FAQs for everyone
Why change Learning Management System?
- Why are we moving to a different Learning Management System?
- But hasn't OLT served QUT very well up until now?
- But isn't it much more expensive to adopt a commercial system than looking after our own in-house developed system?
- Why can't we re-develop OLT?
- What was the process for determining what LMS we will use?
- Why don't we adopt an Open Source Learning Management System?
The new Learning Management System
- What is the new Learning Management System?
- What new features can I expect in the new system?
- When will the new system be implemented?
FAQs for staff
Migration and implementation
- When will I be able to access the new system and explore its features?
- Who will move all the content from OLT to the new Learning Management System, and how will this happen?
- What will I have to do?
- What support will I get?
- When will all this impact on me?
Training
- What training opportunities will be available to me?
- Can I request specific training?
- Are there any additional resources I can use?
- What about my students?
FAQs for students
- When will I get access to the new system?
- What new student tools will the new system have?
- Will the new system have all the features I value in OLT?
- Is the new system difficult to use?
- What support and traininng will I get?
FAQs for everyone
Why change Learning Managment System?
Q1: Why are we moving to a different Learning Management System?
A1: OLT has served QUT well for many years, and a conscious decision was made year after year to stay with a home-grown LMS as there were no viable alternatives on the market or in the open source arena that warranted a change. The LMS market has now reached consolidation with the merger of its biggest players (WebCT and Blackboard) in early 2006, and maturity in terms of its functionality.
The detailed evaluation of Blackboard has shown that is has increased functionality compared to OLT in several areas, especially in terms of communication tools, quiz tools, student tracking, and content management.
In addition, the system is extensible and will allow us to develop, adopt and buy additional learning and teaching tools and applications that will plug easily into the system, thus allowing us to innovate at a much higher speed and lower cost than was possible with an in-house developed system.
Q2: But hasn't OLT served QUT very well up until now?
A2: Yes, OLT has served QUT well for the past 7 years or so. It is a good system and has many great features. The team who have built and maintained OLT have done an excellent job, and have put a lot of hard work into keeping the system going over many years.
However, as with most large systems, OLT has reached a point where the maintenance and further development of it is increasingly difficult and expensive. Whilst the options of redeveloping OLT or staying with the current system were seriously explored in the course of the OLT System Review, it was determined that these options would not be in the best interest of the university.
Q3: But isn’t it much more expensive to adopt a commercial system than looking after our own in-house developed system?
A3: No. The total cost of ownership calculations have clearly shown that over five years, it is actually less expensive to operate a commercial system than to maintain and keep developing our own system. Even with the costs of migration from OLT to Blackboard, it is still less expensive to change now rather than to keep going with a home-grown system.
Q4: Why can’t we re-develop OLT?
A4: A redevelopment of OLT was considered as one of the options in the course of the OLT System Review, but was not seen as a viable option by any of the advisory groups and the OLT Steering Committee. A redevelopment of OLT would not solve issues such as increasing costs for system maintenance and improvement, and the loss of opportunities to collaborate with others in the development of content and tools. The external feedback on OLT did not indicate that there would be sufficient interest in OLT as an open source product to warrant the investment a redevelopment would require.
Q5: What was the process for determining what LMS we will use?
A5: The OLT System Review was the process for determining what LMS QUT should use. It took place from September 2005 – May 2006 and resulted in the recommendation to adopt the Blackboard Academic Suite as QUT’s Learning Management System. The OLT System Review included a number of activities such as
- An environmental scan and establishment of a ‘long’ shortlist of possible alternatives to OLT
- QUT internal consultation with staff and students regarding their LMS requirements
- The establishment of evaluation criteria to assess the alternatives in comparison with OLT
- The evaluation of the products on the ‘long’ shortlist and creation of a shortlist consisting of the following products: Moodle, Blackboard, Desire2Learn
- A detailed evaluation of these three Learning Management Systems in comparison to OLT, including hands-on user testing, presentations, systematic evaluation of teaching & learning, technical, and business aspects, the analysis of Total Cost of Ownership, etc.
