The deployment of an academic middleware to support advanced learning services

1. The deployment of an academic middleware to support advanced learning services University of the Aegean Konstantopoulos M., Spyrou T., Darzentas J. Department of Product and Systems Design, Syros, Greece Department of Information and Communication Systems, Samos, Greece

2. The people • University of the Aegean: Located on five Aegean islands (Lesvos, Chios, Samos, Rhodes, Syros) • Aegean-Net: Academic network • GRNET: Greek Research and Education Network • Interactive and Intelligent Systems Group • GESTALT (Getting Education Systems Talking Across Leading Edge Technologies) • GUARDIANS (Gateway for User Access to Remote Distributed Information and Network Services

3. The case • Two communities on similar fields: • Academic networking community: Developing middleware for the support of academic inter-institutional networking services • Educational technologists: Developing information services for the support of education and training • Major match: • Common clientele: Academic community • Major mismatch: • Different perspective: Application level – Middleware level

4. Networkers: Communities: Internet2, Terena Middleware, GridForum, etc. Deployment: middleware based services e.g. AAA, QoS, GRID Standardization: IETF, Internet2 (e.g. EduPerson) Educationalists: Communities: IEEE LTSC, IMS project, Ariadne etc. Deployment: Delivering per case, institution, Authoring e.g. Ariadne educational material Standardization: IEEE LTSC, IMS project The initiatives

5. Networkers: Construction of a middleware as a set of basic services Supports mainly network applications Lack of other users and applications for exploitation of the middleware Educationalists: Construction of standards and learning materials for use by learning industry Learning organizations capable of deploying standardized learning services Lack of infrastructure for exchange of materials, services The interim results

6. Network technology Develop infrastructures for the provision of advanced user services Increase the population of network users Gain users from previously isolated applications LearningTechnology Increase the modularity and expandability of educational information systems (franchising etc.) Accelerate the adoption of student exchange programs and inter-institutional learning programs Create a context for the incorporation of distance based programs as part of the regular studies The business needs

7. Future scenarios • Mixed location and distance based programs • The students may have an option on which type of study to follow. Based on the common student records serving both the MIS and the Distance Learning Environments. • Inter-institutional credit system • Agreements between institutions will be possible on credit exchange. The provision of inter-institutional degrees on a one to one agreement or community level is also possible. • Provision of common middleware services for the educational procedure • For example, distance based programs connected with learning technology environments with QoS and AAA directly applied.

8. How to build these? • The “old way”? • Isolated applications • One-to-one agreements • Or the “new way”? • Developing common descriptions for main actors and objects • Learners • Competencies • Learning Content • Based on already deployed network infrastructures • Network middleware

9. What elements would an academic middleware contain? • Learners • EduPerson for students • IEEE PAPI (Public and Private Information) spec. • IMSproject LIP (Learner Information Packaging) • Credits & Competencies • ECTS (European Credit Transfer System) • IMS Reusable Competencies • Learning Content • IEEE LOM (Learning Object Metadata) • IMS Learning Resource Metadata • IMS Content Packaging

10. Middleware for learning services (1)

11. Middleware for learning services (2)

12. Products and technologies affected by an Academic Middleware • Institutional MIS (Management information systems) • Network Middleware (Directories and PKI basically) • Learning Technology Systems (Learning Environments etc.) • Related services and collections (libraries, digital educational content etc.)

13. Example: Qualification related classes • Generic and user specific (e.g. diploma and student’s instance of diploma)

14. Example: Qualification implementation

15. Example: User related classes • Based on PAPI specification

16. The actions • Academic middleware: GU-NET (Greek Universities NETwork) pilot project • GUARDIANS project (Gateway for User Access to Remote Information And Network Services) • Looking for partners in Europe for a project!?