Neuerungen mit ILIAS 7/en

If you have any questions or experience issues, please contact support@elearning.uni-halle.de

The latest version of ILIAS introduces numerous new features, including significant changes to the site's appearance, menu bar, and editor. These updates bring ILIAS up to date with modern web design standards, resulting in a more attractive and user-friendly interface that is optimised for mobile devices.

For the official German manual for ILIAS 7, please visit offizielle Benutzerdokumentation von ILIAS 7

The following section presents the most important changes. Additional information can be found by clicking on the corresponding links.

ILIAS has an integrated online assistance feature that correspond with the topic of each site. This means that the explanation provided will fit the site you are currently on. The online assistance can be accessed by clicking on the question mark symbol located in the top right hand corner of the page.

FAQ to the New Update

What changes are particularly relevant to students?

• a new navigation bar and user guidance
• a new and improved mobile display to enable the use of ILIAS on the way
• learning success - the learning success for each course in one place
• Tasks - all of your tasks at a glance
• Privacy Policy Checklist for the publication of your profile
• Dashboard und Favourites
  Please note: The newsfeed on your dashboard will only display information for those courses for which the admin has activated the feed.

Where can I access my courses and group memberships?/Where can I find the materials from past semesters?

On your dashboard located in the navigation bar on the top left corner, you can access your favourites and „My Courses and Groups“.

Within „My Courses and Groups“ you will find a list of all the courses you are a member of.

To view the last visited sites or an overview of "My Courses and Groups", select the "Repository" option from the menu.

Where can I find the MyDocuments folder? (for lecturers only)

Your data files are in the repository under "MLU", inside the folder "user data".

Where can I find an overview of my recently visited items?

Under "Repository" in the menu you can view recently visited items.

Where can I find the items that were on my desk in the previous ILIAS version?

Your 'Personal Desk' no longer exists. Its items have been centralized in the menu bar.

All of the items that were your desk have been included in your Favourites.

Did the connection between Stud.IP and ILIAS change?

No, all features and permissions stay the same.

>> information regarding the connection between Stud.IP and ILIAS

What changes for the online exams?

Currently, there are no changes for the exams that take place on our seperate exam platform. They will simply be updated to the new ILIAS version in May after all of the current exam period is over.

Does something change with the log in?

No. Please log in with your usual login credentials.

The login to Stud.IP has not changed either.

How can I remove something from a learning module site?

A Removal/ Deletion of items is only possible with the multiple selection tool.

1. Go to "Edit Page". On the left hand site the editor will open up.
2. There, click on "Selection" and select the item you want to remove.
   ! Alternatively, you can use shift + click on the item to simultaneously switch to the selection tool.
3. Click "Delete"/"Cut". A dialogue will open to ask if you are sure you want to delete the selected item. Confirm this.
4. The selected items will be deleted.

>> further information on the editor: ILIAS-Seiteneditor

Appearance, User Guidance, and Menu Bar

With the Page Layout Revision, ILIAS has undergone a complete redesign with a focus on mobile usage through the Page Layout Revision.
All items, including course and group content, as well as learning modules, have been visually improved.

The main navigation bar has been relocated to the left and is now displayed as a vertical bar with tiles. For smaller devices the menu bar is located at the bottom of your display.
Subitems are displayed in a second vertical bar called the "Slate".

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  the Menu Bar of ILIAS 7: Left Hand-Side Menu Bar with Tiles and Shortcut Menu (Slate)

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  the Previous Menu Bar of ILIAS 5

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  the Appearance of ILIAS on a Smartphone

ILIAS Editor

The ILIAS editor has undergone a fundamental revision to improve user-friendliness. Notably, it now features two modes: editing and selection.
Further innovations are:

• Text: the layout of columns
• Text: autosave
• Text: Enter generates a new paragraph
• Text: assign the same format (e.g. a title) for multiple items simultaneously
• Drag and drop of items
• multiple selection of items and actions
• New feature: "Insert External Content" (add an Opencast recording)

>> More information on the editor: ILIAS-Seiteneditor

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  the New Editing Mode

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  Video Introduction to the Editor in ILIAS 7 by databay

To get an overview of the main features of the new editor you might want to watch the introductory video by databay (currently with German explanations only) on https://youtu.be/HZukWCGj1h4

New and Enhanced Objects

NEW: Content Page

This new feature allows for easy presentation of content such as short incentives, learning motivations, or task information. A new page can be generated and configured using the new editor tool, e. g. with texts, videos, pictures etc. Unlike a folder, however, new ILIAS-objects cannot be generated.