Throughout the process, an Academic Advisory Group and a Technical Advisory Group provided valuable input.
If you would like to find out more about the review and the reports, please go to http://olt.qut.edu.au/udf/oltreview.
Q6: Why don’t we adopt an Open Source Learning Management System?
A6: Open source products were considered very seriously in the review process. The ‘long’ shortlist included a number of open source systems (Illias, .lrn, ATutor, Moodle, and Sakai), and Moodle was on the final shortlist. Sakai was also considered in detail. Illias, .lrn and ATutor were ruled out in the first round of evaluation due to a lack of functionality required. For both Moodle and Sakai, the detailed evaluation revealed that whilst they have much potential, they do not currently live up to QUT’s requirements with regards to the functionality they provide, and their track record as enterprise wide systems.
The new Learning Management System
Q7: What is the new Learning Management System?
A7: The new Learning Management System is an application called Blackboard Academic Suite. The company behind it, Blackboard, has been around for a number of years now, and is one of the world leaders in the LMS market. You can check out the company’s website at http://www.blackboard.com
Q8: What new features can I expect in the new system?
A8: New and improved features include:
- “What’s new” functionality on the entrance page so students can see for each of their units if there has been a change/addition to the unit content, new messages, new notices, etc. each time they log on
- Improved discussion forum with increased functionality (e.g. you will see what messages you have read / haven’t read, you can have several trees under one message, you can expand messages and print them, or collapse them to get an overview, etc.)
- “Virtual Classroom”, a text chat combined with whiteboard, shared browser, and other functionality
- Improved quiz tool with 20 different question types, ability to create and re-use question banks, and different options for providing feedback on right and wrong answers
- Content management functionality such as “copy” and “move” content, upload zipped files & unzip
- Release content under certain conditions such as time, group membership, passing of a quiz, or other content reviewed previously
- Assignment submission functionality, also with feedback option and bulk-download option for teachers
- E-mail function integrated with existing QUT e-mail system that creates a unit mailing list automatically upon enrolment
- Detailed unit statistics allowing for tracking of user activities
… and many others.
The new system also has a program called “Building Blocks” which will allow QUT to choose additional tools (open source, shareware, commercial) that have been developed by others and integrate them with the LMS. A list of Building Blocks available can be found at http://www.blackboard.com/extend/b2/
Q9: When will the new system be implemented?
A9: An implementation plan is currently being developed, and will be refined over the next few weeks in consultation with the faculties. The Faculty of Health and IT are now live on the Blackboard system for Semester 1, 2007, and that a university wide roll-out of the new system will occur in Semester 2, 2007, with full migration of all unit websites from OLT to the new system by the end of 2007.
The implementation will be conducted in close consultation with the faculties, and you will be notified well in advance about how and when the system implementation will affect you and your students.
FAQs for staff
Implementation and Migration
Q10: When will I be able to access the new system and explore its features?
A10: The system is now live and you can access the site on http://blackboard.qut.edu.au Currently the only units on the system are the Faculty of IT and Health for semester 1 2007. Semester 2 2007 will have all remaining faculties and their units on the Blackboard system.
Back to "FAQs for academic staff "
Q11: Who will move all the content from OLT to the new Learning Management System, and how will this happen?
A11: T he implementation team will move all existing and active unit websites from OLT to the new Learning Management System. Depending on the design of the unit website, there are different ways of migrating them to the new system:
There are many sites (about 60% of all sites) that only contain content and links and can be moved automatically with a migration tool. If your sites are of this type, all you will need to do is check that you are happy with your new unit at the end of the migration exercise, and update it for the new semester as you would with your OLT unit website.
Then there are sites that use tools such as discussion forums etc. which are available in both systems. If your site is of that type, you will be asked to make some choices about what you would like to have in your new site (e.g. you may want to maintain the questions in a forum but not necessarily all student postings from the previous semester). You will be contacted before your unit is migrated to let the implementation team know what you want to be migrated and how. After the migration is complete, all you have to do is check that you are happy with your site and update it for the new semester as you would with your OLT unit website.
