Overview of traditional learning platforms:

Existing learning platforms are based on course-related linear teaching methods. Their conceptual approaches emphasise learning units, a relic from secondary education. For example, traditional platforms widely feature "learning objects" and "learning offerings". Some platforms offer "teaching tools", which make subject units available online, supervised by teaching staff. Current basic collaboration-tools enable students to work in groups or jointly access study materials; however, these approaches are essentially static, in that they force students to adapt to a pre-defined sequence of study materials.

New approach:

The approach on which VCH-IAEM is based explores new perspectives. Instead of secondary education principles, those used in tertiary education are favoured: knowledge acquisition becomes a topic of individual research activity. In a sense, the VCH-IAEM is a continuation of the university library system - it distinctly offers a more concentrated form of knowledge acquisition. Such a mode of study not only has a positive effect on individual's autonomous research abilities, but also engenders personal expertise, promoting the development of specialists in hitherto unknown fields of knowledge.

Particularly as far as Universities of the Arts are concerned, the proposed approach is crucial. Here, developing individuality according to personal qualification and character is a primary task: only in this way can a wideranging knowledge and cultural level be ascertained for the future. It must be explicitly stated, that the present project is not solely oriented on professional education, but aims to raise western intellectual standards - a crucial premise for innovative developments.

Additionally, this tool is intended to support the creation of interest groups, so that visionary tendencies at Universities of the Arts can be shared with a broader community, and become areas of future specialisation.

Incentives:

The main motivation is the encouragement of passion. Traditional libraries already go beyond simple information retrieval. Libraries are known to incite intensity of study: a passion for books. Actually, book lovers derive their satisfaction from content and its presentation. Passion for learning as a principle is therefore to become the most important incentive. New ideas await intuition, if one delves in books.

Content and communication:

In place of books, the present project concerns works of art (that is, works of music). Research activities at universities target new insights as outcomes from research projects. Similarly, works of art represent the equivalent of research projects at universities of art. Arising from an artistic core, tools can emerge, to be used in new media (making their mark on e-learning). A desirable outcome here, is the facilitation of content integration within flexible systems.

The forming of communities of interest is an important aspect - to arise from common topics of interest during research activities, as well as being specifically incited by educators.

From this angle, works of art become learning objects. An archive of compositions therefore becomes a database of learning objects. Networked accordingly, these can form a learning period. The sequence in which these learning objects occur parallels a path in the database, resulting in an entire course.