Introduction

This study summarizes results from the first stage of a design-based research on next-generation virtual learning environments. Our previous reseach on virtual learning environments resulted with development of IVA Learning Management System, which has been used in more than 20 educational institutions in Estonia with more than 25 000 students since 2003. The mainstream Web user experience has been changed significantly with the advent of Web 2.0, one cannot expect that online learning environments will stay the same as thay have been during the last decade: closed, rigid, monolithic, with minimal permissions granted for learners. For instance, the architecture and core affordances of Moodle LMS have not changed significantly during the last 12 years, although hundreds of additional modules have been developed by the open-source community. Many educators have abandoned closed LMS and started to use blogs as open and personal learning environment. Yet, the blogs are not designed for learning and they have some drawbacks. For instance, teacher's workload increases as she has to go through several student blogs to keep track on learning process. From the perspective of the school/university, blog-based personal learning environments are difficult to monitor and analyse, institutional policies and corporate visual identity cannot be enforced on personal blogs. 

The main goal of our design-based research project was to find a way for combining strengths of both types of learning tools: institutional Learning Management Systems and blog-based Personal Learning Environments. Our study resulted with a prototype of the next-generation Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) called Dippler: Digital Portfolio-based Personal Learning Environment.  

Theoretical framework

Our theoretical framework is based on pedagogy-driven approach to design of virtual learning environments (Laanpere, Pata, Tomberg, 2009). In our previous papers we have argued against pedagogical neutrality of virtual learning environments and demonstrated how design decisions concerning new learning tools can be made coherent with learning theories. Three pillars of pedagogy-driven design of VLE were identified as follows (Laanpere, Põldoja, Kikkas, 2005):

1) the use of pedagogically rooted vocabulary in the user interface of VLE,

2) pedagogically motivated structure and design of the user interface,

3) built-in activity templates that are drawn from certain pedagogical approaches, techniques, or methods, e.g. Progressive Inquiry (Hakkarainen 2003) or Six Thinking Hats (de Bono 1985).

We agree that instead of being pedagogically neutral, VLE should promote contemporary learning theories like self-directed learning (Hiemstra 1994) and task-centered instructional design (Merrill, 2007; Merrienboer et al 2002).

VLE Dippler has been designed and developed in accordance with above mentioned principles and theoretical frameworks. Dippler is a distributed digital ecosystem, which contains three core components: 

- central BackOffice Service, which stores all resources, user data and actions taking place in Dippler ecosystem

- institutional Dippler environment, where courses are created, participants enrolled, assignments published, student submissions collected and evaluated, learning analytics conducted

- personal learning blog (Wordpess with special Dippler plugin), where learners plan, document and share their learning activities. 

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