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eLearning Commons, or eLC, is coming to a computer near you.
The new online learning tool—essentially an online learning environment for posting class materials, communicating with class members and assessing student learning—will fully replace WebCT by January 2010 and students may begin using it as early as this summer.
The implementation of eLC, which uses the Blackboard Vista 8 platform and offers more teaching and learning options, is easier to use, and will help UGA stay current with campus technology developments. This upgrade from the course management system Blackboard WebCT 4.1 officially kicked off in March 2009 with an online session via Wimba Classroom. The kickoff presentation showcased some of the new features and offered help in converting old WebCT courses to the new system.
The first thing users will notice is a more current look and feel in eLearning Commons, said Sherry Clouser, an academic professional in UGA’s Center for Teaching and Learning and head of the committee that oversaw the upgrade.
“The interface is clean and options easier to find. Upon digging into the toolset, faculty members will see a number of new options, such as blog-style discussions, grading forms (rubrics) and group sign-up sheets,” she said. “Faculty also will appreciate how tools are integrated with one another throughout the course. For instance, students and faculty alike might enjoy “Who’s Online,” which allows them to see when a class member is online and invite them to chat.”
Diane Bales, an associate professor and human development specialist at UGA’s Cooperative Extension, has already begun using the new system and can report that her students are pleased with several of the new features.
“It took some time and exploration, as any new system does,” said Bales of the learning curve associated with eLC. “Overall, I think the way you build a course in Vista/eLearning Commons is more intuitive and clear-cut than WebCT. This is my second semester, [and] overall I have found it a very useable program.”
Hugh Ruppersburg, an associate dean in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, concurs.
“Anyone familiar and comfortable with WebCT will find the transition to eLC relatively easy,” he said. “The learning curve is slight—it took me at most an hour to learn the new system, and there are additional features, especially a much smoother, more intuitive, better integrated interface that facilitates use of the program. The program is a distinctive advance over WebCT—it is easier to use, faster, better organized, more user-friendly.”
CIO and Associate Provost Dr. Barbara White notes that the new system and the efforts employed to implement it are representative of the “ ‘next generation’ [of] systems and applications in support of [UGA’s] students, faculty and staff.”
“The collaborative effort between EITS, the Center for Teaching and Learning, the Committee for Academic and Instructional Technology, and a variety of campus groups. . . . all of these have come together in the spirit of the ‘engaged university’ to address a high priority need supporting the mission of the university,” she said. “I am delighted at the outcome of this effort and the continued work by the Learning Management Systems group and look forward to the full implementation of our new course management system. We clearly have a model that can be replicated in the future.”
Faculty seeking assistance on how to convert their courses from WebCT to the new Vista platform may visit the eLC homepage . Tutorials and advice are available under the “Workshops” and “Faculty Help” links. Faculty are also invited to email the EITS help desk for additional information.
Building the New Learning Environment
The new learning environment is an academic and intellectual
community on the campus of the University of Georgia humming
with the vibrancy of the true college experience—bright
and talented students working with brilliant faculty formally
in the classroom and informally over a cup of coffee or lounging
in the greenspace which stretches from one end of campus to
the other. It is a place which recognizes that new information
technologies are transforming traditional academic disciplines
and embraces those opportunities. |
The implementation of eLC, which uses the Blackboard Vista 8 platform and offers more teaching and learning options, is easier to use, and will help UGA stay current with campus technology developments.
