# Presentation: 946358

## Schools Interoperability Framework

**“****Share Data Between Programs Automagically”**
**or**

**“****D****o****e****s**** ****y****ou****r**** ****s****o****ft****wa****re**** ****p****la****y**** w****e****ll**** ****w****i****t****h**** ****o****th****e****r****s****?****”**

**Notes:**
Barbara

## Representing SIF

**Jill Hanson, Chancery Software**
**Kate Clark, Principal, Ocoee Middle School**
**Laura Beusse, Ocoee Middle School**
**Jim Wortham, Orange County Public Schools**
**Pete Flyzik, Orange County Public Schools**

**What is the Schools Interoperability Framework?**

## In the Beginning...

**Software applications are isolated islands - locked in “data tombs”.**
**Redundant data entry is common.**
**Disconnected applications increase support costs.**
**Data reporting is a costly and inefficient process.**

## The Integration Problem

**Food**

**Transport.**

**Student Admin**

**Library**

**The Integration Problem**

## A Simpler Solution

**Food**

**Transport.**

**Student Admin**

**Library**

**A Simpler Solution**

**What it is**
**An industry initiative**
**A specification to ensure applications work together**
** ****What it isn’t**
** ****Not a product, but a technical blueprint**
** ****What it will do**
**Reduce redundancy of data entry**
**Make data available for decision making**** **

**Why SIF?**

## Framework Goals

** ****Market driven**
**Focus groups**
**Constant schools/districts****feedback**
** ****Industry-wide**
**Not restricted to one vendor or technology**
**Endorsed by educators**
** ****Leverage existing standards**
** ****SPEEDE/ExPRESS**
** ****IMS**

## More Goals

**Customizable**
**Give districts the ability to manage state code and local specifics**
**Multi-platform**
**Open standards (XML, HTTP/S)**
**Published open spec**
**Promote interoperability**
**Enable diverse applications****to interact and share data**

## SIF Milestones

**Jan. ’99** 	**Formal working group structure****	****	****adopted**
**Feb. ’99**** ****	****Publicly announced framework at****	**** ****	****AASA; Working groups identified**
**June,** **’99** 	**Release “V0.9 of Specification” and **
**   ****	****	****	****start of work with proof of concept****	****	****sites**
**Nov.**** ****’99**** ****	****SIF moves to SIIA-released ****	****	****preliminary “Developers Specification****	****	****v.1.0” **
**June,** **’00****	****Released “SIF Implementation****	****	****Specification v.1.0”**
**Oct.** **’00**** ****	****SIF “Showcase Sites” announced**

**Who should play?**

## Who Should Play?

- School Districts
- Individual Schools
- Technology Departments
- State Education Personnel
- Software/Hardware Vendors

## HOW DOES SIF WORK?

**Notes:**
Jill

## How does interoperability work?

**Application**
-  **A software program implemented within a school or district.**
**SIF Data Object**
**Data elements exchanged in SIF messages, expressed in XML language**
**SIF Agent**
**The extension of the application (vendor provided) that publishes messages in response to events and receives messages in response to queries from the other applications (via the ZIS)**

## How does interoperability work? Continued...

**ZIS (Zone Integration Server)**
**A software program that provides integration services to all the agents registered with it so that they can provide data, subscribe to events, publish events, request data, and respond to requests. It is responsible for all access control and routing within the system.**

**Notes:**
In simple terms, a ZIS is a "store and forward" facility that receives messages, not unlike an email engine except that the "messages" come from vendor application agents and are distributed to other agents.  This happens in real-time or messages are held for later retrieval.  Physically the ZIS is a piece of software stored on a server, most likely housed at school district office. 

## Microsoft/Chancery ZIS at Ballston Spa School District, NY

**Microsoft/Chancery ZIS at Ballston Spa School District, NY**

## Microsoft/Chancery ZIS

- Manages District and/or Multiple District Implementations
- Includes S.A.L.T. (SIF Agent Link Technology) Developer Tool Kit
- Features fully Web-based Administrative Interface

**Notes:**
Aside from being one of the earliest working models of its kind, the Chancery / Microsoft ZIS has three distinct features that distance it from the handful of other ZIS products being developed, and set the standard for the entire North American K-12 Education Industry.
Designed from the beginning to accommodate the needs of an entire school district, in line with Chancery's award-winning Open District district-wide reporting application, the Microsoft / Chancery ZIS has the ability to create and manage ZIS domains for different sets of agents, i.e. multiple schools within a district or multiple districts in a service center.  This allows users to experience having their own individual ZIS at each school site, virtually eliminating the administrative burden at each school and making it easier to implement and support these domains from the district server level.
As an added advantage to the many dozens of application vendors seeking to create SIF compliant agents (in order that their application be interoperable within a ZIS environment), Microsoft and Chancery have created S.A.L.T. (SIF Agent Link Technology).  S.A.L.T. essentially gives each vendor a ready-made "toolkit" that greatly minimizes the development work required to achieve compliance.  
As an added bonus for users the Microsoft / Chancery ZIS will feature a fully web-based administrative interface.  This allows via-the-web management and inspection of the ZIS including statistics to identify troublespots or to perform simple routine efficiency checks, without having to go out to individual sites.  Again this reduces the burden on individual schools or districts with limited IT infrastructure.

