Program Designed to Aid in Vendor-Neutral Integration of Technology
JES & Co., a not for profit organization that integrates technology for schools, has announced a vendor-neutral initiative. The Managed Learning Systems (MLS) Program is an educator-driven initiative to facilitate interoperable IT solutions independent of vendor, integrator or platform. The educator-run MLS Steering Committee, representing the U.S. Department of Education, State Departments of Education, higher education and K-12, will guide development of standards to address the needs of education. The MLS provides states with the means to implement any time, any place learning according to its own needs and definitions.
Version 1.0 of the MLS specification is the result of more than three years of integration and prototype development. With the deployment of this fully-operational system in Oklahoma, the MLS Program will focus on soliciting participation from additional technology and education leaders, revising the current specification and publishing a 2.0 version in 2002. Sponsors and members of the MLS Program have access to the specification while it's in development. The program includes a hosted Research and Development Lab in Tucson, AZ. The lab is available for sponsors to test and demonstrate their products for interoperability relative to the MLS specification. JES & Co., Tucson, AZ, (520) 881-3317, www.jesandco.org.
This article originally appeared in the 08/01/2001 issue of THE Journal.