E-Learning with tlms
Compact technical infrastructure for the creation and implementation of e-learning courses
In our decades of experience with the development and provision of e-learning content, we have found that the well-known software solutions (regardless of whether they are open source or commercial) are jack of all trades that are difficult to adapt to individual needs. Significant effort always flows into the configuration of the environment and is thus lost for the implementation of the specific use case.
For this reason we developed tlms (theCode-LMS) based on the guideline:
lightweight - fast - scalable - open
With the tlms engine, e-learning content can be created and made available using basic web technologies (HTML, CSS, JS).
Create content
tlms does not have a classic authoring system for creating content and editing directly in the browser.
The content of a tlms e-learning course is provided as a normal folder structure in the file system. A folder corresponds to a page. Course modules are grouped into subfolders. This folder structure can be made available to the tlms engine e.g. as a ZIP file, via cloud sharing (e.g. Nextcloud) or via a version control system (git). The specific application is decisive. The page content is saved in classic HTML or Markdown files (simple syntax).
Interactive elements, audio and video, questionnaires and tests, assessments, gamification, PDF certificates: Based on the basic structure described above, all of these features can be individually adapted and implemented using common web technologies.
This is what a classic project flow looks like:
- You provide us with your content in the format of your choice (e.g. Word or Powerpoint).
- We support you in the creation and structuring of content suitable for e-learning.
- We or your web developers convert this content and all interactive elements into the tlms structure using web technologies (tlms is open source and well documented!).
Example screenshots
Of course, these screenshots show the desired layout and design for the respective application. tlms is completely flexible when it comes to design aspects.
Technology
We are craftsmen, so here are the basic technical aspects of tlms:
The tlms-engine is a lightweight Java/Spring-Boot web application. It is made available as open source. Data management in a document-oriented database (NoSQL).
Fast: our regular load tests allow thousands of concurrent users on a single instance.
External user management and authentication by OpenID Connect (Keycloak). This makes it possible to connect to many authentication interfaces and user administrations, including LDAP/Active Directory.
Privacy by design: In order to support the blessings of the european GDPR in the core, the entire data management (e.g. tracking, success control) is extremely data economical. Personal data is only stored or processed where it is necessary.
Scalable: The tlms engine works "stateless". This means that with a large number of users, the system can easily be distributed over multiple instances via a load distribution system.
Transportable: The tlms engine can be packed in a container (e.g. Docker) be installed and is therefore largely independent of pre-installed infrastructure (DB, user administration).
Integrated full-text search (Lucene) and tagging system.
Content recommendation system based on Likert scale assessment questionnaires.
Flexible localization, multilingual.
Of course, mobile-friendly design (full responsive).
tlms was originally developed in 2021/2022 to implement the "Elective Promotion of Rational Antibiotic Therapy" (ElektRA). ElektRA is a joint project of "Verband der Ersatzkassen e. V." (vdek) and "Zentralinstitut für die kassenärztliche Versorgung" (Zi), Universitätsmedizin Rostock, Universitätsklinik Hamburg-Eppendorf and "GPZK – gemeinnützige Gesellschaft für patientenzentrierte Kommunikation mbH".
In the meantime, further e-learning courses are running with tlms, e.g. on IT security (German, English and Ukrainian).
Interested in an e-learning project with theCode and possibly the tlms engine?
During the conversation we can understand the prerequisites and requirements of your e-learning project and decide with you which solution is the most suitable for you.