edu-sharing vs LON-CAPA

edu-sharing connects learning platforms and educational software so organizations can share learning content, metadata, and tools across connected systems. It combines an educational cloud, OER search, and cloud storage for learning materials, tools, and teaching scenarios. Users can create private, shared, and editorial collections and control who may use them. Listed plug-ins cover Moodle, ILIAS, MediaWiki, TYPO3, and OpenOLAT; connectors are available for OnlyOffice and ONYX Editor. Identity connections include LDAP, Shibboleth, and SSO, and a REST API follows the OpenAPI Specification. Organizations can install edu-sharing on their own servers and adapt it to their requirements. The product is open source and free to download. Service partners offer hosting, installation, configuration, updates, training, and support. Its Android and iOS app requires an accessible edu-sharing repository with rendering service and an account. The maker describes offerings for schools, universities, public authorities, businesses, and associations.

LON-CAPA is a course management, learning content management, and assessment system made for education. It provides course materials, discussions, announcements, a grade book, lab scheduling, portfolio space, and assessment tools for homework, clickers, tests, and exams. Online content can be reused across courses and semesters, with access rights managed within the system. Campus options include Shibboleth or Sentinel single sign-on and password verification through Kerberos, LDAP, or Active Directory. Integration features include XML exchange for course creation and population, directory integration, and portal token exchange. Users can access it with most browsers on most platforms, but the server software runs on Linux. Supported distributions include Red Hat Enterprise Linux, Debian, Ubuntu, and AlmaLinux. The free self-hosted software requires ongoing maintenance; the maker recommends a dedicated Linux server, a static IP with working reverse DNS, and open ports 80 and 5663. Cluster members handle updates, access controls, and protection of shared resources. Commercial hosting and support are available, with no price listed.