bb tour anz 2017 - workshop - integration strategies
TRANSCRIPT
Michael Garner
Senior Solutions Engineer, APAC
Integration Strategies in Blackboard Learn
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Philosophy of Integration Evolution
Strong comittment to supporting the development community that dates back to 2003
With our commitment to deliver Learn on SaaS and with the Ultra experience, we are significantly improving the user experience
To support that experience, we’re delivering a new integration model – Representational State Transfer (REST)
To do that, we’ve launched a new Bb Developer Platform, an API gateway, and a developer forum on Bb Community.
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The Integration Landscape
Learn now has a number of approaches to integration capabilities available now
They each have their pros and cons which impact your decision to use one over the other
IMS LTI Integration
Strategic partnership with publishers / Content MarketWide variety of Integration options through APIs (Building Blocks)
REST / SOAP Web Services
Admin Integration Frameworks (SIS, Grades Journey)
IntegrationFramework
The Integration Landscape
The Integration Landscape
IMS Global Consortium standard
Vendor agnostic remote, out-of-process tool communication
Consumer/Provider model – Blackboard Learn is a consumer
Tool links can be registered system-wide or at the course level
LTI – Learning Tools Interoperability
Built around Blackboard’s proprietary Java API – requires Java
Apps installed into the application via a customer GUI in the Admin panel
Run in-process as part of Blackboard Learn
Deployment points and tag libraries allow Building Blocks to create pages that render in Learn
The Integration Landscape
Building Block APIs
Building Block APIshttp://www.blackboard.com/partnerships/extensions.aspx
http://projects.oscelot.org/gf/project/
Course Catalog B2
• Creates a catalog of browsable courses
• Course tool configuration
Building Block APIs
https://community.blackboard.com/docs/DOC-1115
Building Block APIs
• Development in Java
• Installed into Learn
Building Block APIs
The Integration Landscape
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SOAP Web Services
XML-encoded method calls sent over HTTP
UDDI for service discover, WSDL for service description
Consumer/Provider model – Blackboard Learn can be either
Provide a limited set of APIs compared to Building Blocks
SOAP Web Services
The Integration Landscape
RESTAn architectural style of building web services
REST APIs are integration interfaces built using REST principles
Blackboard REST APIs are not just for Learn – other cloud products
Runs out-of-process – nothing is installed in the Learn instance
Programing language agnostic
REST - /learn/api/public/v1/users
REST - /learn/api/public/v1/users/userName:mgarner
Grades Journey – supporting assessment & grades management
HR/ERP
Library
Timetable
SIS
Grades Column
Provisioning
GradesExchange
Flat File, SOAP or REST web services
Blackboard Confidential
• Grades approval,release
• Optional read-onlyafter post
Tools to manage your REST Integrationhttps://developer.blackboard.com/portal/displayApi
Open API
Examples of data structures- oAuth- Users- Courses- Content and Assignments- Enrolments- Groups- Grades- Data sources
Tools to manage your REST Integration
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The full range of options
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Choosing the Right Path
User Experience: Original or Ultra
Target Platform: 9.1 or SaaS
Architectural Goals: In or Out of Process
• You have a full range of options for how you integrate with Learn – some older, some newer
• Each option has pros and cons that will impact your decision as to which to use
• The approach to take depends on three major factors
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Choosing the Right Path: Target Platform
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For integrations to work in SaaS – Original Experience
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For integrations to work in SaaS + Ultra Experience
REST API Roadmap
Available now Developer Platform API Gateway Learn APIs Content (3000.1) Courses (3000.1) Data Sources (3000.1) Gradebook (3000.11) Memberships (3000.1) Terms (3000.1) Users (3000.1)
In Research Learn APIs Accessibility Announcements Assessments Assignments Attempts Calendar
Collaborate and Transact APIs
Discussions Events Groups Hierarchy Localization
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ResourcesDeveloper Portal: https://developer.blackboard.com Latest APIs: https://developer.blackboard.com/portal/displayApiSample Code: https://github.com/search?q=blackboard+REST+BBDN-&type=Repositories&ref=searchresultsREST Community Site: https://community.blackboard.com/community/developers/restThe REST API Architecture: https://community.blackboard.com/docs/DOC-1733Setting up Learn to use your REST Integration: https://community.blackboard.com/docs/DOC-1580DVM Object Gen: https://github.com/blackboard/BBDN-LearnObjectGen_Python
Contact Us: [email protected]
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Open Discussion
What are some of your integration challenges?
How could Blackboard provide a better integration experience?
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Open Discussion
How could Blackboard provide a better integration experience?
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Questions?