$μ$Ed API: Towards A Shared API for EdTech Microservices

Abstract: Learning at scale often requires domain-specific automation such as assessment and feedback. An organization locked in to a general learning platform without these specialist automations limits its pedagogical offering. An ecosystem of interoperable, platform-agnostic microservices for domain-specific automation would solve this problem. To develop an effective eco-system, a standard interface (API) for education microservices is required. We propose an initial specification for a standard, platform-independent API for educational microservices, $\upmu$Ed. The API integrates functionality from existing systems in use at four institutions, which are adopting the new API. The API is initially specified for automation of feedback, assessment, and educational chatbots, with further service types envisaged in the future. The API specification provided here enables the development of an eco-system of education microservices that will facilitate automation in more domains, to more users, providing a richer learning experience in a wide range of disciplines.