Toolboxes in the Community
What are toolboxes and what are they used for?
Toolboxes are a collection of guides, tips and ideas for using ILIAS in educational settings. Some toolboxes focus on the technical side of ILIAS, others on teaching. Some deal exclusively with ILIAS, others additionally look at other digital tools.
Toolboxes are great. They are fantastically suited for picking up ideas or learning about new functions. They are therefore especially useful for those who are new to ILIAS, but can also be useful for the grizzled, veteran campaigners in the community, allowing them to take a peek ‘outside of the box’.
And seriously, why should everyone always have to reinvent the wheel when there are already so many great ideas and solutions already available?
We asked ourselves this very question and as a result, decided to create this collection. Here, we have gathered some of our favourite Toolboxes from the ILIAS community that we find particularly useful and that are (mostly) freely accessible. Many of them are even available for personal use under a Creative Commons Licence.
Do you have a Toolbox in your institution/business or know of one that is not listed here? Then let us know! We’d be delighted to expand our list. Just send a mail with further information to Alina Seibt .
Available in English
University of Bern - ILIAS Support
The University of Bern’s Toolbox is a great example that shows that guides and manuals don’t always have to make for dry reading, but rather can be well structured and attractively designed. In addition to the pleasant visuals and general user-friendliness, the scenarios in the Bern Toolbox are written in simple, unpretentious language, allowing readers to easily digest the information and pick up ideas.
The Toolbox is available under a CC BY NC SA-Licence and can therefore be used and adapted in accordance with the licence conditions.
ILIAS Version: 7
Focal Points: Procedure for the use of ILIAS in different application scenarios (teaching) & step by step manuals for various features (technical).
Special Features: German and English versions, CC-licenced, well structured.
Access: No limitations (‘Reinschauen’ links only for Uni Bern-members).
Link: The University of Bern's ILIAS Support page
University of Marburg - Ideenraum
The Ideenraum (idea space) of the University of Marburg is a comprehensive work made up of individual elements covering example scenarios (partly examples from real-life teaching) as well as teaching goals (comprehensive learning module) – much of which deals concretely with ILIAS. The ILIAS guides are especially cool, including video tutorials (see learning module) that are shown in slate links so that the user doesn’t have to leave the current page on teaching methodology in order to learn about the technical implementation via a ‘how to?’
The Toolbox has a CC BY licence and can therefore be used and adapted in accordance with the licence.
ILIAS Version: 5.4 | Mostly version-independent though
Focal Points: Collection of scenarios including technical implementation possibilities for teaching, ILIAS guides (technical).
Special Features: German and English versions of the glossary (includes ILIAS guides), CC licence, well structured.
Access: No limitations.
Link: To the Ideenraum of the University of Marburg | To the english glossary
Currently only available in German
The University of Giessen – E-Learning Guide
The University of Giessen’s Toolbox is an extremely comprehensive reference work covering various digital teaching scenarios. Its focus is clearly on teaching and less on the exact implementation in ILIAS. They do, however, go into which Object types are suited for which scenarios, as well as share comprehensive in-depth knowledge and information, including reports based on real-world experience. The Toolbox has a CC BY NC SA licence and is split up into different categories that are all connected via links, allowing readers to easily navigate to the topics they are looking for and access the comprehensive information on offer.
ILIAS Version: 5.4 | Mostly version-independent though
Focal Points: Using ILIAS in teaching, digital learning scenarios.
Special Features: CC-licence, well structured, comprehensive scenario collection.
Access: No limitations.
Link: The University of Giessen's E-Learning Guide
The University of Freiburg – Digital Teaching Toolbox
The Digital Teaching Toolbox of the University of Freiburg offers a very comprehensive set of accessories that support educators not only when it comes to using ILIAS, but also with digital teaching in general. The comprehensive wiki is freely accessible and has a CC BY SA licence. This Toolbox is especially useful when looking for ideas for concrete usage scenarios. Selected ILIAS functions are also examined in an ‘Overview’ page (accessible via the Wiki Navigation side bar).
ILIAS Version: 7
Focal Points: Comprehensive scenarios for digital teaching, explanations of selected ILIAS functions (focus on teaching).
Special Features: CC-licenced, comprehensive collection of digital scenarios.
Access: No limitations.
Link: The University of Freiburg’s Digital Teaching Toolbox
Fachhochschule Dortmund - ILIAS Kompetenzzentrum
At the Fachhochschule Dortmund (Dortmund’s University of Applied Sciences and Arts) they have taken a slightly different approach – their Toolbox takes the form of a blog. They update the blog regularly with entries on the workings of ILIAS, interesting ways to use it and much more. Due to the blog format, the structure of the Toolbox and how to navigate through it are different to the classic Toolbox format. Nevertheless, you can find a lot of information and ideas here that are worth adopting. In the Funktionsübersicht (overview of functions) you will find a more detailed looked at selected ILIAS Objects.
ILIAS Version: 7
Focal Points: ILIAS Objects (technical), general teaching topics.
Special Features: A well structured blog that is regularly updated.
Access: No limitations.
Link: The blog of FH Dortmund's ILIAS Kompetenzzentrum
University of Stuttgart – ILIAS Toolbox
The University of Stuttgart’s ILIAS Toolbox focuses (as the name suggest) exclusively on ILIAS and not on other digital tools. The various ILIAS Objects and concrete usage possibilities for them are presented in learning modules with rather general categories names such as Evaluieren (evaluating) and Kommunizieren (communicating). The Toolbox has a CC BY licence and can therefore be used and adapted in accordance with the licence.
ILIAS Version: up to 7
Focal Points: Pedagogical and technical perspectives on the use of ILIAS in teaching.
Special Features: CC licence, lots of video tutorials.
Access: No limitations ("fertige Beispiele in ILIAS" ((finished examples in ILIAS)) only available for students and staff of the University of Stuttgart).
Link: The ILIAS Toolbox of the University of Stuttgart
