Learning at scale often requires domain-specific automation such as assessment and feedback. An organization locked in to a general learning platform without these specialist automations limits its pedagogical offering. An ecosystem of interoperable, platform-agnostic microservices for domain-specific automation would solve this problem. To develop an effective ecosystem, a standard interface (API) for education microservices is required. We propose an initial specification for a standard, platform-independent API for educational microservices, $μ$Ed. The API integrates functionality from existing systems in use at four institutions, which are adopting the new API. The API is initially specified for automation of feedback, assessment, and educational chatbots, with further service types planned. The API specification provided here enables the development of an ecosystem of education microservices that will facilitate automation in more domains, to more users, providing a richer learning experience in a wide range of disciplines.

翻译：规模化学习通常需要特定领域的自动化功能，如评估与反馈。若一个机构局限于缺乏这些专业自动化功能的通用学习平台，其教学能力将受到限制。一个由可互操作、平台无关的领域特定自动化微服务构成的生态系统可解决此问题。为构建有效的生态系统，需为教育微服务建立标准接口（API）。我们提出面向教育微服务的标准平台无关API初始规范——$μ$Ed。该API整合了四所机构现有系统中的功能，这些机构正采纳新API。API初期针对反馈、评估及教育聊天机器人的自动化进行规范，并计划扩展至更多服务类型。此处提供的API规范将推动教育微服务生态系统的建设，助力在更多领域为更多用户提供自动化服务，从而在多学科中打造更丰富的学习体验。