Educational Leadership

Key Takeaways

The current learning data ecosystem is a chaotic, increasingly complex jumble that is producing vast amounts of usage data that are poorly understood and poorly utilized.

To accelerate the move to the Next Generation Digital Learning Environment, we need widespread adoption of learning data standards across institutions.

Early proof-of-concept implementations by two universities illustrate the current maturity of learning data standards and how they address real-world problems.

To achieve standards adoption at a broader scale — and reap the considerable benefits NGDLE promises — key challenges must be understood and addressed.

Key Takeaways

Today, the typical learning management system serves as little more than a virtual resource storage site, facilitating access to material rather than inspiring and enhancing the actual learning process.

In contrast, the Next Generation Digital Learning Environment focuses on personalization, tool integration, and content exchange, thereby serving as a launch pad for new learning experiences.

Because it is standards-based, NGDLE eliminates interoperability problems that often plague higher education institutions.

Key Takeaways

Moving beyond "one size fits all," Next Generation Digital Learning Environment research is a call to action for greater personalization of educational experiences built on a technology foundation seamlessly integrating existing and emerging digital technologies and products.

An ecosystem of open-standards–based interoperable digital products shaped by the education community enables integration at low cost and is rapidly becoming a reality through the work of the IMS Global Learning Consortium.

IMS Global Learning Consortium member institutions are putting in place key features of the NGDLE by leveraging new releases of the Learning Tools Interoperability, Caliper Analytics, and Digital Microcredentials standards.

Now is the time for higher education institutions to develop a digital learning leadership strategy that enables their priorities into the future, leveraging and supporting the open standards movement.

In April 2017 the next generation digital learning environment (NGDLE) celebrated its two-year anniversary. The shift to a component-based NGDLE appro