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How Can I Develop a Blackboard PowerLink?
Using Blackboard Vista's PowerLinks Kit for software development, you can fully integrate your own applications (e.g. assessment, authoring, or communication tools) with Blackboard as though they were natively part of the platform. The comprehensive PowerLinks Kit includes web services, native Java interfaces and detailed documentation describing each interface - giving you a secure, reliable way to integrate powerful extensions to Blackboard's core services and tools.
The Blackboard Vista PowerLinks Kit includes four primary elements:
- System Integration Framework
- Single Sign-On Framework
- Web Services
- Application Bridging
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System Integration FrameworkThe Blackboard Vista PowerLinks Kit includes a system integration framework, written entirely in J2EE-compliant Java, which supports both batch and real-time transfer of enterprise data between Blackboard and third-party applications. Blackboard supports the IMS enterprise specification, inherently enabling integration with third-party applications that also adhere strictly to the IMS enterprise data standards. In practice, however, most applications have custom extensions or interpretations of the IMS specification that require a custom mapping of data elements. The system integration framework allows for translation adapters to be built that support the exchange of enterprise data between third-party applications and Blackboard. Using the PowerLinks Kit, these adapters are "plug-able": they can be built and installed on the Blackboard server without requiring custom modification of the core Blackboard application code.
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Single Sign-On Framework The Blackboard Vista PowerLinks Kit includes a single sign-on (SSO) framework that allows users to be authenticated across multiple applications without requiring separate log-ins. The SSO Framework allows institutions to develop "plug-able" authentication modules that support any standard or custom authentication scheme that enables single-sign-on between Blackboard and other applications on campus.
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Web ServicesThe Blackboard Vista PowerLinks Kit includes Web services that allow external applications to speak with Blackboard by providing the ability to access and manipulate data in Blackboard using industry standard protocols such as WSDL, SOAP and HTTP, which are platform independent. In addition to Web services, Blackboard PowerLinks Kit also provides native Java interfaces to access and manipulate data.
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Application BridgingThe Blackboard Vista PowerLinks Kit includes application bridging that allows third-party tools to be embedded within Blackboard. Using application bridging, third-party tools are available to course designers and can be added to courses, just as if they were native Blackboard tools. Course designers and instructors can even apply selective release to these PowerLinked tools. Students accessing features, content, or learning objects in a third-party tool can be automatically authenticated into those resources when they access them from their Blackboard courses.
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