The third category are unit websites that have been designed using OLT specific features that are not available in the new system in the same form. In this case, the implementation team will work closely with you to redesign your site so the original learning design is translated into the new system. Depending on the intricacy of the design, this may require you to participate more closely in the redesign process. We will scope each unit redesign with you and try to fit in with your availability as best as possible.
Back to "FAQs for academic staff "
A12: As a staff member, you have an important role to play in the implementation of the new system. You and your students are the end users of the system, and it needs to support what you try to achieve to help your students reach their learning objectives.
However, this does not mean that you will have to spend an inordinate amount of time in the implementation. What we ask you to do is
- Make an effort to be engaged. The implementation team will be discussing with the faculties the best migration and training strategies for you, so provide us with your input.
- Familiarise yourself with the new system. Nothing will help you cope with the change quicker than getting to know the new system. There will be many opportunities for you to participate in presentations, training events, and explorative activities. You will be able to access a sand-pit soon after the start of the implementation project.
- Participate in the migration effort. You will be asked to spend some time either checking that your unit is the way you want it to be, or deciding on the best way to redesign your unit if we need to do so.
- Keep an open mind. The LMS implementation project is a very large project, and – as will any major change - there will be issues and problems, but we will work hard to achieve a great outcome for QUT. We ask you to give us feedback on your satisfaction with our work, but also to be patient while we work through any issues or teething problems that may occur.
Back to "FAQs for academic staff "
A13: The implementation team are committed to supporting you throughout this major change. We understand that this is only one of several changes occurring within similar timeframes, and we know it has a very high impact on you.
The following support mechanisms will be provided:
- Migration support: As much as possible, all migration of unit websites from OLT to the new system will be carried out by the implementation team.
- Training and development: A training and development plan to introduce the new system will be established for each faculty to ensure that we fit in with your requirements. We understand that time is of the essence, and we will provide self-help resources in addition to face-to-face training for you to use in your own time. Alternative training mechanisms will include drop-in sessions and a travelling trainer service at certain times throughout the implementation.
- Clear implementation timelines: In consultation with your faculty, clear timelines will be established well in advance that will help you plan for when you need to engage in the migration and implementation process.
- Training for your students: The implementation team will offer a number of options to support your students in getting used to the new system.
Back to "FAQs for academic staff "
Q14: When will all this impact on me?
A14: That depends on your faculty. The Faculty of Health and IT have been part of the phase 1 to go live for semester 1 2007. All other faculties that is not part of phase 1, will be part of the roll-out in Semester 2, 2007. The following rough timetable will give you an overview of when you are likely to be involved in the process:
Staff in Phase 1 faculties teaching Semester 1 units
Timeframe |
Activity |
Your involvement |
November 06 – February 07 |
Unit site migration for pilot faculties |
Check you are happy with your unit sites in the new system when migration is completed. |
November 06 – February 07 |
Training for phase 1 faculties |
Participate in training activities to familiarise yourself with the new system. |
March 07 |
Go-live in phase 1 faculties |
Start teaching with the new system |
All staff teaching Semester 2 units
Timeframe |
Activity |
Your involvement |
March – June 07 |
Unit site migration for all Sem 2 2007 units |
Check you are happy with your unit sites in the new system when migration is completed. |
April – July 2006, then ongoing |
Training for all faculties |
Participate in training activities to familiarise yourself with the new system. |
July 07 |
Go-live QUT wide |
All Semester 2 units are in the new system |
All staff teaching Semester 1 units who were NOT part of phase 1 or 2
Timeframe |
Activity |
Your involvement |
August – December 07 |
Unit site migration for all Summer Semester and Sem 1 2008 units |
Check you are happy with your unit sites in the new system when migration is completed. |
Ongoing |
Training for all faculties |
Participate in training activities to familiarise yourself with the new system. |
January 08 |
|
All units are in the new system |
Back to "FAQs for academic staff "
Training
Q15: What training opportunities will be available to me?
