OPAL (learning platform)

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OPAL
Basic data

developer BPS Bildungsportal Sachsen GmbH
Current  version 12.4.3
(August 26, 2020)
operating system Windows , Linux , macOS , Solaris ,
FreeBSD and other Unix variants (based on Java )
category Learning platform
License Apache license 2.0
German speaking Yes
https://www.bps-system.de/cms/produkte/opal-lernmanagement/

OPAL ( O nline- P latform for A kademisches L honoring and learning) is a university-wide information technology platform for e-learning . OPAL is used at 21 educational institutions in Saxony and is used by more than 80,000 people. OPAL is managed centrally by the BPS Bildungsportal Sachsen GmbH. Basis of the software is open source - Learning Management System OLAT -Campus that at the 1999 University of Zurich was developed.

development

In January 2001 the joint project “Education Portal Saxony” started as an initiative of the universities of Leipzig, Dresden and Chemnitz as well as the University of Applied Sciences Mittweida. Funding was provided by the Saxon State Ministry for Science and Art (SMWK). The aim of this project was the conception, the prototype structure and the evaluation of an education portal for Saxony. This educational portal should be developed for academic training and further education and be open to all Saxon universities for free use. One result of this initiative is the implementation of the OPAL learning platform at 11 Saxon universities in 2006. The most important historical milestones of the OPAL learning platform are:

January 2001: Start of the joint project "Education Portal Saxony"
2001–2004: Operation of the learning management system " Saba "
2004/2005: Evaluation of established open source learning management systems
November 2004: Establishment of the operating company "BPS Bildungsportal Sachsen GmbH" by eleven Saxon universities
September 2005: Pilot operation of the learning management system "OLAT" (Online Learning And Training)
March 2006: Productive operation of the learning management system "OLAT" under the name "OPAL"
since 2007: systematic further development / adaptation of OPAL within the framework of national project initiatives
2014–2015: Relaunch of the OPAL learning platform with a focus on mobility, usability and contemporary functionality and design

application

OPAL is currently used as a central learning management system by employees and students at five universities, four technical colleges, three art schools, parts of the vocational academy in Saxony, a vocational school and the Saxon state library. These Saxon educational institutions include:

Approx. 100,000 students and teachers at these educational institutions use this platform for teaching and studying. The platform contains around 35,000 online courses.

technical features

The technological core of the OPAL learning platform is the Open Source Learning Management System (LMS) OLAT developed by the University of Zurich in 1999 , which as a web application supports various forms of web-based learning , teaching and moderation without major didactic restrictions. In addition to the typical elements known from OLAT and other e-learning platforms, OPAL has the authentication and authorization component " Shibboleth ". This enables all user databases of all participating educational institutions to be connected to one another via single sign-on , specific layouts to be created and interfaces to other information technologies used at the educational institutions (e.g. HISPOS, S-PLUS) to be linked.

Functional areas

The functional areas of OPAL can be divided into the main aspects of study, organization and communication :

Education

Using suitable tools, learning content can be made available online and its access controlled in order to enable guided (self) study. Knowledge transfer tools include:

organization

Various tools have been integrated into this learning platform for the preparation, implementation and follow-up of courses. The most important OPAL functions to support the organizational tasks are:

communication

The tools integrated in OPAL to support communicative and collaborative tasks include the following means of communication:

literature

  • Fischer H., Köhler T., Schwendel J .: Efficiency through synergies in e-learning. Central structures and cross-institutional cooperation at the Saxon universities. in E-Learning 2009. Learning in the digital age. Edited by N. Apostolopoulos, H. Hoffmann, V. Mansmann, A. Schwill. Waxmann Verlag, Münster 2009, pp. 400-409, ISBN 978-3-8309-2199-8
  • Fischer H., Schulz J., Brennecke K., Köhler T., Saupe V., Schwendel J .: The e-learning state initiative Bildungsportal Sachsen. Central structures and cross-university cooperation. in state initiatives for e-learning at German universities. Edited by C. Bremer, M. Göcks, P. Rühl, J. Stratmann. Waxmann Verlag, Münster 2010, pp. 137–151, ISBN 978-3-8309-2393-0
  • Judge F., Morgner S .: OPAL. The learning platform of Saxon universities. in e-learning at Saxon universities. Structures - projects - application scenarios. Edited by Fischer H., Schwendel J. TUDpress, Dresden 2009, pp. 163-173, ISBN 978-3-941298-04-0

Web links

Individual evidence