Dissimilar Educational Systems Can Communicate

  • 02/01/97

The Data Flow Controller (DFC), by Information Systems of Florida, Inc. (ISF), enables all educational software, no matter the brand, platform or type, to access and exchange information with any other DFC-compliant program seamlessly and quickly.

Developed by ISF and Encyclopaedia Britannica Educational Corp., with support from the Florida Dept. of Education, the DFC is a trend-setting initiative designed to enable incompatible systems to easily exchange information and improve productivity.

The DFC is a standards-based interface and data router for educational software. Rather than forcing each package to include individual interfaces to all other programs, the DFC provides a standard Application Program Interface (API). Once an educational software package is written to the API, it can seamlessly exchange and transfer data with any other package written to the API.

The DFC eliminates the need to rekey data across applications, reducing redundancies and errors. Once a student's address is changed in the student information system, for example, it could automatically be updated in the school's financial system as well.

Around 20 firms have already signed up to participate in the DFC Initiative, including McGraw-Hill, Winnebago, Jostens Learning and U.S. Telecom, among others. Information Systems of Florida, Inc., Jacksonville, FL, (904) 724-2277, www.isf.com. WM

Featured

  • laptop displaying a glowing digital brain and data charts sits on a metal shelf in a well-lit server room with organized network cables and active servers

    Cisco Unveils AI-First Approach to IT Operations

    At its recent Cisco Live 2025 event, Cisco introduced AgenticOps, a transformative approach to IT operations that integrates advanced AI capabilities to enhance efficiency and collaboration across network, security, and application domains.

  • cloud icon with a padlock overlay set against a digital background featuring binary code and network nodes

    Cloud Security Auditing Tool Uses AI to Validate Providers' Security Assessments

    The Cloud Security Alliance has unveiled a new artificial intelligence-powered system that automates the validation of cloud service providers' (CSPs) security assessments, aiming to improve transparency and trust across the cloud computing landscape.

  • robot brain with various technology and business icons

    Google Cloud Study: Early Agentic AI Adopters See Better ROI

    Google Cloud has released its second annual ROI of AI study, finding that 52% of enterprise organizations now deploy AI agents in production environments. The comprehensive survey of 3,466 senior leaders across 24 countries highlights the emergence of a distinct group of "agentic AI early adopters" who are achieving measurably higher returns on their AI investments.

  • laptop with AI symbol on screen

    Google Launches Lightweight Gemma 3n, Expanding Emphasis on Edge AI

    Google DeepMind has officially launched Gemma 3n, the latest version of its lightweight generative AI model designed specifically for mobile and edge devices — a move that reinforces the company's focus on on-device computing.