Behind the unassuming name ‘data collection’ lies one of the most comprehensive ILIAS tools. The collection offers an impressive range of possibilities, especially when it comes to clearly presenting a large amount of data records. List and individual views – similar to those found in online shops – allow users to quickly find their way around even without prior knowledge. They can filter existing entries according to their needs, make new entries and evaluate them with the help of form fields, or leave star ratings for others.

How does it work?

• After clicking on the ‘Add New Item’ button, select the data collection (screenshot 1).
• In the next step, assign a name and save by clicking on the ‘Create data collection’ button.
• The ‘Tables’ tab appears with a pre-created table with the same name as the data collection. (If your data collection is to consist of several tables, these can also be created here).
• Now select ‘Fields’ via the “Actions” button to fill the table with content. A preconfigured, non-editable (but later ‘invisible’ to users) list of fields appears, to which you can now add more. Screenshot 2 illustrates the possible field types:

• The fields have now been created, but there are no entries yet (the page in the Content tab is empty except your field names as headers). Use the ‘Add New Entry’ button. Your previously configured fields will now appear in a form view (screenshot 3).
• Once all fields have been filled in, save. Your first entry will now appear in the ‘Content’ tab.
• If you want the data collection to be filled in collaboratively, you can enable this for your course members via the table settings and configure it individually (e.g. only allow editing of own entries, prevent deletion of entries, etc.). To do this, switch back to the ‘Tables’ tab and select ‘Settings’ under ‘Actions’ (note that the term “Settings” exists at both the data collection and table levels). Do not forget to put the data collection online (tab ‘Settings’) so that it is visible to your users.

Congratulations, you have now created a data collection in its simplest form! What it cannot yet do (and would go beyond the scope of this article, so you will find a PDF below this article with more comprehensive instructions on the options listed below):

How can the data collection be used?

Learner-centred and task-oriented, data collections in the teaching and learning context can serve the collaborative and reusable development of knowledge bases. The option to import Excel files means that existing offline collections can also be continued in this way. The highly customisable rights management system allows for broad, data protection-compliant use not only in teaching, but also in administration, research teams and citizen science projects.