Ambrose, G. Alex, Abbott, Kevin, Lanski, Alison (2017) “Under the Hood of a Next Generation Digital Learning Environment in Progress” Educause Review.

Key Takeaways

*A first-year experience course at the University of Notre Dame offered the opportunity to develop and test a next generation digital learning environment.

*As a guiding framework for the digital architecture of the new FYE course, the design team followed the five dimensions of an NGDLE described in an ELI report to close the gaps between current learning management tools and digital learning environments.

*The FYE course required innovating beyond the supplemental course-level learning management system to create a more holistic NGDLE in order to fully support the teaching, learning, and student success missions of the program.

*Because they used an open-source LMS, they had a flexible hub with a campus support staff that could quickly, inexpensively, and safely begin to innovate at scale without high vendor cost or long development times.