If a course or group was created before March 2nd, 2023, you cannot add a new 'Content Page' using the 'Add New Item' function. Instead, you must enable the generation of this type of item under the 'Permissions' section of the course or group. To do this, go to the main page of the course or group and click on 'Permissions'. Then, go to the 'Create New Objects' section for the specific role (course administrator or course tutor) and select 'Content Page'. Finally, save your settings.

NEW: Learning Sequence

The learning sequence is a new tool with great potential. It allows for the assembly of different elements, such as content pages, tests, learning modules, files, and surveys, in a specific order. The students are presented with a reduced and clear structure, enabling them to efficiently work through the content. The learning sequence can also be complemented with introductory and concluding pages.

To view the contents and order of the learning sequence, to to "Content" >> "View Content" within the learning sequence. To exit the learning sequence, click on the 'x' at the top right corner.

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  Curriculum and Exiting a Learning Sequence

Previously, achieving these learning objectives required extensive and complex configuration of the course page or the use of a separate learning module. Even then, it was not possible to combine them with other ILIAS items.

However, each learning sequence now comes with its own membership management, allowing it to be used outside of courses or groups.

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  Abbildung 1: A Student's View of a Learning Sequence

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  Abbildung 2: Compositions of Items for a Learning Sequence

If a course or group was created before March 2nd, 2023, you cannot add a new 'Content Page' using the 'Add New Item' function. Instead, you must enable the generation of this type of item under the 'Permissions' section of the course or group. To do this, go to the main page of the course or group and click on 'Permissions'. Then, go to the 'Create New Objects' section for the specific role (course administrator or course tutor) and select 'Content Page'. Finally, save your settings.

NEW: MLUconf/Webex Meeting

Creating an MLUconf/Webex meeting is not a new feature, but the approach and item type are. The 'MLUconf/Webex Meeting' option allows you to establish a digital conference room for MLUconf or Webex in courses and groups.

Therefore, you can now choose between three kinds of conference rooms within courses or groups:

• MLUconf
• Adobe Connect
• Webex >> Currently unavailable! We are working on a solution.

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  Creating a MLUconf/Webex Meeting within courses or groups

If a course or group was created before March 2nd, 2023, you cannot add a new 'Content Page' using the 'Add New Item' function. Instead, you must enable the generation of this type of item under the 'Permissions' section of the course or group. To do this, go to the main page of the course or group and click on 'Permissions'. Then, go to the 'Create New Objects' section for the specific role (course administrator or course tutor) and select 'Content Page'. Finally, save your settings.

Booking Pool

New booking type “No Schedule, Using Preferences”
In addition to “Fixed Schedule” (e. g. suitable for rooms or technics) and “No Schedule, Direct Booking” (e.g. suitable for presentation topics) there now is a third booking type: "No Schedule, Using Preferences"
This type enables participants to state their preferences. After a set deadline, those preferences will be automatically converted into fixed bookings. The number of possible preferences per user can be set/adjusted.

New tab “Participants”, Assigning Bookings to Participants
By clicking on the "Add Users of Current Course" button, participants of that course/groups can be transferred to the new overview of participants within the booking pool. This provides course admins with a complete overview of all placed bookings and users. In this section, bookings can also be assigned to participants or cancelled if neccessary.

Notifications for Booked Schedules
Under 'Fixed Schedule', course administrators can set reminders for booked schedules. This will automatically send a notification email to participants to remind them of their schedule.

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  New Booking Type “No Schedule, Using Preferences”

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  Overview Over the Participants; Assigning Bookings

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  Setting a Reminder for Booked Schedules

New and Enhanced System Functions

NEW: Task List

Under the 'Dashboard' section, you can now find a task section.
This section contains all pending tasks, such as exercises, surveys, drafts for blogs or forum posts, that are automatically generated for each individual user. All pending tasks are linked to the corresponding ILIAS item, allowing users to easily maintain an overview of the tasks they need to attend to.

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  Task on the Dashboard

NEW: News Office

There is a bell on the top header.
Here you can find the "News Office" of ILIAS. Different kinds of notifications are collected for each user:

• Background task - e.g. the compiling of large download packages
• Mails/Messages
• Contact requests
• new certificates

NEW: Learning History

The learning history shows a timeline of personal learning achievements, including learning progress, skills, badges, and certificates. It is automatically generated for each user.
Users can view their learning history with the menu under "Achievements" > slate: "Learning History".

NEW: Favourites

Favourites allow users to easily access important, interesting, or frequently used items. This feature is not new, but has been renamed from its previous title "Put on Your Desk" in the old ILIAS version.

Users must manually select their own favourites, so new courses and groups will not automatically appear under 'Favourites'.
With the transition to the new ILIAS version, all the content from the desk has been transferred to the favourites.

