We recommend a combination of well balanced system components and offer pre-configured solutions to kickstart your open source-based Digital Learning Ecosystem:
This not only saves you money. It also future-proofs your Digital Learning Ecosystem!
Our services range from consulting, setup, and implementation to rollout including change management.
For ongoing operations, we offer enabling, training and support packages, as well as full stack hosting of Learning Ecosystems with proven partners.
Reach out to us or book …
Based on a CMS like TYPO3, we can provide a highly scalable Learning Content Management System (LCMS) with H5P and cmi5 – the first cmi5 compliant authoring system for digital learning that is open source based.
With high market shares and global developer communities, open source content management systems are a solid starting point for creating and managing engaging learning content. For example, as of September 2021, the number of page views of WordPress articles was approximately 23.66 billion. More than 40 percent of the top 1,000 websites use open source CMSs, which are available in more than 190 languages and offer a wide variety of free plug-ins.
H5P is a modular, web-based authoring system that is natively integrated into Open Source CMS (e.g. WordPress, Typo3, Drupal) via a plugin. H5P extends the functionality of the CMS with a variety of interactive e-learning components. The H5P components can be edited directly in the CMS backend.
cmi5 is a new e-learning standard that adopts key features of SCORM and is based on a future-proof and scalable technology with xAPI. cmi5 provides the prerequisites for learning analytics and professional learning content management.
ILIAS stands for Integrated Learning, Information and Work Collaboration System. ILIAS is the first LMS in the open source area that supports the xAPI/cmi5 standard comprehensively and “out-of-the-box”.
In contrast to many learning platforms, ILIAS is not limited to learning and working in courses. ILIAS is oriented more towards the idea of a library and enables the provision of learning and working materials in all areas of the platform. Content can also be made available to non-registered users. In addition, a shop system is available for the marketing of learning content.
In terms of data protection, ILIAS offers extensive configuration options to meet the requirements of GDPR. ILIAS relies on powerful functions to pseudonymise and anonymise data. Depending on the settings and requirements, only anonymised data is transferred to the Learning Record Store via the ILIAS xAPI proxy. In addition, functions for data enrichment (metadata) as well as data reduction and deletion are available.
ILIAS is the first open source LMS to support the xAPI and cmi5 standards comprehensively and without additional customisation, thus enabling the establishment of modern learning ecosystems.
Learning Locker is an xAPI/cmi5 certified open source Learning Record Store, released in 2013 by HT2 Labs (now Learning Pool).
A Learning Record Store (LRS) is a database system that can store Learning Records. A Learning Record is a data set that describes a learning activity in a digital learning environment. The syntax and structure of a Learning Record follows the xAPI specification (the x in xAPI stands for “experience”). Learning Records are therefore also called xAPI statements.
Anyone who wants to leverage the various deployment scenarios and value propositions of modern learning ecosystems for their organization and thus describe, record, analyze, aggregate or interpret learning activities based on the xAPI specification.
The cmi5 profile provides a set of “additional rules” for xAPI. These enable “plug and play” interoperability between traditional LMS systems and learning activities with digital learning content. Bill McDonald (ADL, cmi5 Working Group Leader): If xAPI is the greatest thing since electricity, then cmi5 is your “wall socket”. To stay with the image: The wall outlet simplifies the process of connecting to the power grid to a few simple steps. You don’t need any special knowledge or to hire an electrician. You just plug it in and it works (as long as the device and the outlet follow these “extra rules”).
Digital learning formats raise expectations – and questions: How to do it? Where to get started? Who needs to get on board? What costs will incur? What needs to be considered when implementing? Who offers what? We know these questions very well and help our clients to sort out ideas, create clarity and make decisions – as intensively as necessary, as quickly as possible. Many questions are self-explanatory, whether in the development of pilot projects, the strategic implementation or the operation of a learning ecosystem.
Creating a positive learning experience is our passion. Once the framework is set, we let our creativity run wild. With years of experience, we crack even the toughest material, analyzing, thinking, and playing until it works – sensually, understandably, and experientially. Whether multi-device, multimedia or blended learning – to select the appropriate formats, we place the competencies in the context of the performance, learning and assessment activities and then design the appropriate learning scenario.
The production of learning media is teamwork. Sounds good – but media production is first and foremost a division of labor. With an eye on the big picture, we bring together nerds, aesthetes, geeks, pedants, freaks, theorists, and creatives, and create space for short paths, clear messages, quick comprehension, a positive attitude, and respect. For us, every technician is also a musician, just as every lyricist can also be a mathematician.
Blended learning has become an integral part of modern workforce development strategies. Both cost reduction and quality assurance play a role. Combining the operational side of digital media production with the strategic side of content management requires powerful tools. The open source components of the BLX Ecosystem make it possible to map the complete lifecycle of digital learning formats and to operate clearly defined products with high process transparency and service quality.
