The document discusses how digital infrastructure in education, such as learning management systems (LMS) and email, are not well-designed for student engagement. LMS were built for administration rather than engagement. Emails are better for announcements than interactive communication. The document proposes a communication platform to replace LMS and email by enabling low barriers to communication, active and blended learning approaches, and reflecting passion for subjects. It provides a case study of a school that switched from Moodle to the Aula platform and saw improved student engagement and community. The technology behind Aula is also described as using modern frameworks like React and being resilient, scalable, and reliable.

1. Mikkel Lauritzen, Engagement Partner, Aula
@mik_lauritzen
mikkel@aula.education

2. Engagement is everything…

3. Engagement is…
‘highly activated and pleasurable emotional, behavioural and cognitive
involvement in academic activities’ (Balwant 2018: 394)

4. Engagement is everything…

5. Engagement is everything…
but digital infrastructure in
education is not built for
engagement

6. Two ‘digital elephants’ on campus make engagement hard to achieve
Learning Management System (LMS)

7. Two ‘digital elephants’ on campus make engagement hard to achieve
Learning Management System (LMS) Email

8. ‘[The LMS has been] highly
successful in enabling the
administration of learning but
less so in enabling learning
itself…’
The LMS was built for Administration, not Engagement 🐘

9. Emails are for Announcements, not Engagement 🐘

10. ‘I enter my space and it…
… has low barriers to communication’ 📱💻
… enables more active and blended approaches to learning’ $%
… reflects my passion for the subject’ &'()*
‘@Educators, what should your digital campus look like to
create the most engaging student experience?’

11. A communication platform replacing learning management
systems and emails

12. A communication platform replacing learning management
systems and emails

13. Case study: Ravensbourne - from Moodle to Aula
6 programmes with a total of 280 first year students

14. Case study: Ravensbourne - from Moodle to Aula
• 80 % of students said that Aula makes them feel part of a
community of staff and students.
• 85 % of students say that Aula helps them contact teachers for
advice and guidance when needed.
• 83 % course leaders say that Aula has made it easier for them to
connect with students and to encourage the students to engage
with the content of the course.
• Even split between Mobile and Web.
6 programmes with a total of 280 first year students

15. Table from Jisc Digital Student Experience Tracker (2017 Pilot)

16. Case Study: Sky School
Challenges:
• Learning flexible enough to fit into
work, power outages, etc.
• Creating communities - within and
across camps
Results:
• 70 % retention
• 100 % of students would
recommend the course to a friend

17. Mikkel Lauritzen
Engagement Partner
+44 (0) 7923 581796
mikkel@aula.education

18. A Communication Platform Replacing Learning Management
Systems and Emails

19. • React/Redux web app and React Native/Redux mobile apps (similar to the latest
Facebook Groups apps).
• Electron desktop apps for Windows, Linux and Mac (similar to the team
communication platform Slack).
• Replicated NodeJS and AWS micro-service backend with Mongo and Redis
databases ensure that if one service fails, a replica automatically takes over
(similar to ride-sharing app Uber).
• Kibana analytics engine (similar to Linkedin and Netflix).
• Resilient, reliable and scalable: All services are automatically scaled to ensure
that the capacity always meets the demand (CPU/Memory/Network) and that the
platform is reliable regardless of the load.
The Technology

20. Appendix: Student Engagement evidence (literature)
• ‘A sound body of literature has established robust correlations
between student involvement in a subset of ‘educationally
purposive activities’, and positive outcomes of student success and
development, including satisfaction, persistence, academic
achievement and social engagement.’ (Trowler, 2010)
• ‘Institutions with good and improving NSS scores often have
initiatives that engage students as co-producers of
knowledge’ (Gibbs, 2012)
• student retention and success (Thomas, 2012)

21. Appendix: Student Engagement evidence (HEA and HEPI)
2018 Student Academic Experience
Survey (HEPI/Advance HE)
The UK Engagement Survey 2017 (HEA)