SCHOOLS OPEN UP TO SINGLE SIGN-ON
- Open source software provides foundation to transform UK education
Becta, the Government's educational technology agency, has picked an open
source solution to give every student, parent and teacher a single secure
sign-on for all web resources in schools.
Following successful trials, it is now drawing up plans to deploy Shibboleth, an open
source authentication system, across the entire schools sector. The move means pupils
could access e-learning resources from a wide range of different providers without having
to remember multiple usernames and passwords. Becta intends to use the universal sign-on
for the emerging National Education Network (NEN), a secure, private network connecting
all UK schools, colleges, universities and other educational bodies. Becta has now begun
consulting for future options for the NEN and is setting the wheels in motion to procure
the necessary identity management system. Later this month, it plans to publish a
"national implementation road map" to manage Shibboleth's deployment across the
schools sector.
* For more on this story, see: http://www.egovmonitor.com/go?186c