Standardisation
The success or failure of procedures, systems and applications depends on an optimum exchange of information. For this reason it is advisable that organisations work with the same specifications, preferably laid down in standards. SURFfoundation and the three platforms are investing heavily in establishing specifications and standards, and are promoting their use. For this task, SURFfoundation has installed a Special Interest Group.
Working with standards is a must for E-learning systems, for example. These systems have large quantities of content, and finding and reusing that information is not easy. Moreover, the exchange of information within ones own institution or across institutions is often problematic, and it becomes a costly affair when conversions are required.
Specifications and standards can help resolve a number of these problems. A shared set of agreements can be very advantageous when systems are linked and content, metadata and portfolios are shared. The agreements specify how the information is to be structured and interpreted.
In its management of standards SURFfoundation collaborates with EduStandaard.
Further information
Contact: Jaap Kuipers, Assistant Manager for the SURF ICT and Management Platform, T 030 234 66 00.