The evolution of the technological ecosystems: An architectural proposal to enhancing learning processes Alicia García-Holgado GRIAL Research Group, Research Institute for Educational Sciences, University of Salamanca Paseo de Canalejas 169, 37008 Salamanca, Spain (+34) 923 294500 ext. 3433 aliciagh@usal.es Francisco J. García-Peñalvo GRIAL Research Group, Research Institute for Educational Sciences, University of Salamanca Paseo de Canalejas 169, 37008 Salamanca, Spain (+34) 923 294500 ext. 1302 fgarcia@usal.es ABSTRACT Currently, there exist very powerful Open Source software applications that cover most of the ICT needs of any institution, both for its operation and internal processes management. In this context, the technological effort of companies and institutions is not in the development of new software tools but to create their own technological ecosystem using available software components. This paper presents an architectural pattern to implement learning technological ecosystems with the ability to adapt to the changing requirements of the organizations. Categories and Subject Descriptors D.2.11 [Software Engineering]: Software Architectures – patterns. D.2.13 [Software Engineering]: Reusable Software. H.4.2 [Information Systems Applications]: Type of Systems – decision support. General Terms Documentation, Design, Standardization. Keywords Technological Ecosystem, eLearning Ecosystem, software Open Source, Web Services, Architectural Pattern. 1. INTRODUCTION Both small and large organizations generate a large amount of knowledge. The importance of giving value to that knowledge has been increasing over recent years, coupled with the increasing technological capacity to store and disseminate information. Today, a correctly knowledge management is one of the main goals of companies and institutions. The Web 2.0 and the high penetration of the mobile devices have generated a huge demand of accessible applications from any kind of device, increasing the use of cloud computing models [1-2] to supply the requirements of the organizations, particularly of Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions, a software deployment model where applications are remotely hosted by the application or service provider and made available to customers on demand, over the Internet [3]. Along with the dizzying progress of technology, the concept of Free Software [4] and Open Source developments (http://opensource:org/osd) has gained strength and companies and institutions are increasingly committed to this kind of developments. The strategy of the European Commission to use internally Open Source software [5-6] or the commitment of Spanish Government to foster knowledge and use of Free Software through the National Center for the Application of Open Source Technologies (CENATIC) (http://www.cenatic.es/) are some examples. In this context, companies and institutions are making a strong investment in a 2.0 approach and Open Source software to cover their technological needs, both for its internal processes management and their public-facing visibility. There are a wide variety of Open Source solutions covering basic ICT needs of any organization, from content management systems to decision making tools or project management software. Therefore, it is not a development issue but rather select and integrate different existing tools and define the flows to support the information peculiarities of each organization. These solutions are called technological ecosystems and allow focusing on information and knowledge to set aside the underlying technology. The technological ecosystem can be oriented to different domains. If the ecosystem is oriented to learning management, it is called learning ecosystem [7-9]. One of the main research lines of the research GRoup in InterAction and eLearning (GRIAL) of the University of Salamanca [10] is the management of both a point of view on strategies and practices. Since 2006, GRIAL has worked in the improvement and evolution of