Technology and Systems Integration

Flexible, scalable, secure and reliable, The ANGEL Learning Management Suite integrates seamlessly with your complex enterprise environment to provide leading edge teaching and learning experiences.

Standards-Based

Making the conceptual a practical reality is a driving force behind ANGEL Learning’s development initiatives. ANGEL Learning has demonstrated commitment to interoperability standards as they have emerged and is recognized for many course management system firsts. ANGEL takes standards implementation to the next level by structuring technical architecture around industry-wide standards.

• Assessment engine has been redesigned to include the IMS Question & Test Interoperability Specification.
• Integration routines are based on IMS Enterprise.
• Import/export routines have used IMS' Common Cartidge format since the specification was first defined. In fact, ANGEL Learning was integrally involved in the definition of the specification and contributed source code to its implementation.

Building standards interoperability into core ANGEL technical architecture makes integration easier and demonstrates our commitment to the standards communities.

Flexible

ANGEL’s inherent flexibility enables system configurations to be built to meet the unique needs of any learning enterprise. An ANGEL implementation can be structured so the database and web applications run on separate machines. An implementation can be built into a load-balanced, redundant server environment. ANGEL's component-based architecture and scripting framework ensure optimal performance without sacrificing the flexibility institutions require to adapt ANGEL to their specific needs.

ANGEL is based on a multi-tier architecture, with customizations at each level.

• At the core, the ANGEL database is open for you to customize following the best practices ANGEL defines.
• At the application level, open web service APIs, built directly into the ANGEL application, provide access to data and the ability to control the system in ways that set ANGEL apart from other systems.
• ANGEL also provides its Objects and Extensions Framework which can be used to integrate new learning object types and to extend existing functionality with minimal programming.
• The ANGEL Environment Variable Framework allows institutions to set configurations at the System, Domain, Course or User Levels allowing nearly infinite flexibility.

Scalable

The ANGEL LMS handles both large and small deployments efficiently and cost effectively. ANGEL has been load balanced for deployment for hundreds of thousands of users and is also cost effective for smaller institutions with limited technology resources.

• Accommodates a large number of users with relatively low hardware requirements.
• Architecture separates major technology layers; implementation can be structured so each component is on a separate server.
• Supports load balanced environments for high-traffic site usage. Architecture allows file storage to be moved to a Storage Area Network (SAN) or to a separate file server.
• For extremely high-loads or high-availability installations, ANGEL supports scalability and redundancy for both the database and the web application via data replication, hardware clustering and load balancing solutions.

Secure

Every institution has a responsibility to protect student data and provide a secure learning environment. Most institutions have already made a large investment in a security infrastructure; ANGEL fits seamlessly into your enterprise security plan.

• ANGEL includes adapters for authentication using LDAP, Active Directory, POP3, and database security.
• The ANGEL security infrastructure can be customized with adapters for other security mechanisms.
• ANGEL has been successfully integrated into the Shibboleth authentication and authorization framework.
• ANGEL can be configured to run using SSL to encrypt important data as it is transmitted.

Reliable

ANGEL is built on the Microsoft Windows Server and SQL Server Platform, which provide ANGEL a reliable, stable and well-supported foundation. Building ANGEL solutions on the Microsoft Platform provides a low Total Cost of Ownership solution that also meets the high performance and support requirements mission-critical applications require. As a Microsoft Certified Partner, ANGEL Learning has direct access to the Microsoft technical team ensuring high level product performance at all times.

Extendable

ANGEL Learning realizes that the learning management suite is just one part of the complex network of systems that comprise your learning enterprise technology. We also realize that no academic enterprise is the same, and there are often a variety of systems that need to be connected with the ANGEL LMS. ANGEL LMS’ open, standards-based and flexible technology is engineered to integrate with all your systems, regardless of your configuration.

To assist organizations in integrating ANGEL within the overall enterprise, ANGEL Learning has built a software and implementation framework that helps schools successfully move data between systems. The ANGEL Extended Enterprise Integration (XEI) is a proven framework for enterprise integration that connects ANGEL to other campus systems.  This integration framework reduces the amount of work required for administrators to keep systems in sync by automating and scheduling data transfers.