You can find your favourites

• on the Dashboard at the topmost section
• in your Personal Workspace > Favourites

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  "My Options" on the Personal Desk in the old ILIAS Version

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  ILIAS 7: Favourites on the Slate of your "Personal Workspace"

Favourites can be individually configured and sorted according to type or place. Deleting entries is possible as well.

How can I label something as a favourite?

1. Go to the according object
2. Click on the "Actions" button in the top right corner
3. Click on "Add to Favourites"

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  Options to Sort or Remove the Items in the Favourites

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  Labelling an Item as a Favourite with the "Actions" Button

License Administration

You can assign a creative common license to your ILIAS items. The material will be then labelled as Open Educational Ressource (OER).

The legal and organizational conditions for the OER material are currently worked on at the MLU. We will pass on any information as soon as there are updates.

Of course, you can label your ILIAS material with a free license already:

• Go to the object you want to label
• Go to the menu and click on "Metadata"
• Under the section "Copyright", select a fitting Creative-Commons-Lizenz and fill in the necessary information regarding the author etc. Save your settings.
• The license is now accessible in the information tab of your item.

Timeline

The timeline of the new ILIAS version is now more interactive and dynamic.
Course administrators can post pictures, videos, etc., under the control "Add News". Members can then add comments or reactions such as likes or emojis. On request, each member can receive notifications about new posts via e-mail.

>How do I active the timeline/news for courses and groups?

1. Go to "Settings" in the course/group
2. In the section "Additional Features", tick the box next to "News".
3. In the settings, you can now see a tab "News Settings"
4. There, you can add a news block, a timeline, and notfications. Save your settings.

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  Enabling News and Timeline in the Settings

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  The Settings under the New Tab "News Settings"

After the timeline was added, all the members of the course/group have access to the tab "Timeline".

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  View of the Group Admin; with the "Add News" New Posts can be Added

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  View of a Member of the Group; Possibility to Like or Post Comments

Profile

Users can now choose more easily which data will be accessible for others in their personal profile. The individual steps of publication are listen in the "Privacy Checklist" under "Profile and Privacy".

Innovation Assessment (Tests, Question Pool Tests and Exercises)

The general appearance and usage of the test and assessment section has basically stayed the same and the transition should not prove difficult. The changes made only concern details of the tests, question pool test, and exercises, and aim to make the usage of these items clearer and more intuitive. A few options are now at a different place, mostly in the more lucid submenu. Below, you can find a summary of the most important extensions. This will be regularly augmented until the exam platform has been updated in May.

Questions and Question Pool Tests

• For the questions, the information "Lifecycle" has been added. With this, the questions can be tagged with additional information such as "draft" or "outdated". This can be used as a filter as well.
• You can now add comments to questions, which might be useful if multiple persons are creating a test together.
• In the preview the question are now displayed exactly how they will appear in an exam.
• The scored number of points can directly be queried while testing the created questions.

Tests

• The tab "Members" can now be found under "Dashboard". Here, all the administrative procedures take place during an exam.
• Additionally, there is now a tab called "Results". Depending on the permissions and privacy settings, the results of the exam are displayed in this section.
• Changes have been made regarding the manually checked grading. Here, you can now give detailed feedback and label your grading as final or in need of further grading processes.
• Re-correction of questions can now be made without an additional overlay. Under a new tab called "Statistics", points and possible answers can be corrected and saved.

Exercises

• Improved control over the submission period
• A release of key solutions at a set date
• Random assigment of exercises
• Reminders to hand in task at a set date

Things that are not included anymore in ILIAS 7

No "Place of Learning"

The item "Place of Learning" does not exist anymore. Aready created items like this cannot be used anymore and can be deleted.

The ILIAS app is not supported anymore by the MLU Halle. The Places of Learning are only usable with the ILIAS app.

No Pop-Ups During Tests

The pop-up that always appeared before moving forward to the next question has been removed. The pop-up included a notice that all answers are automatically saved after each question. Should this notice be regarding as neccessary information, you can add it as a short introductory text before the tests starts.

No Bookmarks

Under "personal desk" > "bookmarks" every user could save their bookmarks of websites. This function has now been removed.

Internet Explorer not Supported

The Internet Explorer is an outdated browser that is not updated anymore. Its successor is Microsoft Edge.

Ilias does not support the Internet Explorer any longer, meaning that if you are using Internet Explorer you will not be able to log into ILIAS. Please switch to an up-to-date browser such as Firefox, Chrome, Safari, Opera, or Edge.

No Selection of Layouts in the Learning Module

The selection of different layouts when setting up a new learning module has been reduced. One layout is used for all new learning modules where the overview/content is on the left site and the content in the frame on the right.