Instructional Technology
Conference 2007
Title: WebCT to Moodle: A Smooth Transition
Name: Michael N. Gibson, Brian Carlisle
Audience Level: all
Audience: college administrators, faculty, and instructional technology specialists
Length: 1 hour
Abstract:
Open-source learning management systems are a viable alternative to commercial learning management system products. Moodle, Sakai, and other open-source projects offer institutions of higher education an opportunity not only to save money, but also to be active participants in the development of innovative new features. This presentation will describe American Sentinel University's successful transition from WebCT Campus Edition™ to the Moodle open-source learning management system and examine the issues currently surrounding open-source learning management systems.
Description:
Institutions of higher education are facing increasing pressure to offer a quality education to their students at a reasonable price. At the same time, these institutions are also expected to incorporate the latest technologies into their operations. How can an institution do both? Part of the solution is to adopt quality open-source software instead of expensive commercial software. Initially, organizations were skeptical about the quality and reliability of open-source software, but today there is a growing recognition that some open-source projects offer software that is as good as, or better than, its commercial counterparts and that is far less costly.
This presentation will focus on American Sentinel University's conversion from WebCT Campus Edition™ to an open-source learning management system called Moodle. American Sentinel University is an entirely online college with headquarters in Denver, Colorado and additional administrative offices in Birmingham, Alabama. As part of a complete review of its IT systems, American Sentinel University determined that it was no longer cost effective to continue using WebCT Campus Edition™. This decision was made even easier when Blackboard's acquisition of WebCT was announced, leaving an air of uncertainty surrounding the future of the WebCT product line.
A review of alternative learning management systems revealed that open-source learning management systems had achieved a significant position in the marketplace and were now a viable alternative to commercial products. Moodle was officially chosen as the best fit for American Sentinel University in April 2006 with an anticipated "go live" date for students of July 3, 2006.
Designing a course template and creating a prototype course for review by faculty took up most of May. During the month of June, our IT staff outsourced the conversion of the existing course content from the WebCT template to the new Moodle template. Moodle launched as planned on July 3 rd and has been a great success. Students are very happy with the responsiveness of Moodle and the new features that it offers.
From a technical standpoint, the active Moodle user community has been a great source of information and upgrades. For example, American Sentinel University found that the default assignment tool in Moodle 1.5 allowed students to upload a file to be graded, but limited professors to selecting a grade and entering comments in a text field. A quick search of the modules and plug-ins created by the user community revealed an improved assignment tool that also allowed professors the ability to upload a graded assignment file. Downloading and installing the new assignment tool on the Moodle server was easy and greatly improved our faculty's ability to provide students detailed feedback on their graded work.
By converting to Moodle, American Sentinel University now has a more economical, flexible and responsive learning management system. American Sentinel University was recently able to reduce its tuition because of the changes that it has undertaken in its IT systems and administrative processes.
Session Type: Lecture/Presentation
Contact information/affiliation:
Michael N. Gibson
Chair, Information Systems Department
American Sentinel University
2101 Magnolia Avenue South
Suite 200
Birmingham, AL 35205
205-323-6191
michael.gibson@americansentinel.edu
Brian Carlisle
Vice President of Information Technology
American Sentinel University
2101 Magnolia Avenue South
Suite 200
Birmingham, AL 35205
205-323-6191
brian.carlisle@americansentinel.edu