An Ed-Fi REST API=E2=80=99s key characteristics provide specific benefit=
s to educational organizations. Security and privacy of data and data syste=
ms are primary concerns for all implementations and are addressed in an Ed-=
Fi REST API. The level of abstraction available with an Ed-Fi REST API also=
allows for a variety of use cases.
Benefits
An Ed-Fi REST API may be used to facilitate flexibility in a variety of =
situations where different applications and/or data stores need to consume,=
exchange, or manipulate education data. The major benefits of an Ed-Fi-ali=
gned API are described below:
- Data store and application agnosticism. Education orga=
nizations gain greater control over their application data infrastructure w=
hen they can use a common API that may be implemented or consumed by any nu=
mber of vendors. Storage engines (implementing an Ed-Fi REST API) may be se=
lected to meet exact availability, distribution, and scalability needs. App=
lications (consuming an Ed-Fi REST API) all interoperate in real time, on c=
ommon data, freeing education organizations to select product suites and/or=
individual applications that target specific user needs.
- Data migration simplified. In much the same way that th=
e Ed-Fi XML Data Exchange Framework creates a simpler migration path from o=
ne source of education data to another, the Ed-Fi REST API removes the need=
to migrate the data at all. Client applications that access a data store w=
ith an Ed-Fi REST API can be replaced without data migration.
- Data consistency between appl=
ications. Educational orga=
nizations use many applications. Often, these applications use similar core=
entities such as student, school, and class. When changes are needed for a=
ny of these core entities, the entities must be updated in several systems.=
Inconsistencies often do not become apparent until the data is combined in=
to a central repository for cross-reporting purposes. An Ed-Fi REST API ena=
bles a common repository for core entities, so consistency is maintained ac=
ross applications at all times.
- Simplified infrastructure. The IT staff at many educati=
onal organizations are overtaxed with ever-increasing system management, de=
sktop support, and reporting requirements. Each additional application and =
data repository represents additional =E2=80=9Csurface area=E2=80=9D that m=
ust be managed, monitored, maintained, and secured. Infrastructure may be s=
implified by using an Ed-Fi REST API instead of trying to synchronize betwe=
en proprietary data stores or application-specific APIs.
- Open infrastructure.=
An Ed-Fi REST API is built on curr=
ent industry best practices and standard HTTP verbs. Therefore, an Ed-Fi RE=
ST API neither requires nor precludes cloud-based providers (e.g., data rep=
ositories) or consumers (e.g., desktop or mobile applications), or data sto=
re topology (relational or document storage). The educational organization =
has the choice to use any of these technologies.
Security
Security is necessarily a major concern for all organizations that deal =
with education data. An Ed-Fi REST API addresses those security concerns in=
specific ways. Security, in this context, consists primarily of three acti=
vities:
- Identifying users and client applications seeking access to information=
(i.e., authentication)
- Establishing access policies to=
information (i.e., authorization)
- Enforcing those access policies=
An Ed-Fi REST API platform containing personally identifiable data or da=
ta about which there are privacy concerns will limit access to authenticate=
d and authorized client applications. Even systems that deal only with publ=
ic data should secure access by authorizing and authenticating all access. =
More details and guidance regarding security are provided in the API Implementation Design Guidelines section.
Application Use Cases
An Ed-Fi REST API provides organizations developing systems that exchang=
e education information with a wide variety of possible scenarios. The foll=
owing examples represent only a sampling of the most compelling use cases:<=
/p>
- As a shared application data repository. A state (or l=
arge district) can have a combination of extremely large and extremely smal=
l schools. A large school often has more specialized roles than a small one=
. An enterprise Student Information System (SIS) that suits the needs of a =
large school may be quite different from the SIS appropriate for a smaller =
school. Using an Ed-Fi REST API, each school can use a SIS that is tailored=
to their specific needs. State or district users can then generate reports=
across all schools using a software package that meets its needs without r=
equiring data exports from any school. Each application has direct access t=
o the most current information.
- As an enabler for =E2=80=9Cbe=
st of breed=E2=80=9D applications. A school district may prefer their SIS for day-to-day use, but nee=
d to integrate with data from another system to leverage best-practice, off=
-the-shelf analytics. With the Ed-Fi REST API, a more capable reporting pac=
kage can be used to supplement the capabilities of their preferred SIS.
- As the data foundation for ta=
rgeted =E2=80=9Capplets.=E2=80=9D Small, highly focused applications can use an existing Ed-Fi REST A=
PI to provide parents, teachers, and administrators with web or smartphone =
applications that target specific needs. Imagine a smartphone application t=
hat a high school principal can use to verify the names and class schedule =
for a student found wandering the halls, or an SMS notification application=
that informs parents the same day that their child missed a key assignment=
or examination.
- As a secure source for resear=
ch data. Researchers spend=
much of their time collecting and standardizing education data in order to=
perform analysis. One time-consuming aspect of this process is stripping a=
way personal data in order to maintain student privacy. This means that res=
earchers analyze data that is months, or even years, out of date. The Ed-Fi=
REST API can provide near real-time, de-identified data to researchers in =
a common, secure format.
- As a simplified data reportin=
g infrastructure. School d=
istricts spend a significant amount of time collecting and reporting inform=
ation to their state education agencies (SEAs). Multiple departments within=
the SEA often request the same information. Each data collection takes tim=
e. Using an Ed-Fi REST API, a school district can authorize the SEA to dire=
ctly access only the specific information it needs, thus reducing the time =
spent by the school district providing redundant information.
- As an interface for public in=
formation. Most school dis=
tricts have websites that list information such as school names, grades ser=
ved at each school, attendance statistics, bell schedules, and available co=
urses. If their websites used the Ed-Fi REST API as a source for the inform=
ation, this public information could be provided automatically based on the=
most current information available=E2=80=94without the need to update web =
pages manually.