THspaces, ILIAS, or MS Teams? An overview of teaching and learning platforms
Are you wondering which teaching and learning platform is right for you? You are not satisfied with your current platform and are looking for an alternative? Do you want to combine the best functions of two platforms and don't know how? This article provides an overview of the interaction between the existing teaching and learning platforms at TH Cologne.
In a nutshell: Which teaching and learning platforms are available to teachers at TH Cologne?
THspaces is an intuitive and student-centered platform with a focus on agile and communicative teaching. Students, teaching staff, and employees can engage in interdisciplinary exchange and get involved across the university. Read more.
ILU is a teacher-centered Learning Management System (LMS) that allows you to create digital teaching and learning materials and provide them to your students. The platform facilitates interaction between teachers and learners, conducting evaluations and implementing didactic scenarios for complete courses. Read more.
Microsoft Teams is a virtual workspace in which members of a team work together synchronously. You can make use of its numerous features, such as private and group chats, file and document storage, task planning, channels, and video conferencing. Read more.
How do the teaching and learning platforms compare?
The teaching and learning platforms offered at TH Cologne have a different range of functions and focus.
| THspaces | ILIAS | Microsoft Teams |
|---|---|---|
| Student-centered platform to support interdisciplinary and university-wide communication and collaboration processes. | Teacher-centered learning management system to support teaching-learning processes and manage materials and courses. | Virtual workspace to enable synchronous collaboration. |
| THspaces | ILIAS | Microsoft Teams |
|---|---|---|
| Interaction & communication (teaching-learning communities, news, posts) | Interaction & communication (blog, forum) | Interaction & communication (chat, video calls) |
| Cooperation & collaboration (dynamic homepage, spaces, portfolios) | Cooperation & collaboration (Etherpad, Wiki) | Cooperation & collaboration (office integration, streaming, whiteboard) |
| Providing material (files & media) | Providing material (files & media, bibliography, glossary) | Providing material (files & media) |
| Workspaces (Spaces) can be created and modified by teachers and students | Workspaces (courses) can be created and modified by teachers for students | Workspaces (channels) can be created and modified by teachers and students |
| Transfer (public spaces / pages) | Transfer (wikis, inviting guests) | |
| Feedback (comments) | Feedback & evaluation (exercise, test, voting, polls) | |
| Own profile page | Own profile page | |
| Organization & structure (meetings, booking pool, learning modules) |
| THspaces | ILIAS | Microsoft Teams |
|---|---|---|
| Lecture | Lecture | Lecture |
| Seminar | Seminar | Seminar |
| Group work / student projects | Project seminars | Project seminars |
| Individual work | Group work | Group work & colloquia |
| Teaching and research projects | Individual work | |
| Tutorials/Trainings |
How do I choose the right teaching and learning platform for me?
To be able to choose the right teaching-learning platform, you should take a close look at your teaching scenario. Would you like to work online and mostly synchronously with your students and collaborate on files simultaneously? If so, Microsoft Teams could be the right choice. Do you want your students to create their own workspace, answer questions about the seminar according to an individual timetable, and discuss them? If so, THspaces is probably the right platform for you. Or do you need a comprehensive tool that offers you every opportunity to design complex learning modules and integrate a wide range of functions? If so, ILIAS is the first choice.
Any questions?
Feel free to contact us by mail to lehrpfade@th-koeln.de!
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