For years now across the broader information technology community there has been much talk of “service” oriented approaches to technology development and deployment that help ensure the “interoperability”of disparate systems. In the world of online learning technologies, one of the key corollaries has been the concept of the reusable learning object and the Shareable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM), the set of guidelines that promise to make widespread adoption of the reusable learning object concept possible.
I’ve always wanted a good way to illustrate the concepts of services and interoperability to non-technical users of e-learning technologies, and recently I happened to see a good one. While it does not focus specifically on online learning technologies, Introducing the Service Oriented Approach from the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC), offers a great, animated overview of the general service oriented architecture (SOA) concept. I highly recommend it if:
- You have never heard of the service-oriented approach and are in any way, shape, or form impacted by developments in online learning technologies or other technologies (yes, that means pretty much anybody)
- You have always wanted to understand SOA a bit better than you do
- You are in a position where you need to be able to explain SOA to non-technical users
I have not spent a great deal of time on JISC’s site yet, but it appears to be well worth exploring—the mission of the organization is to provide world-class leadership in the innovative use of Information and Communications Technology to support education and research. For those not already familiar with it, I also recommend a visit to the Advanced
Distributed Learning initiative, the home of SCORM.
JTC
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