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ILU – ILIAS Learning Environment

ILU stands for ILIAS learning environment and is the central learning management system of TH Cologne. ILU offers numerous functions for learning support and interactive learning, communication, and collaboration. Faculty or institution-internal digital teaching expert teams (DLE teams) advise and support the technical and didactic development of digital teaching in ILU and form the interface to Campus IT (CIT) and the Center for Academic Development (ZLE), which bundles and processes the needs collected in the faculties and institutions for digital teaching and thus also for ILU.

In a nutshell: What is ILU?

Logo: © ILIAS open source e-Learning e. V.

ILU is TH Cologne’s Learning Management System (LMS) based on the open source software ILIAS. Implement didactic scenarios for entire courses and modules, use ILU to provide materials clearly, organize group work, communicate with your students, or obtain feedback. ILU helps to manage the many activities related to teaching and learning. The many functions are reflected in the acronym ILIAS, which stands for Integrated Learning, Information, and Work Cooperation System.

Special Case of Exams in ILIAS

There is a separate ILIAS installation for exams. Workflows were implemented here that – technically separate from teaching – enable digital testing on-site (ILU.EP) and remotely (ILU.EA). ILU does not include the performance of exams with legal consequences. Tests to accompany learning without legal consequences can take the form of self-tests and practice exams. You can find suitable exam formats and video instructions for creating digital exams here.

Range of Features

  • Feedback & Evaluation: surveys, live polls, voting, tests, learning level
  • Interaction & Communication: news, forums, chat
  • Cooperation & Collaboration: Etherpad, blog, wiki
  • Teaching Methods: learning sequences, sessions, learning modules
  • Organization & Transference: booking pool, bibliography, contents page, glossary
  • Media: files, audio, video, podcasts

Uses

  • Lecture
  • Seminar
  • Project seminars / Practical support
  • Individual work / Group work / Student projects
  • Training / Tutorials
  • unsuitable for digital exams / e-assessment

Step by Step

ILU offers you a wide range of options for implementing or supporting various teaching scenarios. Self-directed learning and blended learning can be carried out individually and from any location with the help of the platform.

Parallel to current changes in digital teaching and learning, the functions in the ILIAS learning environment are constantly being further developed by the ILIAS community in cooperation with the universities. If you would like to learn about new functions or have specific questions, you can contact the respective DLE team at the individual faculties and institutions of TH Cologne.

Learn how to set up your first course and fill it with elements in this video (German).

Video: „ILIAS Einsteiger Tutorial (2020)“, YouTube, © Upbilden

Log in to ILU in your browser at https://ilu.th-koeln.de/.

Content for non-registered users can be found in the general access area. If you want to use ILIAS to its full potential, you will need a campusID. To apply for a campusID, please get in touch with the relevant contact person for the campus ID at your institution. The DLE team at your institution or faculty can then create a course or workspace for you to try out and get started.

All ILU functions are described in detail in the context-sensitive ILIAS online help. It can be opened in ILU by clicking on the question mark at the top right (see image). Use this primarily for detailed technical questions within ILU.

On the TH internal ILU help page, you will find an overview of the functions ILU offers you for your teaching and how you can use them. This page also bundles OER for the technical and didactic use of ILU from the ILIAS community.

In the ILIAS community, many technical and also didactic instructions and application scenarios for ILIAS have already been developed and made available as OER. Here you will find an overview of various ILIAS support toolboxes from other universities.

If you would like to redesign your course didactically or implement major technical changes and need individual advice, please contact your faculty or institution’s internal DLE team.

  • Zentrum für Lehrentwicklung (ZLE)

    The ZLE is a central academic institution. It offers all members of the university a platform for the exchange of experiences between colleagues as well as access to current teaching and learning research and scientific support. Teachers can develop, test, systematically reflect on and publish teaching concepts with the support of university and media didactics.

We appreciate your feedback!

When developing this offer, we tried to include you as a teacher in advance. We would therefore be delighted if you would help us to further improve our offer. Please let us know what you would like, what bothers you or what you particularly like. Would you like to contact us directly? Then write to us at lehrpfade@th-koeln.de!