## What is XML?(eXtensible Markup Language)

**A W3C endorsed standard **
**XML is to structured data as HTML is to formatted text**
**For SIF, used with HTTP/S to allow data exchange in a secure, platform-neutral manner**
**SIF data model, both objects  ****and messages, are defined as an XML vocabulary**

## XML Example

_***Name Example***_
**<Name Type="01">**
**      ****<Prefix>Mr.</Prefix>**
**      ****<LastName>Woodall</LastName>**
**      ****<FirstName>Charles</FirstName>**
**      ****<MiddleName>William</MiddleName>**
**      ****<PreferredName>Chuck</PreferredName>**
**   ****</Name>**

## Slide 20

## Approved SIF Objects 

**Infrastructure**
- SIF_ZoneStatus*
**Library Automation**
- LibraryPatronStatus
**Transportation & Geographic Information**
- BusEqupment
- BusInfo
- BusRouteDetail
- BusRouteInfo
- BusStopInfo
- StudentTransportInfo

- Student Info Services
- RoomInfo
- RoomType
- SchoolInfo
- StaffPersonal*
- StudentContact*
- StudentPersonal*
- StudentPicture*
- StudentSchoolEnrollment
**Food Services**
- StudentMeal

- *Objects used by multiple categories on this page

## 9  SIF Working Groups

**Data Analysis & Reporting**
**Food Services**
**Grade Book**
**Human Resources****& Financial Management**
**Instructional Services****(including special needs)**

**Infrastructure**
**Library Automation **
**Student Information Services**
**Transportation & Geographic Information**
**Plus 3 support working groups (Compliance, Marketing, and Customer Involvement)**

## Next Steps...

**Compliance testing for v.1.0 approved objects**
**Creation of additional objects and use case scenarios for v.2.0**
**Implementation showcases**

## SIF “Showcase Sites”

**Anoka - Hennepin School District -- Ramsey Elementary (MN)**
**Peoria Unified School District (AZ)**
**Upper Dauphin Area School District (PA)**
**Orange County School District -- ****Ocoee Middle School (FL)**

## Ocoee MS SIF Showcase Partners

** **

**Chancery Software**
**Open District/WinSchool**
**Zone Integration Server **
**Follett Software Company**
**Media Management (Library)**
**School-Link Technologies**
**WinSNAP Lunchroom Accounting**
**MyCard @School (Student ID Cards)**
**Microsoft**

## WHAT ARE THE COST BENEFITS AND USES FOR  K-12 EDUCATORS?

**Notes:**
Barbara

## Educator Benefits

** **

**Initial Benefits**
**Standard interfaces reduce support costs**
**No redundant data entry saves staff time**
**More accurate data available system-wide**
**Better use of existing applications**
**Assists comprehensive reporting**
**Data gathering made more efficient**
**Smarter use of people’s time**
**Government funding and grants depend on data supplied**
**Data delivered over internet to desktop**

## Educator Benefits

** ****Functionally rich solutions**
**Schools can mix applications using “best of breed” approach**
**Will enable more cost effective data mining for predictive analysis and reports**
**Uses Internet and LAN****   connectivity**
**Leverages infrastructure investment**
**Planned to facilitate better data transfer (e.g. inter- and intra-district, district-state)**

## What are the potential costs to schools?

**Infrastructure upgrades**
**Purchase applications or upgrade currently owned ones**
**Staff to implement and support ****the initiative or contract for service**
**Zone Integration Server (hardware/software)**

## OCOEE MIDDLE SCHOOLFLORIDA’S STATE DEMONSTRATION SCHOOL

## Ocoee Middle School

** **

**Orange County Public Schools - Orlando, FL**
**14th Largest District**
**SMART School**
**Vision-----research------design**
**School of the future**

## Technology Plan

** **

**Integrated instruction**
**Teacher/Student accessibility**
**Home-School connection**

## Why SIF?

** **

**Limited resources**
**Transfer of data**
**Timely, informed decisions**

## Implementation

** **

**Installation**
**Teamwork**
**Shared vision**

## Benefits

** **

**Financial impact**
**Student impact**
**Academic achievement**

## Future Ocoee Showcase Participants 

**Computer Power Solutions of Illinois**
**Visual Casel (Network Management)**
**Curriculum Advantage**
**Classworks (Integrated Learning Management)**
**Sonitrol**
**Facility Security Management**

