Using web services and software agents in web-based educational systems

The Internet has radically changed the way in which we learn and teach. This paper proposes an integrated and extensible architecture for educational information systems creation. The architecture is based on usage of web services and software agents. Educational information system is a complex support system covering full educational process. Educational information systems functionality can be grouped into administrative, curriculum and instructional support. For every group of functionality we have various software systems in the market. For example for financial administration the Scala, Navision, Solomon etc. are known. For curriculum and instructional support WebCT and Blackboard can be mentioned. Additionally every educational institution has specific functionality. These systems can be implemented in distinct platforms. In this situation the problem of systems integration arises. To integrate functional subsystems the usage of software components, web services and software agents is today one of the most popular research directions. In this article the instructional support system architecture is presented.