ioNetworkNode

Resources

ioNetworknode installation video

Phosphorix have developed ioNetworkNode as a web service based technology which orchestrates ioNetwork relationships and manages web applications deployed on a given ioNetwork.

 

It was released by Phosphorix in 2008 under the Apache 2 license, it is thus royalty free and is an open source software product.

 

ioNetwork is a term which implies one or more service interoperates on an agreed basis, nodes may share or exchange information as members of the ioNetwork.

 

ioNetworkNode is a web application deployment technology for deploying web applications such as personal development service portals on a given ioNetwork, course hubs, course agents, learner record hubs etc.

 

In designing ioNetworkNode, Phosphorix have aimed to enhance end user services and has been particularly focussed on the issues surrounding lifelong learners and their transitions from one organisation to another. (see SHELL case study)

 

ioNode was the predecessor to ioNetworkNode.

 

Phosphorix continue to develop these interoperability technologies and others (ioPortal, ioSequence, ioAgent, ioHub, ioDB, ioMorph, ioMap) in response to the future challenges of lifelong learning, research communities and other networking potential.

 

Community

We look for community based projects and partnerships to continue to develop the ioNetworkNode software with us.

 

ioNetworks may be created for any purpose, commercial, educational, research, community, social networking etc...

 

ioNetwork Administrators may create or build communities by linking portal applications (node to node) for colaboration and data exchange services between one or more "like minded" organisations.

 

Background

Specifically, a technology was required to orchestrate the services and data used by one or more education institution for learner record exchanges and course advertising services.

 

(see SHELL, NIIMLE and The Learning Matrix)

 

Thus ioNetworkNode can be used to link organisations within consortiums, regional groups, national or even international groups, it allows them to create networks and join networks.

 

Applications such as web portals installed on an ioNetworkNode server benefit from shared ioNetwork services. A user registration look up service, saves users time and allow them to conveniently import their data from previous services used (e.g. web portals) or institutions attended.

 

Applications such as course advertising agents (see CourseExchange) may post course advertisements to a central ioNetwork or any ioNetwork they are joined to. Specific ioNetworkNode ready web applications services such as a course hub are designed to receive course adverts sent as XML (see XCRI).

 

User portals may subscribe to one or more ioNetworks and thus aggregate offerings from one or more course hubs.

Each ioNetworkNode once installed is a network entity in its own right. An ioNetworkNode may join other ioNetworks and others may join it.

 

When installing an ioNetworkNode you are invited to name your own network and then to join one or more other ioNetworks.

 

ioNetworkNode is simple and flexible, its one of the building blocks Phosphorix needed for projects like ioNW2, SOLVS, SHELL, MOVE Learner Services, YHELLN to be taken forward in the future.

 

History of ioNetworkNode

While working on a number of JISC and HEFCE funded projects, Phosphorix developed and launched “ioNetworkNode”. The ioNW2 project took a particular interest in maturing the vision to seemlessly allow organisations to join each other and exchange learner records and course information in the form of XCRI. The project continues to advise Phosphorix and track its progress to deliver mature open source code and services around the ioNetworkNode.

 

The SHELL project set out to "enhance lifelong learning", in Partnership with the University of Plymouth, Cornwall College and a number of further education colleges in the South West of England, the remit was to deliver a reliable and interoperable technology framework between the partners. The notion was to track learners from school to higner education. Phosphorix partnered the SHELL project and delivered the first ioNode services (interoperability node).

 

A number of previous open source pilot projects have contributed to the development of ioNode, including, EELLS, The Learning Matrix and PDP4Life, and it is on the basis of this experience that ioNetworkNode has been developed.

 

ioNetworkNode will enable developers and engineers in education to build networks together to support the following:

 

  • Publishing learners' academic achievements for tracking by lifelong learning networks and authorised data controllers

  • Scalable institutional interoperability via the novel use of web based data transformations for specifications such as IMS LIP, Enterprise, HR-XML, XCRI etc

  • Web service based Portals, agents and hubs designed to exchange, harvest and present course related information tools and services

  • A comprehensive personal management and learning system which can coordinate activities such as blog style journals, eportfolio and pdp

  • The continued use and sustainable growth of ionetwork.ac.uk

 

The current ioNetworkNode download is available at the Downloads Page

 

ioNetworkNode is built on Java, Hibernate, Struts and XHTML technology with a Postgres Database backend. ioNetworkNode is licensed under the Apache2 license.

 

ioNetworkNode even has its own website!

 

For uses of ioNetworkNode please see CourseExchange .

The ioNetworkNodeforum can be used to post questions, suggestion or problems.

 

Some useful links:

There are many projects based on the ioNetworkNode including:

 

loading loading...