LMS Vendor Webinars

This Thursday kicks off our series of LMS Webinars.  All webinars will be held on Thursdays at 2 pm in B336, C124, or you can log in from your personal computer.  The schedule is as follows:

WebStudy                  March 31st
Desire2Learn             April 7th
Instructure Canvas     April 14th
It's Learning               April 21st*
Edvance360              April 28th
Sakai                         May 5th

Webinars are open to all members of the College community, but will focus on the instructional features of each LMS.

If you would like to participate by logging on from your personal computer, please contact Kathleen Berry at 508.588.9100 ext. 1650 or at onlinelearning@massasoit.mass.edu for webinar access information.


*Indicates a F2F visit by the vendor.

LMS Review Committee Reconvened

The LMS Review Committee originally convened in September 2010.  The committee was tasked with meeting biweekly throughout the Fall 2010 semester to review and evaluate LMSs.  Members spent hands-on time exploring Blackboard 9.1 and Moodle 1.9, completing evaluations of tools within each system.  The committee made a recommendation for the adoption of Blackboard 9.1 as the College endorsed Learning Management System for Fall 2011.  During the beginning of the Spring 2011, eleven faculty members began piloting Blackboard 9.1 in fully online, blended and face-2-face courses.   Given the limitations and bugs discovered through authentic use of the Blackboard 9.1 LMS, faculty involved in the pilot overwhelmingly agreed to disband the pilot.

The reconvened committee is tasked with beginning the LMS Review Process again.  The committee will meet regularly throughout the remainder of the Spring 2011 semester to review and evaluate LMSs.  Members will spend time exploring and evaluating LMS options.   Additionally, members will serve as liaisons to respective divisions, sharing the process and gathering input about the process.  The goal of the committee is to make a recommendation for an LMS to be piloted during the Fall 2011 semester, with the intent that the piloted LMS will become the College endorsed LMS beginning Summer 2012.

The committee  has begun a review of:

Desire2Learn

Edvance360

Instructure Canvas

It's Learning

Moodle 2

Sakai

WebStudy

Webinars featuring the teaching and learning tools of each LMS will be scheduled in the coming month and will be open to the College community.