Dear Colleagues,                                      June 18, 2009

The jury’s in, and so is Moodle. It’s an odd name, but after extensive testing by faculty and students, Moodle, the open-source course management system, proved to have significant advantages over Blackboard, so our campus is beginning the transition to the Moodle system. Because two years remain on our Blackboard contract, we’ll have the benefit of a gradual transition, but I know many of you are planning and preparing your fall classes and will want to make the move sooner rather than later.

We’ve tested Moodle for the past year with the support of Faculty Council and the Learning Management System Evaluation Committee. Forty-nine faculty members (each with Blackboard experience) tested Moodle on 140 sections involving more than 3,000 students. They found Moodle offered “ease of use and mastery, minimal support, collaboration with the open source community, flexibility, and adaptability to the needs of faculty and students.” For their full report see http://www.lmseval.uncc.edu. In addition to improved functionality and ease of use in comparison with Blackboard, Moodle promises to provide significant cost savings to the university and greater opportunity for customization.

To ensure a smooth transition, I have asked the Center for Teaching and Learning and Information Technology Services to begin the process for migration to Moodle. Blackboard Vista will continue to be available through Spring Semester 2011. All courses listed in Banner are now available in both Blackboard Vista and Moodle. To access your course in Moodle along with self-paced training and support resources, visit http://moodle.uncc.edu. For updates and more information on this new learning management system, please contact the Center for Teaching and Learning at http://teaching.uncc.edu.

I would like to thank Marvin Croy and Ron Smelser who chaired the pilot study and all the faculty and students who participated. I request your support and cooperation as we make this transition and customize our learning management system to address our rapid growth while providing increased access, quality, and cost efficiency.

Best regards,
Joan F. Lorden
Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs

Attached Original: Moodle Letter.pdf [359 KB]