admin > Logs and Services > LRS management.
2. Use the LRS activation control to disable the LRS.
   
3. Read the confirmation dialog.
4. Type disable to confirm, or Cancel to keep the LRS active.

When the LRS is disabled:

• No new data is collected.
• A 7-day grace period starts. During the grace period, third-party data requests return empty responses, and existing records remain if the LRS is reactivated, with a gap in data covering the deactivated period.
• Third-party credentials are revoked after one week.
  
• If the LRS is not reactivated within the grace period, all LRS data is permanently deleted after one week.

4 Manage data retention

The LRS uses separate retention periods for assessment data and engagement data. By default, itslearning uses the maximum retention time. The retention period is selected from a drop-down list, in increments of one year: 1–5 years for assessment data, and 1–2 years for engagement data.

After the defined retention period, data is securely deleted from the itslearning Learning Record Store.

5 Manage third-party access

Customer administrators control which approved third parties can access LRS data. Access can be limited to all organisations or selected organisations.

Partners have read-only access to the LRS data using the xAPI compliant API. They do not have a user interface to the LRS. For details, see the developer documentation.

5.1 Register new partner

1. Go to Admin > Logs and Services > LRS management.
2. Open the third-party access area.
   
3. Add or register the third-party organisation.
4. Add the contact person details, including name, email address and phone number where required.
5. Add comments if needed.
6. On save, a new page opens with the partner details.
   

5.2 Grant partner access to data

Before a partner can access LRS data, you need to:

1. Select whether they have access to all or selected organisations on your site.
2. Share the client ID with the partner.
3. Send an email to the partner so that they can create their client secret.

Partners and their current access rights are summarised in a table on the LRS management page. To view partner details and manage their client secrets, click on their name in the list.

5.2.1 Manage organisation access

Go to Manage organisation access to define the data access scope for the partner. You can select whether they have access to all data on your site or to selected organisations only.

Changes to the data access scope take effect immediately.

5.2.2 Share client credentials with partner

The client ID is created automatically when the partner is registered. Copy the client ID and share it with your partner separately.

The client secret is created by the partner using a one-time password generation link sent by email. The link expires after 24 hours.

Client secrets are not stored in itslearning. If your partner has misplaced their client secret, revoke the old secret and send them a link to generate a new one.

Each partner can have two secrets active at the same time, to allow rotating the secrets. We recommend revoking old secrets periodically so that only one secret is active.

5.3 Revoke partner access to data

Administrators can revoke third-party access by removing access to organisations, revoking client secrets or deleting the partner.

Changes to third-party access take effect immediately.

6 View or download LRS records

The data in the LRS is not used for analysis or reporting in itslearning. Its primary purpose is to collect and provide near real-time access to learner interactions in an internationally recognised standard format, for analysis in external systems.

For the purpose of allowing administrators to verify that the LRS is functioning as expected, a simplified report view of the collected statements is provided.

The LRS report lets administrators filter, view and download LRS records. A download can be exported as a CSV file compressed in a ZIP file.

6.1 Supported filters

6.2 Search and view records

1. Go to Admin > Reports > Learning Record Store report.
2. Open the LRS report.
3. Select the required Start date and End date.
4. Add optional filters if needed.
5. Click Search.
6. If results are within the supported limit (max. 1 million rows), the first 100 are listed. Use Show 100 more rows to load more rows when this option is available.
7. Use the download option to get all results in one file.

6.3 Download a report

1. Apply the filters you need.
2. Click Search.
3. Check that the number of matching rows is within the 1 million row limit.
4. Click Download.
5. Wait until the ZIP file is prepared. When it is ready, a notification appears.

6.4 Report messages

7 What data appears in the report

The report shows a simplified view of LRS statements. The available data depends on the filters used and the events collected for the selected period.

7.1 Report columns

7.2 Event categories

The table below is a reference of all recorded event types, grouped by category.

8 Security, audit logging and fair use

The LRS follows itslearning's ISO27001 certified security framework. Communication is encrypted in transit, personal data is encrypted at rest, and all third-party access to data is controlled by the customer.

Only users with LRS management permission can view LRS data in itslearning.

The following actions are logged internally with the system ID of the user who performed the action and a timestamp:

• Activating or deactivating LRS data collection.
• Changing data retention time.
• Granting or revoking third-party access.
• Downloading LRS data.

The LRS API applies fair-use protection to maintain performance and system stability by enforcing client-specific rate limits. Over-limit API requests by partners may return errors, such as HTTP 429 (too many requests in a given time), and unusual activity may lead to temporary suspension.

9 Troubleshooting

More help resources
Have more questions? Please start by asking your school administrator.

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Roadmap
Check out our roadmap: https://itslearning.com/global/roadmap/

The features shown are part of the project within the framework of the German Development Project (GDP), a cooperation between four German states and itslearning with the aim of improving digital education in Germany through tailor-made product developments.

Learn more about the GDP roadmap and what other features you can expect.

For German readers: more information about the project within the framework of the German Development Project.