MIGRATING TO MOODLE. Candy M. Center, Dean, Academic and Student Affairs, Science, Technology, Math and Business September 21, 2010

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1 MIGRATING TO MOODLE Candy M. Center, Dean, Academic and Student Affairs, Science, Technology, Math and Business September 21, 2010

2 SO, HOW DID WE GET HERE? What is working? What isn t working? What do we do well? What should we change?

3 Redefining Distance Learning: An Informal Brainstorming Session October 22, 2008 How do we move forward from here? Use of faculty mentors to support faculty Include adjunct faculty, possibly with monthly meetings Leverage existing technology Provide professional development opportunities Conversations with faculty and staff Fall 2008 through Spring 2009 Cyber Klatch Sessions

4 Learning Management System Survey March 2009 What tools/features would you like in an LMS to support your pedagogical and instructional goals? 10 Survey responses College wide discussion via all college Stable LMS environment All the tools we currently have and then more Capability to use audio and video to support online, hybrid and face to face classes NO CHANGE!

5 CHANGE IS COMING You mean our vendor is not maintaining our current version of Blackboard???

6 STATUS OF BB 7.3: VENDOR PERSPECTIVE As of fall 2009, no new product enhancements for Bb version 7.3 Bb version 7.3 will not be supported by vendor after 2011 Clients using version 7x and 8x strongly encouraged to move to version 9

7 Existing Bb clients are being strongly encouraged to migrate to Bb version 9 New version includes license fee increase Annual projected license fee increases % Enterprise version includes additional cost Customized features approximately $20K per feature Vendor has acquired two largest competitors WebCT and Angel

8 EXAMPLES FROM THE ACADEMIC COMMUNITY What are other institutions doing to ensure quality student learning and support while managing steadily increasing LMS costs?

9 OPEN SOURCE COLLABORATIVE: MOODLE ASSESSMENT REPORT (NORTH CAROLINA COMMUNITY COLLEGES) The end-of-term student and instructor surveys showed that Blackboard and Moodle are not that different. The real difference is found in student perception of their teachers comfort level with the application. Functionality comparison by online administrators (application and network) and online instructors indicated that Moodle 1.9x has a higher perceived functionality than any version of Blackboard evaluated. The large number of did not use responses suggested that neither platform was utilized to full capacity. Case studies of four exclusively Moodle institutions indicated that while indicated that while transition to Moodle was challenging, ultimately the case study students and faculty preferred Moodle over Blackboard.

10 AN LMS BY ANY OTHER NAME (PITT COMMUNITY COLLEGE COMPARISON OF BLACKBOARD AND MOODLE) OCTOBER 2008 Blackboard to Moodle Reference Sheet Overall feedback positive (love it once started) Moodle is a mind shift; some faculty handle change better than others Conversion process difficult, but once completed most faculty and students are satisfied Works best for faculty who use discussion, chat, group work

11 2009 FINAL REPORT AND RECOMMENDATION: REPORT FROM LMS EVALUATION COMMITTEE (UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA) We can transition to Moodle, or we can negotiate a new contract with Blackboard and migrate to the product they offer. The evidence gathered by this committee strongly favors a transition to Moodle on both pedagogical and financial grounds. Moodle provides better or comparable functionality with the benefit of increased relevance and control for what in the long run will be lower cost.

12 WHAT DO OUR STUDENTS HAVE TO SAY ABOUT MOODLE? Summary of Moodle survey: BIO201 Summer 2009 Professor Hemant Chikarmane

13 #1. DO YOU LIKE USING MOODLE TO ACCESS YOUR COURSE CONTENT #2. IF YOU HAVE USED BB IN OTHER COURSES, HOW DOES MOODLE COMPARE WITH USABILITY, SPEED, Very much 26 Better 18 About the same 2 Worse 0 Never used BB 4 No response 1 Students on Q1 about liking Moodle to access content Yes 14. also said on Q2 that Moodle Better 4 was About the same 10 Worse 0 Never used BB 1 No response 0 So-so 1 About the same 1

14 GIVEN LIMITED FISCAL RESOURCES.. How do we provide features and functionality faculty want with our current resources?

15 OPTION #1 Upgrade to Blackboard 9 Significant change from look and feel of current Bb version (blended product) Increased cost approximately $36K - $52K No additional resources for faculty support Continued increased annual projected expenses

16 OPTION #2 Use stimulus funds to purchase Moodle server and conversion resources for faculty Server hardware, software and integration modules Consultant resources to convert existing Bb content to Moodle (approximately $200 - $500 per course) Savings once transition completed will enable saved funds to be dedicated to support faculty and staff professional development and support

17 MOODLE MIGRATION Is There a Yellow Brick Road? How will we make this move?

18 MIGRATION TIMELINE Pilot use of Moodle by faculty and students Summer 2009; Fall 2009; Spring 2010 Communication with College community Spring present Learning Management System Faculty and Staff Survey Spring 2010 Course conversion process Summer 2010 Fall 2010 (for Spring 2011 and Summer 2011) Implementation of Moodle Fall 2010

19 LMS SURVEY RESULTS 100 Respondents 80 Faculty Requested Moodle Professional Development Opportunities 35 Faculty Requested Assistance with Course Conversion for: 67 courses 37/67 are online or hybrid courses

20 COURSE CONVERSION PROCESS Project Management Timeline and Action Item Matrix Review of course space and development of action plan for specific course Conversion of course content Conversion of audio/video content Faculty review of course space Additional revisions/edits Average conversion time = 6 hours Range = 4 hours 13 hours Total conversion hours = 350

21 MIGRATION ROI During Times of Fiscal Crisis Does It Make Sense to Migrate?

22 MIGRATION COSTS FY (AS OF 9/21/2010)

23 MIGRATION COSTS -- DETAIL Vendor Hosting Remote Learner Training Ongoing professional development expense to maintain currency in open source environment Course Conversion One time expense Vendor will provide spring 2011 conversions at no cost Clerical support FY 11 expense

24 MIGRATION TEAM Hemant Chikarmane, Professor Lead and Online Faculty Mentor Adam Farrell, Media Production Services Mgr. Audio/video conversions Cathy Fraser, Administrative Assistant Help Desk Support (Faculty and Student) Dan Gallagher, CIO Liaison with IT Team and Technical Consultant Candy Center, Dean Project Manager

25 FACULTY, STAFF AND STUDENT SUPPORT Online Faculty Mentors William Berry Hemant Chikarmane Joy Haagsma Learning with Lunch Workshop Series Help Desk Support (usernames & passwords) MoodleFacultyHelp and MoodleStudentHelp accounts

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