The document discusses Apereo, a non-profit foundation that supports open source education technologies. It provides an overview of Apereo's mission, activities, software communities, and communities of interest. It also discusses priorities such as an open learning analytics platform and the need for an interoperable next generation digital learning environment that goes beyond course-centered learning management systems. Open source is seen as critical to realizing this vision through interoperability, reference models, and sustaining diverse communities that can innovate.

1. Ian Dolphin - Executive Director - ian.dolphin@apereo.org
Francisco Osorio - Flickr - https://www.flickr.com/photos/francisco_osorio/ - Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)
Apereo Africa - March 2016
What’s next for Apereo?

2. Agenda
Apereo: where we are, and how we got there …
An open platform for learning analytics
A Next Generation Digital Learning Environment?
Priorities
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3. – Apereo Mission
“…to help educational organizations collaborate
to foster, develop, and sustain open
technologies and innovation to support
learning, teaching, and research.”
– The Apereo Foundation is a non-profit [501(c)(3)] registered in New Jersey

4. Why Open-Source?
Suitability
Cost
Control
Collaborate to innovate
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}‘Courant Report’
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1 Software and Collaboration in Higher Education - A Study of Open Source Software
www.campussource.de/opensource/docs/OOSS_Report.pdf
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5. Apereo: what we do …
… for our software communities & communities of interest
1. Licensing and management of intellectual property
2. Technical & community infrastructure; events, lists etc.
3. Programs; Fellows, Teaching Innovation Awards
4. Banking, Accounting, Administration
5. Incubation; helping develop new communities
Deliberately minimal - we want to save edu money, not remove it!
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6. Apereo Foundation
Non-profit entity - 501.c.3 (New Jersey)
Membership organization.
Elected Board of Directors (+ small number of appointees)
Around 80 higher ed and commercial members worldwide
Close partnership with ESUP-Portail in France. 150 Total.
Constituent communities have significant autonomy
- devolve decision making to those closest to the problem
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7. How we see ourselves …
Series of interrelated communities
Key component of a broader network
… part of an answer, not the answer

8. Francisco Osorio - Flickr - https://www.flickr.com/photos/francisco_osorio/ - Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)
Software Communities
Bedework
CAS
Karuta
Opencast
Open Academic Environment
Sakai
Student Success Plan
UniTime
uPortal/uMobile
Xerte
EDexchange
POET
Learning Analytics Processor
OpenDashboard
OpenLRS
Tsugi Framework
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9. Francisco Osorio - Flickr - https://www.flickr.com/photos/francisco_osorio/ - Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)
Communities of Interest
Purpose
Teaching & Learning
ePortfolio
Learning Analytics
Software Development
Internationalisation
Accessibility
Security
Licensing
Geographical
South Africa
Netherlands
Japan
Spain
(Europe)
Sectoral
K12 Federation
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10. Analytics
Emerging and complex area of research
Analysing historical aggregate data to identify potential
failure/success
Distinction:
Academic Analytics: system or organisation wide data
Learner/ing Analytics: Actionable data about individuals
Needs much greater faculty engagement
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11. Continuum
Prediction for
intervention - Retention
Prediction for
Learning pathways
Present Future

12. Apereo Learning Analytics Initiative -
An Open Learning Analytics Platform
Collection – Standards-
based data capture from any
potential source using
Experience API and/or IMS
Caliper/Sensor API
Storage – Single repository
for all learning-related data
using Learning Record Store
(LRS) standard.
Analysis – Flexible Learning
Analytics Processor (LAP) that
can handle data mining, data
processing (ETL), predictive
model scoring and reporting.
Communication –
Dashboard technology for
displaying LAP output.
Action – LAP output can be
fed into other systems to
trigger alerts, etc.
Learning Record
Storage
Summary and Results
Communication
Analysis Results
Action
Learning
Data
Analysis
Learning
Activities
Collection
Admin
Systems
xAPI
[Caliper]OpenLRS
LAPOpenDashboard
SSP + Systemsn
LMS/VLE
Library?
Academic Video?
OER? xAPI
[Caliper]
Financial Aid

13. Why a platform-based approach?
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14. Commercial-Proprietary Landscape
Vendors are building capability into products …
…Which then become“the solution”
Closed and proprietary
Products such as the VLE/LMS and SIS don’t“own”analytics
Data required from across education landscape
Library systems, media players…
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15. Open Platform
Neutral place to gather data
Flexibility and choice for adopters
Jisc Learner Record Store example
Openness enables shared experience, understanding
Open source software, open standards, open algorithms
The future: analytics and learning systems
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16. Learning Analytics Initiative
Community of interest
Open calls, events, hackathons, dissemination
Open Source Software communities around components
Apereo Incubation Process
Partnership with SoLAR
Adoption: Jisc
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17. 17
Educause Learning Initiative:
Next Generation Digital Learning
Environment
https://www.educause.edu/library/resources/next-generation-digital-learning-environment-ngdle
http://tinyurl.com/hxrtzpp

18. 18"Blind monks examining an elephant", an ukiyo-e print by Hanabusa Itchō
Reality Check

19. LMS Success
99% US Institutions have at least 1 LMS
85% of Faculty use it
74% say it is a useful tool
83% of students use it
41% Faculty - promote out of classroom activity
15% of institutions plan to change it in 3 yrs
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20. Why the Challenge to the LMS
Course-centred
Teacher-centred
Inflexible. Tends to be“one size fits all”.
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21. Replacement?
Key areas from the Educause panel discussions -
Interoperability as a key enabler
Analytics, assessment and advising
(LMS largest source of analytics data)
Personalisation
Accessibility (not as an add-on, but designed in)
Different forms of collaboration - not simply“courses”
Participant: NGDLE will include LMS, but go beyond it
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22. BUT: Conversation reflecting silos
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Small point about empowerment:
Personalisation and Customization
Learning and teaching, or holistic view of academic practice.
What about research?
(“Research informed teaching”anyone?)
What constitutes learning technology?
Library and electronic resource integration
Collaboration outside the institution/ between institutions

23. How might we realise the vision?
Technology: I don’t have to channel Dr Chuck, because
he’s here …
LTI, tool interoperability
App store interoperability
Don’t think of this as a single application
And I’ll leave Dr Chuck to say more about that…
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24. Critical Role of Open Source
• Keeping market honest. An alternative.
• Interoperability: demonstrators and reference models
for open standards
• Will the commercial-proprietary vendors unlock their
environments?
• History of LTI

25. Communities sustain open source

26. Diverse communities innovate…
• [book covers]

27. Francisco Osorio - Flickr - https://www.flickr.com/photos/francisco_osorio/ - Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)
Software Communities
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Bedework
CAS
Karuta
Opencast
Open Academic Environment
Sakai
Student Success Plan
UniTime
uPortal/uMobile
Xerte
EDexchange
POET
Learning Analytics Processor
OpenDashboard
OpenLRS
Tsugi Framework

28. Francisco Osorio - Flickr - https://www.flickr.com/photos/francisco_osorio/ - Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)
Communities of Interest
Purpose
Teaching & Learning
ePortfolio
Learning Analytics
Software Development
Internationalization
Accessibility
Security
Licensing
Geographical
South Africa
Netherlands
Japan
Spain
(Europe)
Sectoral
K12 Federation
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29. We are not building a suite

30. Priorities
Encourage community inter-connection and dialogue
That takes resource. Ultimately funding.
We persuade. We do not mandate.
We are not a“top down”organisation.
Membership is one way of contributing.
And there’ll be a focus on this topic at …
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