It’s been a fantastic journey for itslearning and it all began with a group of students at Bergen University College in Norway asking themselves one very simple question: Why were digital tools rarely being used to teach at their school?
They didn’t just ask the question. They also figured out a solution and built a learning management system. A single site where teachers could share educational resources and files, and students could complete and hand-in assignments. It was a hit.
And so, it:solutions was born in Bergen, Norway in 1999 and Sven Bakke (who is still with us) was Employee No 1. The initial team worked tirelessly, clocking 16-20 hour days to get the product off the ground. They were young and hungry. In just one year, it:solutions became THE top learning management system provider in Norway.
We’ve changed our name to itslearning and come a long way since then. We remain the Number 1 LMS choice in Norway. AND, we are now the world’s largest commercial provider of learning management systems exclusively focused on the education sector. The itslearning platform is being used by millions of users around the world. You can read all about our milestones in the press release.
Our core belief is that we can harness and use technology to improve education. We have never wavered from that mission. Education is at the heart of everything we do.
This means going out there, talking to teachers and students – the end users of the itslearning product. Our developers, UX researchers and pedagogical consultants are always out there – gathering feedback, tweaking and improving itslearning. This is a living platform that constantly changes and adapts to give teachers tools to manage and elevate learning. But, it’s not often easy getting the right feedback and UX researcher Øyvind Hjartnes has more on that here. At a university level, we also tell students what a great company itslearning is and encourage them to join us, because we want to hire the best talent out there.
There’s also some exciting developments on the Fronter side of the business. Fronter was acquired by itslearning in 2015. Since then, the product has undergone several upgrades to get it up to speed with the other learning management systems in the market.
Late last year, we embarked on what was to be the most extensive upgrade for Fronter yet. A dedicated team was tasked with bringing Fronter closer to itslearning, to have the functionalities and features that itslearning has.
And, they have delivered. We’re calling this version Fronter 19.
The upgraded platform will be available to users on April 4. It is fully mobile, with a modern user interface and is GDPR compliant among other things. I can’t say too much more here before the big reveal so join us for the Fronter User Webinar on April 24 to get the full picture.
Arne Bergby
CEO, itslearning