**What about the vendors?**

**Notes:**
Jill

## How can I tell if a company is involved in SIF?

**A list is available at www.sifinfo.org.**
**There are three possible levels of involvement: SIF Endorser, SIF Participant, SIF-Compliant.**
**No SIF-Compliant software exists today.**

## MORE than 100 SIF Participants

**Achieve, Inc.**
**Administrative Assistants**
**AASA**
**Anoka-Hennepin School Dist.**
**Apple**
**Apta Software, Inc**
**ASD.com**
**Blackboard, Inc.**
**Branium.com**
**Bromcom Computers**
**CELT Corporation**
**CSIU**
**Centrinity**

**Century Consultants**
**Chancery Software, Ltd.**
**Cincom Systems, Inc.**
**Classroom Connect, Inc.**
**Cognitive Systems Technologies, Inc.**
**COMPanion Corp.**
**Compass Learning**
**Complete Business Solutions-ESD**
**CCC**
**Computer Power Solutions of Illinois**

## SIF PARTICIPANTS continued...

**Curriculum Associates, Inc.**
**dataTeam Systems, Inc.**
**eChalk.com**
**Eschoolmall.com**
**EDVantage Software, Inc.**
**Excelsior Software, Inc.**
**Follet Software Company**
**Hewlett-Packard**
**High Touch, Inc.**
**Homeroom.com**
**Horizon Software International**

**Horizon Software Systems**
**IBM**
**Ignite!, Inc.**
**iMind**
**InfoHandler.com**
**J.D. Edwards**
**JDL Technologies**
**Jackson Software, Inc.**
**Jay Klein Productions, Inc.**
**JuneBox.com**
**Knowledge Adventure, Inc.**
**Laidlaw**

## SIF PARTICIPANTS continued...

**The Learning Company**
**The Learningstation.com**
**Learning Tools International**
**Learning Pays.com**
**MajicSoft Corporation**
**McFall Associates Inc.**
**Microsoft Corporation**
**MindSurf**
**Misty City Software, Inc.**
**N2H2, Inc.**
**National Center for Education Statistics**

**NCS Pearson**
**NetSchools Corporation**
**Norris Education Innovations**
**Olympia Computing Company/Schoolmaster**
**Oracle Corporation**
**Parlant Technology**
**PCS Revenue Control Systems, Inc.**
**Pentamation Enterprises**
**PhoneMaster**
**Plano Independent School District**

## SIF PARTICIPANTS continued...

**PowerSchool**
**Project ACHIEVE, Inc.**
**Prologic Technology Systems**
**Rediker Software, Inc.**
**Renaissance Learning, Inc.**
**Riverdeep Interactive Learning**
**Sagebrush Corporation**
**SAP, Public Sector and Education, Inc.**
**Scantron Corporation**
**School-Link Network, Inc.**

**SchoolNet, Inc.**
**SchoolPalm.com**
**Scientific Learning**
**SICORP, Inc.**
**Simplexis.com**
**Skyward, Inc.**
**SNAP Systems, Inc.**
**Software Technology, Inc.**
**South Washington County Schools**
**Sun Microsystems, Inc.**
**TechERA**

## SIF PARTICIPANTS continued...

**Test University, Inc.**
**TIES**
**Tom Snyder Productions**
**Total Office Solutions Inc.**
**Tremont Software/ DPConsultants, Inc.**
**VersaTrans/Creighton Manning, Inc.**
**Vision Associates, Inc.**
**Vivid Education Corporation**

**Washington School Information Processing Cooperative**
**wwwrrr, Inc.**
**Zangle, Inc.**

**How do I get involved?**

**Notes:**
Barbara

## How do I get Involved?

**Join SIF and sit on working groups, influence and vote on specifications**
**Encourage SIF products to be considered in your RFPs and buying process (no SIF-compliant products are currently available; SIIA is writing language for RFPs)**
**Apply to be an SIF pilot site**

## The Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) is the principal trade association for the software and digital content industry.  
SIIA provides global services in government relations, business development, market research and intellectual property protection to more than 1,000 companies in the education, corporate, home and online markets.

**SIIA provides global services in government relations, business development, market research and intellectual property protection to more than 1,000 companies in the education, corporate, home and online markets**.

## For additional information visit: 
www.sifinfo.org
www.siia.net/sif

**www.sifinfo.org**
**www.siia.net/sif**

## Contact Information

**Chancery Software Ltd. – Jill Hanson**
- _[Jillh@chancery.com](mailto:Jillh@chancery.com)_**  800-999-9931 ext 266**
**Ocoee Middle School - Kate Clark, Principal **_[clarkk@ocps.k12.fl.us](mailto:clarkk@ocps.k12.fl.us)_** 407-877-5035 ext 222**
**Orange County Public Schools - Jim Wortham **_[worthaj@ocps.k12.fl.us](mailto:worthaj@ocps.k12.fl.us)_** 407-317-3200 ext 2212**

## Questions