Blanchard 339 Updated

Posted January 11, 2016 by Academic and Institutional Technology
Tags: Classroom Technology Updates

Blanchard 339 Updated

Effective Date: January 11, 2016

In order to resolve ongoing issues with laptop input, the classroom technology in Blanchard 339 was updated. The control screen has been updated, and laptops will be able to connect reliably to the projector.

Instructions

Key Benefits and Features

Impact on College Community

You can find operation instructions for the new control screen here. If you have any questions, please email us at ait.service.desk@wheaton.edu or call 630.752.4357 (HELP).

Why is Blackboard being replaced?

What were the criteria for the new LMS?

The LMS Selection Committee [LINK] developed an extensive list of features and requirements necessary to support Christ at the Core and other College needs. Key criteria included:

How was Schoology selected?

List of LMS Selection Committee members [LINK].

The new system was selected with involvement from the Teaching and Information Resources subcommittee the Student Technology Advisory Committee, the LMS Selection Committee, Academic and Institutional Technology staff, Purchasing, and other students and faculty members. In Spring 2015, a multipage request for proposal was developed and distributed to 12 LMS vendors.

The following five vendors chose to participate:

In August 2015, the LMS Selection Committee reviewed the proposals and selected four semifinalists (Moodlerooms, Brightspace, Canvas, and Schoology). In September, these semifinalists were invited to campus for live demonstrations of their products to all faculty, staff, and students. Those who were unable to attend were invited to view video recordings of the demonstrations. All participants were encouraged to submit their feedback regarding the product demonstrations.

In October 2015, the LMS Selection Committee reviewed this feedback and selected two finalists, Schoology and Brightspace.

Both vendors set up sandbox trial environments open to all faculty and students. Concurrently, Academic and Institutional Technology, the Wheaton College Graduate School, and Christ at the Core teams had the opportunity to have technical ‘deep dive’ sessions with the vendors to confirm whether or not their products would meet Wheaton’s specific requirements.

The LMS Selection Committee made reference calls to other higher education institutions that used both products to ask about their experiences.

The CIO personally met with the presidents of Schoology and Desire2Learn to discuss each company’s long term strategy, commitment to Wheaton College, and financial outlook.

In December 2015, the LMS Selection Committee met to review all of the data points and feedback, culminating in a unanimous vote for Schoology.

What key factors influenced the final vote?

The committee was impressed with the following aspects of Schoology’s product:

From this feedback, votes, and information from reference calls, the LMS Selection Committee recommended Schoology to the Office of the CIO, who completed contract negotiations.

When will Schoology replace Blackboard?

This is the target timeline for replacing Blackboard:

How will my current courses be moved from Blackboard to Schoology?

We’re working to create a transition plan to make this process as easy as possible. Whenever feasible, AIT and the vendor will transfer courses automatically. In some instances, faulty will need to make adjustments to their course content to ensure that all content transfers correctly to the new system.

While this system meets the needs of the majority of faculty members, it will not have exact feature parity with Blackboard in some cases. AIT is committed to working with faculty members to create solutions for individual needs.

Will someone show me how to use Schoology?

Yes. Both hands-on and online training will be available to faculty in the coming months. We will also have specialized 24/7 support from the vendor for all faculty during launch.

How were faculty informed of this project and its potential impact on the College?

Academic and Institutional Technology regularly updated a webpage with information about the project [LINK]. This page was first posted on September 1, 2015.

Subject Date
Technology Review Summer 2015: Faculty Revisit Learning Management 23 July 2015
Evaluate Potential Blackboard Replacements: Moodlerooms and Schoology 25 September 2015
Evaluate Potential Blackboard Replacements: Canvas and Brightspace  2 October 2015
Trial Environments for Potential Blackboard Replacements 20 October 2015

In addition, the Teaching and Information Resources subcommittee gave updates at the Faculty Business Meeting on the following dates:

If you have any questions, please email us at ait.service.desk@wheaton.eduor call 630.752.4357 (HELP).>