CLAROLINE.NET

By Marcel Lebrun (IPM/ UCL - lebrun@ipm.ucl.ac.be)

Claroline is a free LMS, online learning management system developed in PHP/MySQL, which is an Internet based database programming language. Originally developped in the IPM (Institut de Pédagogie universitaire et des multimedias of the UCL, Université Catholique de Louvain), it results now from a collaboration between the former and the ECAM (Institut Supérieur Industriel), both from Belgium.

The teacher training philosophy of IPM is to develop the teacher autonomy concerning pedagogy and, furthermore the good use of technical tools in pedagogy. This main objective was expected to be met by allowing teachers to make experimentations, to discover the need for a sound pedagogy and so to foster pedagogy in university teaching. IPM intended, 5 years ago, to use WebCT but the autonomy requirement failed behind the difficulties to develop courses with this platform. In a team meeting, we develop the idea that a large percentage of the teachers needs may be fulfilled with approximately five or six functionalities like : publishing documents and announcements, giving students tools to develop activities and to demonstrate their competences, allowing interactions between students and with teachers.

Simplicity of use and independence concerning pedagogical setup were the leitmotivs of the development and accompaniment teams. Yet, in our traditional university, the platform would allow traditional “lectures”, autonomous learning, blended learning or real distance learning. As far pedagogy is concerned, the possibilities will range from documents delivering to problem and project based learning with a special attention paid to collaborative eLearning. Also, this platform which supports evolution in the teachers uses may act as a catalyst for pedagogical innovation and faculty development.