On February 20, 2009 an email was sent to all IUP faculty outlining the transition from WebCT to Moodle. Below is the text of the message:
As reported by Dr. Intemann in a recent e-mail, IUP will be transitioning from WebCT to Moodle as its Learning Management System (LMS). Although specific plans are not yet finalized, some details have been worked out:
- WebCT will remain a fully-supported production service for any course that concludes on or before May 31, 2010. It will remain the dominant LMS at IUP throughout 2009, with Moodle becoming dominant for the Spring 2010 semester. Support for WebCT will begin to be phased out during the Spring 2010 semester and the WebCT service will go offline June 8, 2010.
- IUP currently intends to have Moodle in production, in order to begin converting courses from WebCT, on or before April 30, 2009. Since WebCT contains inactive courses and others that faculty may not want to have converted, courses will be converted upon request via a web form once Moodle is in production.
- Much of the base WebCT-to-Moodle course conversion process will be automated. Specialists will also be available to partner with faculty that request conversion service in order to complete the process.
- WebCT and Moodle will co-exist until May, 2010, to permit early adopters to move ahead aggressively while allowing more time for others. It is recognized that faculty and students will need to use both products for a limited period of time and that this will be an inconvenience.
- In order to support IUP faculty in becoming familiar with the Moodle environment, IUP currently intends to make available several learning aids by April 30, 2009. They will be available to all faculty, whether new to IUP, new to Learning Management Systems, or converting from WebCT:
- Version 1 of the IUP Moodle website, containing initial support documentation and service request forms, such as a “WebCT vs. Moodle” document on major differences between the products
- A 90-minute “Introduction To Moodle” workshop scheduled regularly throughout implementation and beyond, as appropriate
- A self-paced “Introduction To Moodle” training module (within Moodle)
- A sample course in Moodle to demonstrate the basic look and feel of the environment
No action is required by faculty at this time, though WebCT users may want to begin considering what WebCT courses they will want to convert. More details will be forthcoming as we get closer to production and transition plans are finalized. Thank you very much for your continued support.
Sincerely,
The IUP LMS Transition Team
ACPAC Online Learning Subcommittee
Office of Distance Learning and Continuing Education
IT Services
724-357-4000
it-support-center@iup.edu
