The ability to access tools is fundamental to learning. The ‘access tools’ use case is closely tied to traditional IT Service Management (ITSM). Its goal is to simplify how alliance members procure, manage, and govern shared resources. This includes both physical and virtual resources. This use case heavily relies on use case 7 - User identity.
So far, findings revealed that discoverability is not a priority for alliances at present, as the number of requests is still manageable through local and manual processes. As alliances work on interoperability, sharing tools will become more common. This is especially true in joint programme scenarios. Moreover, being able to expose assets can be crucial for institutions and alliances focused on research as part of their institutional identity.
This use case focuses on the mechanisms for sharing and accessing resources. To fully define it, we must outline the processes for managing the catalogue of available resources and the steps required to discover and access them.
Interoperability Essential
Definition: The institution implements at least one of the following standards to enable sharing of learning tools or course content across alliance boundaries:
- LTI Advantage (1EdTech Learning Tools Interoperability v1.3), enabling secure cross-institutional launch of shared learning tools via OpenID Connect;
- SCORM 2004 or xAPI (Tin Can) for packaging and tracking course content shared between institutions, with an LRS (Learning Record Store) capable of receiving xAPI statements.
Rationale:
- LTI Advantage is the dominant standard for tool interoperability across HEIs, supported by all major LMS platforms (Moodle, Canvas, Blackboard). It allows students at one alliance institution to access tools provisioned by another without separate accounts or manual provisioning.
- SCORM and xAPI address the complementary need to package and share course content itself, with xAPI additionally enabling fine-grained tracking of learning activity across institutional boundaries.
- Together these standards cover the two main aspects of UC3: accessing shared tools (LTI) and exchanging reusable course materials with completion tracking (SCORM/xAPI).
EDEH resources
- European Higher Education Interoperability Framework (HEIF)
- Blueprint reference architecture
- An inventory of standards, processes, and ICT systems across higher education (mapping report)
- An analysis of the state of interoperability across higher education systems in Europe (synthesis report)
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