ILIAS
ILIAS is an open-source learning management system (LMS) designed for web-based education. Developed at the University of Cologne, Germany, it aims to provide integrated tools that facilitate online learning for various organizations, including educational institutions and businesses. The system originated in 1998, under the guidance of Wolfgang Leidhold, and has continuously evolved thanks to an active community of developers and users. The name ILIAS stands for "integrated learning, information, and work cooperation system," reflecting its comprehensive approach to education.
The software allows users to modify the source code freely, promoting customization and accessibility without licensing fees. Its growth has been particularly notable during the COVID-19 pandemic, as many educational systems shifted to online formats, where ILIAS played a crucial role in supporting remote learning. The ILIAS Society, a nonprofit organization established in 2009, oversees its development and community engagement. While ILIAS is widely used, alternatives like Moodle and Chamilo also exist, offering various functionalities for online education.
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ILIAS
ILIAS is an open-source learning management system (LMS) for web-based education. It was created and expanded at the University of Cologne in Germany. Users have since developed the system for businesses and public schools, among other users. The name is derived from the German phrase Integriertes Lern-, Informations-, und Abreitskooperations-System, or “integrated learning, information, and work cooperation system.”
ILIAS emerged around 1998 and has been built upon ever since. Because the network of developers and users is large and active, ILIAS is constantly evolving new applications. Its integrated tools enable organizations and education systems to develop web-based education systems that meet their needs. In early 2020 the necessity of having web-based LMS became evident with the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), the subsequent start of a global pandemic, and subsequent in-person school closings.
Overview
Open-source programs are software programs with source code that is freely available to users, who can make changes to the source code and distribute as many copies as they wish of their own versions. The programs, such as Ubuntu Linux, do not have licensing fees and their developers have not put limits on their use. Closed-source software, on the other hand, has licenses and restrictions on its use.
Development of ILIAS was prompted by Wolfgang Leidhold, a professor in economics and social sciences at the University of Cologne. He joined the faculty in 1992 and became the chair of political theory and history of ideas. Leidhold had become interested in computing in its infancy, and he learned the basics of programming during the 1980s. He was an early adopter of personal computers as well.
Although only about six million computers were operational worldwide, Leidhold wanted to develop internet-based software that would be useful for the university community. He created a project, the Virtual University-Systems (VIRTUS), and applied for funding.
He gathered a team and viewed the project from the perspective of users, to discover what was useful and easy to access. They developed two ideas, an organizational model and a technical plan, and worked to integrate them. Websites were commonly built using HTML, but Leidhold wanted something that was flexible so that content could be generated spontaneously as needs arose. The team, which included Leidhold and eight others, enlisted the aid of the university computing staff and a local company, Net-Cologne.
Leidhold and his team’s methodology began with a vision. They sought input from the user community about an idea, and the community considered it and software developers worked on it. Under this system of working, the LMS developed user-friendliness. This benefit helped ILIAS’s expansion and acceptance at dozens of institutions of higher education. Within fifteen years, Leidhold said, ILIAS had been downloaded about a hundred thousand times, but sharing was likely many times that and the LMS was in use around the world, including in China.
Members of the ILIAS Society, a nonprofit organization established in 2009 and part of the ILIAS community, steer the LMS. The Society is responsible for organizing an annual conference and developers’ conferences, conducting quality control, and coordinating software development, among other duties. Membership fees, income, and contributions are used for the Society’s stated functions.
In 2020 education systems were affected by the global COVID-19 pandemic. Many school systems closed in-person facilities and relied on distance learning during government lockdowns intended to curb the spread of disease, which in the United States began with the so-called “Great Shutdown” or “Great Lockdown” in March 2020. This required education systems and educators to adapt lessons, exams, and other materials for students to use on- and off-line. Leidhold credited ILIAS with helping a significant number of these systems around the world.
One of the newer innovations of ILIAS is that current versions employ an integrated Simple Object Access Protocol, or SOAP. SOAP is a messaging protocol that enables distinct operating systems such as LINUX and Windows to share data using Hypertext Transfer Protocol, more commonly referred to as HTTP. This allows ILIAS to access various types of web services over HTTP.
Nonetheless, alternatives to ILIAS can be found in a number of other platforms, including those that are free and open source. One of these is Moodle, which can be used to create websites. Oppia is another such application and is more suited for online learning environments. As a paid service, Ovistalab has been termed as the best alternative to ILIAS. For content management systems, the app Chamilo offers many of the performance features as ILIAS.
Bibliography
“About.” Wolfgang Leidhold, wolfgang-leidhold.com/about/. Accessed 17 Mar. 2021.
“‘All of Them Were Pioneers.’” University of Cologne, 6 Nov. 2020, wiso.uni-koeln.de/en/news/news-faculty/all-of-them-were-pioneers. Accessed 17 Mar. 2021.
“Digital Teaching Toolbox.” E-Learning at the University of Freiburg, 6 Oct. 2020, ilias.uni-freiburg.de/goto.php?target=wiki‗1631765‗How‗to‗Work‗with‗the‗ILIAS‗Learning‗Platform&lang=en. Accessed 17 Mar. 2021.
Hoffman, Chris. “What Is Open Source Software, and Why Does It Matter?” How-to Geek, 15 Sept. 2017, www.howtogeek.com/129967/htg-explains-what-is-open-source-software-and-why-you-should-care/. Accessed 17 Mar. 2021.
“ILIAS Alternatives.” Alternative To, 20 Feb. 2023, alternativeto.net/software/ilias. Accessed 6 May 2024.
“ILIAS Open-Source e-Learning.” European Network of ePortfolio Experts and Practitioners, www.eportfolio.eu/resources/tools/ilias-open-source-e-learning. Accessed 17 Mar. 2021.
“The ILIAS Society.” ILIAS the Open Source Learning Management System, 2021, www.ilias.de/en/ilias-society/. Accessed 17 Mar. 2021.
Ismail, Kaya. “What Is a Learning Management System” CMS Wire, 13 Nov. 2017, www.cmswire.com/digital-workplace/what-is-a-learning-management-system/. Accessed 17 Mar. 2021.
“‘Leave Well-Trodden Paths Behind.’” University of Cologne, 13 Nov. 2020, https://wiso.uni-koeln.de/en/news/news-faculty/leave-well-trodden-paths-behind. Accessed 17 Mar. 2021.
“Revolutionizing ILIAS LMS through SOAP Integration.” Iliaspedia, 9 Apr. 2024, iliaspedia.com/soap/revolutionizing-ilias-lms-through-soap-integration. Accessed 6 May 2024.