The Open Education API is typically used to make educational data available. With educational data we mean the data that is typically stored in the educational systems like the Student Information System (SIS), the Learning Management System (LMS) etc. Think of marks and study credits, couse information, schedules and timetables. Education institutions can now publish this educational data in a standardised way by implementing their own Open Education API, following the the Open Education API specification. By doing so, application developers can then integrate education data that has been made available by the Open Education API implementations of the different education institutions in an uniform way, into new exiting applications. See for more information about this project: https://openonderwijsapi.nl/en/

1. OPEN EDUCATION API
The open standard for
sharing educational data
IMS Europe Conference,
9 November 2018
Frans Ward
SURF Photo by Alejandro Escamilla on Unsplash

2. https://www.flickr.com/photos/tpapi/2765541278/
ABOUT ME

3. SURF is the
collaborative ICT
organisation for
Dutch education
and research.

4. Serving over 1 million users

5. SURF, COULD YOU HELP US?
Photo by Yung Chang on Unsplash

6. The problem….

7. We still have data silos
Educational data is still mostly stuck in silos.
Hard to move data in and out of systems.
Lots of extra clerical work that educators and
administrators have to do.
This is mostly because
educational apps
and software
do not, as a rule,
talk to one another.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/maureen_barlin/10708485883/

8. The Open Education
API project
“To make educational data
available in a
standardized, safe and
user friendly way”
https://www.flickr.com/photos/skipmoore/39870632990/

9. Metadata about educational institute
or
Open Educational Resources (OER)
or
Administrative data that is released
by educational systemsOOAPI
What is (open) Educational Data?
https://www.flickr.com/photos/patrick_dockens/12058032686

10. Animation

11. WHAT IS STANDARDIZED?
https://www.flickr.com/photos/bensonkua/15333348806/

12. What is standardized?
Semantics
Analysis of the concepts and
modeling of the databases that are
on the nomination to be unlocked.
Check whether they fit in with the
formal standardized concepts and
OBK modeling.
Also check whether they appear or
should occur in the HORA data
dictionary.
Syntax Dataformat
The output of the API, the
JSON code.
The objective of this is that
applications know which
output can come, so that eg a
mobile app works with the
OOAPI of all institutions that
apply and offer it.
The description of the API
REST endpoints.
The aim of this is that educational
institutions that provide
educational data through an API
will do this according to the Open
Education API.
https://github.com/open-education-api/specification

13. The OOAPI 2.1 specification
ü Course information: /courses
ü News: /newsfeeds and /newsitems
ü Users: /persons
ü Educational: /faculties,
/educational-departments,
/educational-plans, /course-groups
ü Timetables: /schedules
ü Study progress: /courseresults
ü Exam results: /testresults
ü Buildings: /buildings
ü Available workstations: /rooms
The Open Education API currently supports the following data types:
https://github.com/open-education-api/specification
https://rawgit.com/open-education-api/specification/v2/docs.html
Specification:
Documentation:

14. The upcoming OOAPI 3.0 specification
ü Course information: /courses
ü News: /newsfeeds and /newsitems
ü Users: /persons
ü Educational: /faculties,
/educational-departments,
/educational-plans, /course-groups
ü Timetables: /schedules
ü Study progress: /courseresults
ü Exam results: /testresults
ü Buildings: /buildings
ü Available workstations: /rooms
The Open Education API currently supports the following data types:
Align with OpenAPI 3.0
Add notification endpoints
Add groups and group roles definitions
Add identifiers for levels and room types
Bring back certain POSTS calls
Support multilingual responses

15. GOVERNANCE
https://www.flickr.com/photos/internationaltransportforum/34886453912/

16. Working Group Project Lead
Advisory
https://github.com/open-education-api/specification/blob/v2/Governance.md
Community

17. https://openonderwijsapi.nl/en/

18. https://github.com/open-education-api/specification

19. https://www.flickr.com/photos/tpapi/2765541278/
Photo by Eddy Lackmann on Unsplash
FUTURE PLANS
https://www.flickr.com/photos/gsfc/22150617080/

20. SURF Education Innovationproject 2015-2018
2015-2018 2019-….
Open Education Data
2013-2014
Open Education API
V1.0, V2.0, V2.1, V3.0V0.5, V0.9
Open Education API
V3.1 , ……

21. OOAPI Roadmap
Finalize the OOAPI V3.0 specification
Prepare Governance for transition to Edustandaard
Align OOAPI with IMS EDU-API
Collect issues for future releases
Describe the data items of the OOAPI specification
Design a better mechanism for updating the
overview of institution OOAPI endpoints
Define guidelines for authentication and
authorisation for the implementation of the OOAPI
Photo by Daniel Gonzalez on Unsplash

22. ORGANISING FLEXIBILITY
Photo by Indian Yogi (Yogi Madhav) on Unsplash

27. SPOT THE DIFFERENCE
Photo by Ricardo Gomez Angel on Unsplash

28. OOAPI vs EDU-API
Student centric
Tends towards OneRoster
Focus on courses and
schedules
Machine to machine
Tends towards LIS
First focus on Persons and
Demographics

29. OOAPI vs EDU-API
Student centric
Tends towards OneRoster
Focus on courses and
schedules
Machine to machine
Tends towards LIS
First focus on Persons and
Demographics
“You guys are
miles ahead”
Thanks, but
are we at
least on the
same path?

30. Photo on Flickr by IMF Staff Photograph/Stephen Jaffe

31. OPEN EDUCATION API:
AN OPEN STANDARD
FOR MAKING
EDUCATIONAL DATA
AVAILABLE
31
Frans Ward
E-mail: frans.ward@surfnet.nl
https://openonderwijsapi.nl/en/
Driving innovation together
https://github.com/open-education-api/specification