Technology Advisory Group

An important update on the Learning Management System search, courtesy of LMS Work Group leader Connie Wisdo:

The LMS Evaluation Working group members have been actively testing Desire2Learn, Moodlerooms and Blackboard Learn over the past few weeks.   On Monday, March 26^th, an event significant to our group occurred.  You may have read that Blackboard, Inc. has acquired Moodlerooms, and even more significant, has announced “indefinite” support for the ANGEL LMS.

You may read more at http://www.blackboard.com/About-Bb/News-Center/Press-Releases/Strategy-Update.aspx?cmpid=HB_EOSS_032612

CTLE and ITDA conducted conference calls with the sales reps from both Moodlerooms and Blackboard last week.  During these calls, we were assured first, that Moodlerooms would remain a viable LMS, would operate independently, and would honor any sales quotes that had already been provided to potential customers.  We were also assured that ANGEL would be supported past 2014, and would not remain stagnant during the next few years.

From Blackboard’s “Open Letter to the Education Community” (found at http://www.blackboard.com/About-Bb/News-Center/Press-Releases/Strategy-Update/Open-Letter.aspx) come these quotes:

1.       “Blackboard is becoming a multiple learning platform company that supports both commercially developed software as well as open source solutions.”

2.       “… at the behest of ANGEL clients that continue to find this product the best fit for their needs, we will extend our maintenance and support indefinitely. We will evaluate this decision on an ongoing basis and provide sufficient notice of any future change to plans for support. We will also continue to build ANGEL features into future releases of Blackboard Learn 9.1 and into the Moodlerooms joule product. Both represent positive future destinations for ANGEL clients who wish to upgrade to a newer product line.”

Obviously these two moves by Blackboard give our group reason to pause and think.   However, organizations such as Educause suggest that institutions of Higher Education should review their Learning Management Systems once every five years, to be sure the LMS is still adequately matching the needs/context of their teaching and learning efforts.  We have been using ANGEL for approximately 5 years, so our evaluation is still a worthwhile effort.

After considering the above, and consulting with the VP for Planning/CIO, our plan is to carry on with the evaluation of the three finalist products through mid-April.  Our group is scheduled to meet April 19^th, and at that time we’ll discuss the findings and observations of our group members regarding these three products.  However, since we are now not being forced to move away from ANGEL, I will ask the group to consider the possibility of the University staying with ANGEL, for at least two more years, to (1) see how the Blackboard strategy pans out, and (2) to see if any of the newer LMS products (such as Canvas by Instructure) evolve to a point where they could be considered as possible replacements at that time .  If we decide to stay with ANGEL for two more years, we can relook at the LMS market next year at this time.  It should be noted that an AJCU LMS working group is starting negotiations with Instructure and other LMS vendors to try to obtain more affordable, consortium pricing.  It will likely take a year to settle these negotiations.

As always, I welcome your input.  If you have any comments or concerns, please let me know.