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Blackboard replacement - an open letter to faculty

Thursday, September 17, 2009

Dear faculty member,

As many of you have heard, Calvin is planning a move from KnightVision (Blackboard) to a new learning management system (LMS) by fall semester 2010.

Our history with Blackboard. In 1997/1998 Calvin was one of the first 40 colleges to begin using Blackboard’s new course management system (CMS). Eleven years later there is a whole industry of technology for teaching and learning (now generally referred to as LMS or learning management systems) and Blackboard is the most widely used system in the industry. At Calvin Blackboard has become an important instructional resource.

But times change. The LMS industry is growing and, while Blackboard is a market leader, there are other viable learning management systems available. Currently there is a great deal of volatility in the commercial learning management industry: Blackboard has expanded by buying out many companies including their two largest competitors, WebCT in 2005 and Angel Learning in 2009. Blackboard has also grown more complex and more costly to sustain. This year at Calvin we have been asked to make budget cuts wherever possible and replacing Blackboard was the most commonly suggested IT-related item by members of the Calvin community. CIT leadership proposed moving from Blackboard to a less expensive open source alternative and both the Cabinet and Planning and Priorities Committee have endorsed that recommendation.

Looking ahead. A trend is taking shape in higher education with many colleges successfully moving from a commercial to an open source LMS with very similar functionality. Open source software is not commercially owned but instead is held within a consortium of contributors. Those contributors, not shareholders or commercial interests, drive the product development in open source software and the software has no licensing fees. There are costs associated with using an open source LMS, but total cost of ownership is significantly lower.

Where are we now. CIT has opened a project to select an open source LMS for Calvin’s faculty and students.  The project is being led by Matt Jeltema from CIT. Currently we are discussing how to proceed, gathering colleagues who are interested in being part of this project, and talking with others who have made the switch.

The project. The schedule for the project is aggressive. We have been asked to have an open source solution ready by June 30th, 2010 and, in order to reach that goal, we will run a pilot group in Interim and early adopters beginning spring 2010. All others will be converted in early summer. We have narrowed the selection process down to two open source solutions: Moodle and Sakai … and there are early indications that Moodle will be the best choice for Calvin. The new LMS will provide many of the same tools that are available today in Blackboard, and CIT will help faculty in moving materials from Blackboard to the new system. The project is just getting started and much more information will become available as we move along. Your feedback and involvement in this effort is welcome.  Initial comments and questions can be addressed to: Dawn Bush, Director of Academic Technology Services.

Tell us what you think.  Our first step is to better understand which features you use in Blackboard and requirements for a new LMS. Look for a survey coming soon.