A15: You will be offered a number of training activities and resources to suit your individual needs. It is often useful to attend a training session to get a first introduction to the system. There will, however, also be more flexible options such as online and print resources, drop-in sessions, and a travelling trainer service.
The implementation team will work closely with faculties and schools to plan for and design customised training options in order to meet your requirements. A detailed training plan will be part of the project planning.
Q16: Can I request specific training?
A16: Yes. If you would like to have a session organised for a school or for another group (eg. a teaching team for one particular course), you can request customised training. There will be a minimum number of participants. If you require personal assistance, there are options such as drop-in sessions or a travelling trainer session.
Back to "FAQs for academic staff "
Q17: Are there any additional resources I can use?
A17: The implementation team will work hard to develop useful and user friendly training resources to help you get to know the new system. They will include online and print materials, as well as good practice examples, etc.
You are encouraged, however, to attend some form of face-to-face training.
A18: From experience, many students pick up the use of new systems very easily. However, we understand that our student population includes students who do not have highly developed IT skills and may need more intensive support.
The implementation team will develop online and print resources for students, and there will be presentations for students to show them the new system at the beginning of semester. Drop-in sessions will be available for students who need additional support at each campus.
Back to "FAQs for academic staff "
FAQs for students
Q19: When will I get access to the new system?
A19: You will get access to the new system when your faculty has been migrated. If you study with the Faculy of Health or IT these units are now on the Blackboard system, and if you are enrolled in these units you should have access to these units now. If you are not part of these faculties, you will get access shorlty before Semester 2, 2007. You will be informed well in advance of any changes, and training resources and activities will be available.
Q20:What student tools will the new system have?
A20: The new system has a number of student tools that you will find useful. They include:
- “What’s new” functionality on the entrance page so you can see for each of your units if there has been a change/addition to the unit content, new messages, new notices, etc. each time you log on.
- Easier navigation through a consistent left hand navigation bar
- Improved discussion forum with increased functionality (e.g. you will see what messages you have read / haven’t read, you can have several trees under one message, you can expand messages and print them, or collaps them to get an overview, etc.)
- “Virtual Classroom”, a text chat combined with whiteboard, shared browser, and other functionality
- A calendar for unit events but also for your personal entries
- The ability to manage tasks for both unit related and personal tasks
- Improved feedback options for quizzes and assignments
... and many more.
There are also a number of tools we are currently investigating that may be added to increase functionality for students further.
Q21:Will the new system have all the features I value in OLT?
A21: The new system will have a different look and feel, and you will find that many of the tools that you know from OLT are available in a very similar form (e.g. discussion forum, chat, CMD links, etc.). There are, however, a few tools that are not available in the same form as they exist in OLT. The implementation team is investigating the use of OLT specific tools, and we will redevelop several tools to ensure we do not lose valued functionality.
Q22:Is the new system difficult to use?
A22: One of the main criteria when evaluating the new system was ease of use for staff and students. The new system is quite easy to use, and it won't take you long to find your way around it. It also rated very highly in our accessibility testing for vision impaired students. Whilst we do not expect that you will need a lot of training to use the system, training resources and activities will be available for you before and at the beginning of semester to ensure you have plenty of time and support to get used to the new system.
Q23:What support and training will I get?
A23: The IT helpdesk will be fully trained to ensure they can help you with any technical questions about how to use the system if you come across any difficulties. We will also be running presentations of the system at the beginning of semester to give you the opportunity to come along, have a look and ask any questions you may have. Some academic staff may show you the system in their lectures, or ask a member of the implementation team to come along and show you how to use it. In addition to that, there will be self-help resources available for you to use in your own time, and if need be, we may offer drop-in sessions for student so you can come along and get a trained team member to help you. All these options will be advertised well in advance so you can get organised if you would like to attend.