Web services availability in e-learning platforms

Abstract

Nowadays, integration of e-learning platforms has become a key issue in e-learning. In order to facilitate this integration, most e-learning platforms depict their functionality in terms of web services. However, the availability of these services in every platform is very heterogeneous. In addition, every platform follows its own philosophy when designing its services. This paper analyses three of the most successful elearning platforms (Blackboard, Moodle and Sakai), identifying their web services, and comparing their readiness for the development of a virtual campus based on these services. The goal of the paper is to facilitate the integration of these platforms in an information technology infrastructure.