Future ELO examined
- Windesheim examines the wishes for the digital learning environment of the future.
- This will probably be a platform on which all kinds of sub-applications will roll
The executive council has decided to keep using the current electronic learning environment (elo) N@tschool (now renamed as Cumlaude) until the academic year 2018-2019. In the meantime the learning environment of the future is being examined through small experiments with students and teachers. This should offer the opportunity to compose one’s personal learning route and to integrate separate applications. This will probably become a platform on which all components and systems are switchable with one another, says Elsbeth Vonkerman, programme manager of the core team main processes.
A new platform will start in 2019-2020 at the earliest. Vonkeman: “Nationally, Universities of Applied Sciences choose an expensive container-elo less and less, a one-size-fits-all like N@tschool or Blackboard.” Students will soon enter a big Windesheim learning environment, in which they are connected to their personal applications, but will also be able to look up all kinds of things and add these. According to Vonkerman the students will be thrilled with the modernisation. “Try to take a look at the lesson material on the elo using your smartphone, or to communicate using a project space.”
According to Geert van der Wijk as well, advisor for Education and ICT, Windesheim should no longer keep searching for one tool that can be used for everything. “The elo is like some sort of sheep with five legs. You cannot just replace a part that doesn’t work properly.” Teachers too, find the elo to be hard to use.
The core team will examine which components, support and date management will be needed for this. There have already been experiments for an updated learning environment running through the degree programmes. Vonkerman wants to put all experiments in one programme line. Van der Wijk guides multiple experiments. To an e-portfolio, for example, on which students work on their own site with supporting documents connected to learning outcomes, which they share with the supervisors for feedback. One other experiment will take a look at ways to develop the online lesson materials. Finally, diverse experiments regarding cooperation and communication are running within the learning environment, through Office 365 for example.(EM)
