How Educational APIs are Enabling Online Learning
/The growing worldwide prevalence of COVID-19 has impacted the education system in unimaginable ways—with over 1.2 billion children taking an indefinite classroom hiatus in favor of e-learning. Remote tools are facilitating safe instruction, and students are continually adapting to their new normal. These changes are particularly impactful on K-12 students, who possess varied degrees of technical acumen, exposure, and independence. That said, which tools are now available, and how have APIs supercharged remote learning?
Hastening the Digital Shift
Unlocking egalitarian access to educational resources has been an ongoing goal. Global socioeconomic prosperity wildly varies. Mandating localized applications is thus a dubious proposition—especially when requisite hardware costs a lofty sum. Teachers and administrators have embraced a modern approach: cloud-based education, one which particularly leverages browser-based applications. This also includes web apps.
The good news is that many of these tools have enjoyed long-time use. Canvas and Blackboard are stalwart, tried-and-true outlets for extending the learning experience beyond the classroom’s physical confines.
It’s important to remember that learning isn’t merely the act of consuming information. The process includes progress reporting, resource sharing, and methods for submitting assignments. While students tune in using Cisco WebEx, Zoom, or Google Hangouts (to name a few), the administrative element to education remains crucial. Sharing feedback and crafting engaging experiences—individually and collectively—means tapping into services via APIs. User visibility into these backend processes isn’t always clear. However, even the simplest of actions are supported by these mechanisms. APIs power student authentication, sharing, and much, much more.
Adjusting on the Fly
While the educational realm is a superb testbed for innovation, sweeping changes don’t always receive warm receptions—as a learning curve is often involved. Academic IT teams (primarily at the K-12 level, for schools who have them) must acclimate to new technologies, and be well-versed enough to offer remote support. Students must learn how to navigate applications and websites. Furthermore, parents and guardians become de facto tech support staffers. Forced changes adversely affect efficiency and instructional quality at their onset.
COVID has accelerated these digital shifts. That throws a monkey wrench into the equation, though services with sound UI/UX can make the transition easier. APIs support essential functions and frontend interactions—ultimately promoting application usability. Here are some other popular examples:
This isn’t an exhaustive list by any means, but one lesson nevertheless rings true: educators have numerous options to choose from. Those decisions can be overwhelming, but schools will rest assured knowing that providers stand behind their offerings.
Diving deeper reveals a plethora of unique functionality. Teachers and students can view rosters and course data. Admins can invite students to groups, and students may request access to materials. Students can create, edit, and review flashcards—plus access millions of premade, community tools. Students might use the Khan API to view over 3,200 videos encompassing multiple subjects, for example. Other APIs allow pupils to access grades, view assignments, submit documents, and manage course enrollment. These APIs may also help students keep abreast of important activities.
Technical Nuts and Bolts
What do each of the APIs listed have in common? They’re all REST APIs, and thus retrieve information for the user via JSON or XML. Why is REST the go-to in these instances? For one, educational services need to be (somewhat) browser agnostic, and REST’s format friendliness is a core advantage over alternatives like SOAP.
We also must consider that educational APIs access plenty of data. This content is hosted on remote databases. The general consensus is that REST APIs can grab this information (like grades, messages, etc.) faster and more easily. There’s less programming involved. This relative simplicity makes it easier for developers to create new education solutions—especially as demand inflates—quicker and more economically.
A Matter of Privacy
Additionally, REST meshes better with established websites. Developers won’t have to reshuffle things to get solutions up and running. For this reason, RESTful APIs are comparatively plug-and-play without requiring exorbitant levels of configuration (assuming the applications are good matches for them). These APIs are typically public, since providers actually want external developers to craft solutions with them.
Ed-tech developers must also dictate access to personally-identifiable information (PII). Students (read ‘minors’) must be able to access enrollment details, personal data, and sensitive information from home. That transparency is great, yet developers have to uphold data security. We don’t want bad actors obtaining these details. REST APIs fit well into this gatekeeping strategy, as their granular programmability offers greater control than low-or-no code alternatives.
Dictating Who Sees What
Protection rests with two things: authentication and authorization. Say we have a building which houses information we hold dear, like files or documents. Something like a passcode might get us inside the front door—the first layer of protection. This step is authentication, which essentially confirms the visitor (or person logging in) is who they say they are. Passwords are considered secretive. The people entering them are likely the authentic creators of said passwords, since they’re personalized.
Just because we can enter the building doesn’t mean we can access all rooms (in educational speak: groups, classes, video conferences). These siloed areas contain unique bits of settings, data, or resources hypothetically useful to students. In this case, an invitation or special keycard may be necessary to gain access. This second step is authorization. The portal or web app owner has only granted certain users permission to these areas. Only pre-authorized students or staff may access what lies within.
Usage patterns are crucial here. Developers expect students to progressively navigate applications via common pathways. Knowing these behaviors allows developers to selectively lock down applications as needed. Many APIs utilize OAuth 2.0 for authorization across numerous devices for these very reasons.
Overall, these measures keep educational tools secure and viable for remote use. It’s tempting to say that APIs simply connect users to features, yet these background considerations equally drive adoption. Security matters. It’s why Google and its peers tout how galvanized their APIs are. Developers must also consider compliance. Legal measures like the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), plus the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), impact how students can safely learn online.
The Future of Online Learning
The technology powering cloud-based learning is often called the stack, and these stacks are constantly evolving in lockstep with the API landscape. Additionally, giants like Google, Microsoft, and Apple are continuing to push into the educational space.
With this level of investment, we can expect to see many more educational APIs to emerge in the near future. Analysts expect the online learning market to eclipse $350 billion by 2025, suggesting that remote education is here to stay in greater form. Language learning and virtual tutoring will also grow immensely in popularity. COVID-19 has painted an uncertain picture for classroom education.
Leveling the Playing Field Isn’t Easy
It’s heartening to see that tech companies aren’t leaving students behind. However, moving to e-learning will illuminate existing disparities within our global education system. Developers can provide students with a wealth of resources, but those won’t matter for children lacking the means to purchase electronic devices.
Browser-based APIs help, yet that technological gap cannot be bridged if school systems (or non-profits, in some cases) can’t provide students with computers—especially as household spending grows more discriminating amidst the pandemic. It’s hard to refute that democratizing education is easiest within public classrooms.
Nevertheless, educational APIs are forming the backbone of our new e-learning ecosystem. While it’ll be interesting to see how institutional approaches vary, students should have options heading into the fall and winter.