Opinion: Apereo and the Next Generation of Digital Learning

Every few years educational technologists have a conversation about the limits of the Virtual Learning Environment / Leaning Management System. The conversation usually ends with the conclusion that a more flexible and configurable set of tools is essential to advance teaching and learning online.

There's a Groundhog Day aspect to this conversation, but the recent extended work by the Educause Learning Initiative to flesh out what the “Next Generation Digital Learning Environment” might look like, together with other developments across the landscape, may mean the conversation is a little different this time around.

Firstly, the breadth of the conversation is significant. The Educause Learning Initiative engaged many IT and learning technology practitioners in many institutions. These were not isolated voices in the blogosphere, but significant numbers of those strongly informing institutional choices.

Secondly, years of work around common specifications such as IMSGlobal's Learning Tools Interoperability specification are bearing fruit. The nirvana of rich, pluggable tools might not quite be here, but it appears, palpably, to be within reach. It's significant, perhaps, that LTI has its roots in the Sakai Tool Portability Profile, and has been shepherded and led by former Sakai Chief Architect (and current Chair of the Sakai Project Management Committee), Charles Severance – shepherded in such a way as to engage multiple platforms and communities.

Thirdly, the significant interest in learner analytics, and the rapid development of tools and platforms to gather and analyze learner activity data offers significant promise for the personalization of future environments. At an institutional level, this activity is currently focused largely around intervention to retain students who may be at risk of failure or dropping out. In the future the focus is likely to shift in the direction of content sequencing and adaptive learning pathways. This, incidentally, is the one reason for the Apereo Learning Analytics Initiative's choice of developing a platform to support analytics work, rather than simply bundling functionality into an application or application module. If the data collected is eventually to be used to support personalization across a range of tools and platforms, the last thing required is tying that data tightly to a single application.

How will this impact the LMS/VLE? The LMS is already evolving in the direction of what might be termed pluggability. One possible future shifts the focus of the LMS from providing services and tools, to effectively orchestrating or choreographing services and tools. There is a tension, though, between this direction and the dynamics of commercial-proprietary software – where the motivation is principally to bundle additional tools and services, rather than enabling a competitors tool or service to be used. This speaks to the need for the active engagement of open source software communities in the dialogue and development required to realize the future flexible and personalized learning. Open Source helps keep the market honest.

Why is this important for Apereo? In the two and a half years since Apereo was formed, our incubation process has grown the range of software Apereo makes available and Apereo community’s support. Without working through the Apereo portfolio in detail, it's obvious that an open source LMS, content authoring tool, next generation portfolio, media capture, management and distribution system, single sign on solution, academic collaboration environment – and others – might form a significant contribution of services and tools to a future environment. The collective experience of Apereo software communities, in integrating tools with campus systems, developing against accessibility requirements, internationalizing software, developing personalized systems, and above all using software and hardware to support learning, teaching and research is just as important a contribution – at least.

Let's keep a view of the Next Generation Digital Learning Environment as (hopefully) a provisional or working title and concept, and continue to enrich it. It's worth noting that the conversation so far has focused around learning and teaching. We might legitimately pose further questions. Are the needs of researchers significantly different? How does the research informed teaching agenda help inform potential directions? Where are library systems in this new landscape?

Apereo is seeking to stimulate two conversations – or perhaps the same conversation with two different constituencies – to facilitate further developments. The first is between the software communities within the broad Apereo community, and focuses on how those communities might collaborate further. That conversation is a major feature of Open Apereo 2016, at NYU in Manhattan 22nd – 25th May. The second is with open and other initiatives outside Apereo, and also focuses on potential collaboration. We won’t make the significant changes under discussion alone, but rather need to enrich and extend our network of partnerships. This conversation will be a significant feature of the Open Summit, also at NYU on May 23rd.

 

The Open Summit May 23rd 2016 NYU, Washington Square, New York

http://opensummits.org/

Includes -

“Open Learning: Shaping the Future”

with

Martin Dougiamas,
Founder Moodle & CEO, Moodle Pty Ltd

Alex Cartwright,
Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor, State University of New York

Chuck Severance,
Chair, Sakai Project Management Committee

George Siemens,
Professor & Executive Director LINK Research Lab

 

Open Apereo 2016 22-25 May 2016, NYU, Washington Square, New York

http://conference.apereo.org/

Day 3: The Next Generation of Digital Learning Presenter – Michael Feldstein

Day 4: New Frontiers of Learning – Chair, Michael Feldstein, with Chuck Severance, Chair, Sakai Project Management Committee, John Katzman, Chief Executive Officer | The Noodle Companies, LLC, and {to be confirmed}

Open Apereo 2016 has many conference sessions that connect to this topic. See the full programme for details http://tinyurl.com/j4qvlh7