D2L Blog

And they're off...

Well folks, here we go:  the D2L pilot courses were live as of 12:00 AM this morning (1/16).  Thus far, no issues to speak of, but we'll see how it goes over the next few days.

From the student perspective, I do not anticipate many problems as the core functionality of WebCT and D2L is largely the same.  What is different is that each D2L course uses a standard template developed by the D2L Task Force and aligned with the SDBOR quality assurance guidelines, so there is less ambiguity about where to find things in the online courses.  For example, all course content can be accessed from the "Content" link on the course menu, unlike WebCT, where course content could be located anywhere.  We do lose some freedom in design, but in the end, it is likely to be to the benefit of the students.

In terms of the faculty, most seem to be acclimating to D2L, though, just like WebCT, it has its "eccentricities."  With so many eyes on D2L, we are definitely finding those much quicker than before, but at least we are doing so before we start using D2L en masse.  That said, thanks to Don Versteeg and Wendy Stubbs, nearly the entire Ed School faculty has been trained in D2L, so we're off to a good start.

Our next steps will be to closely evaluate the pilot courses and then start looking toward beginning the migration process itself.  Keep checking the blog for updates.

Posted at 09:56AM Jan 16, 2008 by Eric James Mosterd in General  |  Comments[0]