0 and Social Software are increasingly associated with eLearning, but what does Web 2.0 actually mean?


Frank Milius: What is central to Web 2.0 and the technologies it includes, such as RSS or podcasting, is that the Internet itself is becoming an application system, while programmes on your local hard drive are becoming less important.

Social software systems in this context, for example wikis and blogs, are mostly web-based applications. What keeps them alive are the interaction, communication and collaboration among their users. These self-organising systems are based on the principle of the Internet's collective wisdom: the more people join in, the more data and valuable information you get. Wikipedia or reader reviews at Amazon are two perfect examples.

How are these things connected with an LMS?

Wolfgang Kraemer:
In the beginning, LMS's were mainly a one-way medium providing static online courses for learners. Over time, they have gradually been extended by the use of groupware solutions, such as virtual classrooms or forums, which have been integrated as web applications.

Further, Social Software applications such as wikis or blogs have meanwhile become a mass phenomenon outside LMS's. From an educational point of view, it makes sense to integrate the features of these diverse applications into an LMS. This leads to new learning scenarios, like the much-debated web quests. Here, the instructor only provides the educational framework, hints or final tests - the actual teaching and learning processes as well as learning contents are compiled by the users.

A key aspect of Social Software is informal interaction and exchange. This doesn't mean that formal training processes should be completely replaced. Social Software should be regarded as an add-on to existing methods of Learning Management, as it complements formal processes. However, it cannot substitute them completely.


So will Social Software also become a key feature in CLIX?


Volker Zimmermann:
We have always focused on the use of Social Software in CLIX, for instance, with communities or our integrated services such as forums, chats or the integrated messaging tool. We are continuously scanning the market for new applications - then we check carefully which of them could make sense for CLIX-supported learning scenarios. However, we don't adopt anything simply based on its hype or because it is new or cool.


Are there new Social Software features to be found in the new CLIX release?

Frank Milius:
The improvement of existing communication features plus the extension by additional Social Software elements was a key part of the new CLIX 6.1 release.

For example, the instant messaging tools Skype and Online ICQ can be started directly in CLIX. Moreover, the existing internal messaging system has been extended and now also features instant messaging. By doing this we want to foster informal ways of communication. Another new feature in this regard is Wikis: Internal CLIX Wikis can be integrated as new components into courses and communities - in future, they will be central to CLIX services.

The way we integrated blogs into CLIX differs from the way blogs usually work in the Internet - we want to employ them for a specific purpose. We would like blogs to benefit all users - so in the context of CLIX, blogs are to be seen in conjunction with courses and learning targets, not as mere individual 'online diaries'. Hence, our blackboard function has been enhanced and now works as a component similar to a weblog. It can be used within courses or as LMS-wide feature.


Can you say yet how CLIX will evolve in the next few years?

Wolfgang Kraemer:
There is further potential for Social Software and Web 2.0 technologies: we will promote user initiative, in particular by developing search functionalities and content aggregation. We are also investigating the possibilities of further personalising CLIX, so as to enable adaptation to individual user needs. All in all, we will enable the user to use CLIX as the primary knowledge channel for informal and unstructured information as well as for structured learning at the touch of a key.

For the integration of Social Software we will also include our partners, for example Microsoft: here, we have integrated CLIX into the SharePoint Portal technology in order to support learning and teaching processes and to distribute learning content. SharePoint, for its part, supports informal information exchange through its comprehensive communication and cooperation functions.

What is important to us, regarding all these developments, is the ongoing dialogue with our clients. To facilitate this, we offer various platforms (for example at trade fairs and other events) to discuss our ideas for future innovation and stimulate feedback (emerging from working with the system on a daily basis) from customers about their needs and wishes, which. We also collaborate closely with diverse user groups and offer them opportunities to discuss new ideas - in our experience this creates a valuable basis for further developments.