Say goodbye to WebCT
In December 2012, Blackboard Inc., the company that delivers the WebCT learning management system (LMS), will stop supporting it. The platform will still work, and SFU will continue to provide internal support for courses built in WebCT, but Blackboard's decision has prompted the university to start considering what technologies it will use to support teaching and learning after that date.
A platform for unleashing our imaginations
The choice of a new platform will involve technical considerations, but above all it will be about creating an environment that allows the SFU community – including instructors, students, and staff – to develop imaginative and effective new approaches to teaching and learning. The starting point for this initiative is an SFU-wide consultation process to ensure that everyone with an interest in the decision can contribute thoughts and comments. The end point will depend on what we hear. The solution might be another learning management system, but it could also be a range or combination of systems and technologies.
Project news
Check this page for regular updates about the WebCT Replacement Project.
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April 25, 2012
LMS@SFU: Find out what the needs assessment report says -
January 14, 2012
Donald Mok joins the project team -
October 20, 2011
Project team meeting regularly -
February 17, 2012
WebCT consultations are almost complete -
February 17, 2012
New Stakeholder Committee will focus on operational decision-making -
February 09, 2012
Five students are $150 richer -
February 09, 2012
Astonishingly high response to student survey -
January 30, 2012
Last call for WebCT student survey -
January 23, 2012
Five cash prizes of $150 -
January 23, 2012
More than 4,600 survey responses so far -
January 10, 2012
WebCT Replacement Project adds a Facebook page -
January 10, 2012
Survey will go to all SFU students -
January 10, 2012
January will be about focus groups and forums -
January 09, 2012
UBC visit provided a chance to share experiences -
January 09, 2012
Alan Doree joins the project team -
January 09, 2012
Numbers tell the story -
January 09, 2012
Library and bookstore will share perspectives -
January 09, 2012
Share your thoughts -
January 01, 2011
Strong interest in WebCT Replacement Project -
October 21, 2011
A blueprint for engaging students -
October 20, 2011
LMS replacement processes at other universities -
October 20, 2011
"Needs and visions" will drive LMS choice -
October 20, 2011
Discussions about the consultation process
Based on past experience as a student and a curriculum designer of an online program called the Aboriginal Health Care Administrator Program when it first started and then Aboriginal Health Community Administration Program through UBC Continuing Studies. What we developed there was a mixed mode delivery method:
1. At the beginning of each course the class met the instructor and their colleagues. They were given course instruction.
2. Online learning through the internet - 50% of the each course
So my suggestion is for mixed mode, if at all possible, as this human contact created a community learning cohort that resulted in peer/colleague support and high rate of completion 95+% completion