Dear all
My concern is that there still appears to be no common agreement between all
vendors to enable them to incorporate the IMS specifications into their differing
software applications, so as to allow them to interoperate with other systems.
The differing interpretation of the IMS specifications is now the major problem
within our Interoperability pilot. Without these being jointly agreed by all parties
involved we will more than likely just end up with separate systems that can
exchange data, eventually but certainly not automatically. This being the case I
could not see the interoperability of differing systems ever getting off the ground
to the extent Colleges would want to buy them, and students would want to use
them. It points most Institutions back down the path of "proprietary lock-in".
To give the community some idea as to the practicalities here is a brief example
of the problem we have come across and STILL have no solution for, despite
over a year of discussion.
The major problem lies in the differing interpretations of the IMS specifications. In
brief, the XML file generated by our MIS suppliers export utility which takes the
data from our MIS has a different interpretation of the IMS Enterprise
specifications. It therefore produces data in a format that our VLE providers
import Utility does not recognise because of their interpretation of the IMS
Specifications. Therefore what is required in order to import this XML file into the
VLE is raw editing of the XML file. We have managed to achieve the importing of
this student data after editing, but it was a long and arduous process. It
demonstrates the need for a speedy agreement on the IMS specifications.Both
vendor parties are genuinely working as best they can given the moving
platform on which they are developing their software.
My point is there needs to be a solid platform for vendors to base there
developments. It is over a year since the FERL/BECTA conference at which all
vendors initially got together to achieve this objective, but there does not seem to
be any strategic direction been given by any of the various organisations
concerned, and hence very little appears to have been achieved.
Do we throw away any chance of true interoperability now? Comments please.
George Wraith
Product Development Manager
New College Durham
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