XXP for course aggregators
The three main issues which XCRI aggregators face are...
1. One of the strengths of the XCRI standard, from the perspective of learning providers (and those who put data into XCRI), is that the specification is extremely flexible. It allows them to put in as much or as little data as they choose, in a variety of formats, almost without constraint.
Whilst this flexibility is advantageous to those creating XCRI files, it can make life very difficult for aggregators and those looking to extract data from XCRI files.
2. The lack of a standard set for vocabularies and reference data sets across learning providers means the same data field and even data value can look very different from one XCRI file to the next.
3. The XCRI standard defines a framework for the exchange of data but does not proscribe a mechanism for the exchange. This means that learning providers are free to use any of the numerous transfer technologies available today (eg. FTP, RESTful, SOAP, etc., etc.). This can lead to aggregators having to duplicate functionality across numerous different technologies.
And each and every aggregator will need to spend the time, effort and money addressing these issues. Or, as they say, "re-inventing the same wheel".
What's needed is a single, central hub to pre-process XCRI so it contains a standard structure, consistent content and is available via a single technology. This is what XXP can provide.
XXP can help by providing...
A single source for XCRI-CAP feeds
save time and cost by finding and retrieving XCRI-CAP feeds from a single source.Consistent XCRI-CAP feeds
retrieve XCRI-CAP feeds using one consistent delivery mechanism, XML structure and vocabulary dataHigh quality data
obtain 'value added' XCRI-CAP feeds that contain standard vocabularies and additional classification and metadataNotification of updates
subscribe to notifications of new and updated feeds
