OpenID and eLearning

OpenID and eLearning Scott Wilson institute for educational cybernetics university of bolton

Institute for educational what ?
"The science of communication and control in animal and machine” (Norbert Wiener)
"The science of effective organisation ” (Stafford Beer)
"A way of looking at things and a language for expressing what one sees” (Margaret Mead)”
The science and art of understanding” (Humberto Maturana)

Cybernetics and identity
Linked to concept of autopoiesis; all systems that are autopoietic and maintain homeostasis have identity
Regulation in a system is concerned with the maintenance of its identity
From a cybernetic viewpoint, an“identity management system” is actually a system for maintaining the identity of the organisation, not those of the people it ostensibly manages

Understanding education as a system

Where is identity used in the elearning system?
Individualization
Self-organisation
Activity
Coordination
Resource management
Monitoring
Strategy
Adaptation

Individualization
Self-organisation
Activity
Coordination
Resource management
Monitoring
Strategy
Adaptation
Resource management is the focus of traditional institutional IDM “ Leaked” into Coordination & primary Activity via the LMS/VLE. A consequence of an early technology variety imbalance

Individualization
Self-organisation
Activity
Coordination
Resource management
Monitoring
Strategy
Adaptation
Past: anonymised data Future: identified data (ULN)

Individualization
Self-organisation
Activity
Coordination
Resource management
Monitoring
Strategy
Adaptation
User-centric identity, especially OpenID

VLE v PLE
VLE
Resource management
PLE
Self-organisation
Invidividualisation
VLE <-> PLE
Coordination

Distributed, user-owned technologies are not merely going to be grudgingly accepted by institutions, they are an inevitable requirement for organisational viability in the 21st Century

Far from threatening institutional viability and control, distributed, user-owned technology offers an escape route from escalating costs, liabilities, and bureaucracy that come from a supply-driven model Rather than spinning us out of control, they offer a way to get back under control

A supply-led approach to provision of education and provision of technology is no longer viable in an age of lifelong learning, user choice, and increasing numbers

Why is OpenID interesting?

it isn’t really an authentication system That’s a good thing

it doesn’t really verify identity or identify the user That’s a good thing too

it doesn’t require or assume policy alignment or trust Nice and flexible…

it isn’t a provisioning system (Apart from SREG and AE, but they aren’t mandatory)

All it does is offer a means of asserting a relationship between an agent and a URL how cool is that?

This makes it a potential boundary mechanism for the coordination of individual, self-organised, and managed activity

OpenID is a pivot
It can provide an axis of coordination between the formal system and informal systems
OpenID actually doesn’t really authenticate or identify anyone, but it can connect things that use identity

A (bad?) example: Jyte RSS feed
<item>
<pubDate>Sat, 03 Nov 2007 11:36:53 -0700</pubDate>
<title>I have at least one unfinished novel that I work on intermittently.</title>
<author>http://elihu.myopenid.com/</author>
<description><a href="http://jyte.com/profile/elihu.myopenid.com" title="http://elihu.myopenid.com/">Elihu</a> made this claim.</description>
<link>http://jyte.com/cl/i-have-at-least-one-unfinished-novel-that-i-work-on-intermittently</link>
<guid>http://jyte.com/cl/i-have-at-least-one-unfinished-novel-that-i-work-on-intermittently</guid>
<category>novel</category>
<category>writing</category>
<category>hobby</category>
<category>unfinished projects</category>
</item>
<item>
<pubDate>Sat, 03 Nov 2007 10:48:31 -0700</pubDate>
<title>I always thought nic was a hip-py, but now I think he's a hip-hop.</title>
<author>http://packers1.myopenid.com/</author>
<description><a href="http://jyte.com/profile/packers1.myopenid.com" title="http://packers1.myopenid.com/">Packers</a> made this claim.</description>
<link>http://jyte.com/cl/i-always-thought-www.tapsellferrier.co.uknicferrier-was-a-hip-py-but-now-i-think-hes-a-hip-hop</link>
<guid>http://jyte.com/cl/i-always-thought-www.tapsellferrier.co.uknicferrier-was-a-hip-py-but-now-i-think-hes-a-hip-hop</guid>
</item>
oAuth? Privacy!

Some potential uses
Indirect evidencing & correlation, for assessment or for personal portfolio development
Early-commitment coordination, for early engagement without institutional commitment
Coordination of home/work/university boundary activities
Tracking activity for coordination at group/course level
Tracking activity for analytics and planning at course/programme/institution level

Thanks for listening - over to you http:// www.cetis.ac.uk/members/scott (that’s also my OpenID, btw ;-)

OpenID and eLearning

by Eduserv Foundation on Nov 09, 2007

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