Becta’s story… Federated identity

About Becta Becta is the government agency leading the national drive to ensure the effective and innovative use of technology throughout learning. It is our ambition to utilise the benefits of technology to create a more exciting, rewarding and successful experience for learners of all ages and abilities, enabling them to achieve their potential. We do this in many ways. We work with government to lead the delivery and development of the e-strategy, and we influence the strategic direction and development of national education policy, to best take advantage of new and emerging technology. We also work with industry and education providers to make sure the right technology is available, and we set standards and provide tools that help establish and promote best practice. Our work cuts across a wide range of priority areas and key themes. These include enabling people to have equal opportunity and access to learning resources, creating links between schools and the home, ensuring the safety of all learners, personalising learning to enable learners and practitioners to interact and inspire each other, helping providers to plan effective investment in technology in building or refurbishment work, and using technology to ensure efficiency and value for money. We know that technology has the potential to transform learning. We are committed to inspiring education providers to realise that potential, and equip learners for Britain's future success.

England – 10 Regional Broadband Consortia Northern Ireland – C2K Scotland – glow Wales – NGfL Cymru

Problems we are trying to solve Multiple usernames and passwords for pupils/students and staff Multiple copies of personal data held by third parties Duplication of effort across multiple institutions Publishers and network providers having to interface with multiple systems Difficulty in sharing resources between institutions Anytime, anywhere access to (mainly) commercial curriculum resources

Workshops, strategy paper & laboratory test led to recommendation of implementing Shibboleth technology WMnet & LGfL pilots prove Shibboleth works in UK school sector JISC announce its intention to support federated access management for UK FE/HE. Becta’s business case accepted by DfES Work with JISC & JANET(UK) to establish the UK Access Management Federation for Education and Research – launched 30 November LGfL continues regional federation as a production service Personalised online learning space Integrated learning & management systems All LAs members of the federation? Standards Fund Grant 121 (and 121a) Online reporting Home Access Harnessing Technology Fund

Benefits of simplified sign-on and the UK federation For the learner: – Easier access to resources – Privacy preserving – Facilitates anytime, anywhere learning For the institution: – Reduction in administrative burdens for managers and users in schools For the LA/RBC: – Allow for greater aggregation of purchasing content – Facilitate secure sharing of content between authorities For the education sector: – Shared, cross-sector infrastructure – Facilitate access to e-portfolios For the Government: – Strong collaboration system-wide – Centrally provided services for best possible value

Benefits for Service Providers – No need to maintain own user database Authentication is performed by the IdP Can authorise per institution, role, and/or entitlement – Reduced user support requirements – Reduced compliance burden Less storage/processing of personal data – Accurate implementation of licence conditions – Users take better care of credentials – Organisations take better care of assertions

The UK Access Management Federation A group of member organisations who sign up to a set of rules An independent body, managing the trust relationships between members End user organisations act as ‘identity providers’ (IdPs) and optionally ‘service providers’ (SPs) Publishers and resource providers act as ‘service providers’ (SPs)

Organisational Structure Funded by Becta & JISC Provided for Schools, FE & HE Operational management by JANET(UK) Policy & Governance Board – 3 Becta nominated members – 3 JISC nominated members – ‘Neutral’ Chair Technical Advisory Group – JISC, Becta, RBC, LA, University and College representation

What the service provides A set of Rules that binds members: – Make accurate statements to other members – Keep federation systems and data secure – Use personal data correctly (inc. DPA 1998) – Resolve problems within the Federation – Not by legal action Guidance, examples, support – How to comply with the Rules – How to work with other members – Common definitions, etc.

What the service provides Operational management – Registration mechanism for SPs and IdPs – Adding new members to the federation & updating existing members’ metadata – Fault finding and trouble shooting – Compatibility testing of server certificates and CA Qualification – Technical and operational documentation – Ongoing federation development – Reporting

LA/RBC roadmap to join the UK federation 1.Join Federation – All organisations who wish to participate will need to join the UK federation by registering and agreeing to observe federation policy. 2.LA/RBC audit – Review readiness to adopt federated access management. 3.Directory Development – Identify or implement a suitable local/regional directory. Directories need to be correctly populated with attributes about pupils and staff that meet the federation standard, known as the eduPerson specification. 4.Authentication Development – Choose and implement a local/regional authentication, or single sign-on system. 5.Implement IdP – Implement Shibboleth Identity Provider software. 6.Institutional Roll-out – On becoming a member of the federation, the institution/LA/RBC will need to roll out the new system. This may include new user guides, training and support mechanisms.

UK federation members 684 full members (at 17 March 2009) 112 school sector members, including: – 4 RBCs (SWGfL, E2BN, EMBC, YHGfL) representing 46 local authorities – Learning and Teaching Scotland (glow & Scottish LAs) – C2K – Birmingham Grid for Learning – Worcestershire County Council – Leeds City Council – Hampshire County Council – Norfolk County Council – Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council – City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council – RM, Serco, Pearson, SAM Learning, TAG Learning, Microsoft and many more... (

Systems Interoperability Framework Not a product, but a technical blueprint for education software Designed for education technology suppliers and educators Manages data within the education environment Enables diverse applications to interact and share data Systems

SIF walk through Network Account Data Analysis & Reporting Library MIS Moodle Meals Messages are securely encrypted using HTTPS Agents are authenticated by the ZIS before messages are passed VLM 14 to 19

Systems Interoperability Framework Statement of intent on interoperability MIAP Awarding bodies – JCQ QCA - Diploma Aggregation Service

What next Continued growth of UK federation and SIF Association Case Studies: – – DCSF identity assurance project...

Contact… Dr John Chapman Becta Millburn Hill Road Science Park Coventry CV4 7JJ T+44 (0) F+44 (0)