In the spring of 2016, Information and Technology Services (ITS) in cooperation with the Faculty Senate Education and Technology Committee began a review of Learning Management Systems (LMS). This website will serve as a repository of information pertaining to the review including the results of testing and surveys and the basis for a decision as to whether a change in LMS is warranted.

 Background:

 BlackBoard has been utilized as AState’s Learning Management System (LMS) since the University’s first entry into the online environment some 10+ years ago. Since that time faculty and student usage has expanded dramatically as well as the marketplace of LMS systems. While BlackBoard has evolved, during this time several other systems have been developed and are widely accepted in the higher education community. As with all IT systems, it is prudent to periodically review current technologies not only for new functionalities but also to ensure that we are receiving the best value for our investment.

 Review Plan:

• An RFP was submitted with the basic technological specifications required by AState and the most commonly required/requested functionalities. As part of the proposal requirements, the respondents were required to provide a “testing sandbox” environment for AState to use for review and comparison to our current BlackBoard system. There were three respondents.  Blackboard, Canvas, and BrightShare.

• Current faculty were solicited via email to participate in testing the two systems and compare by way of a brief survey the functionalities they consider most important in the current BlackBoard environment and the test systems.  

Click HERE to review the survey results completed in 2016.  

For faculty willing to do a more comprehensive review of the test systems please Click Here. 

For faculty willing to participate and join the review committee, please send an email to Margaret Watson mwatson@astate.edu or Timothy Curreton tcureton@astate.edu, both work in ITS.

 Relevant Documents:

2016 Annual LMS Expenditures –associated costs with current LMS and supporting software

Proposed LMS Criterion (sample listings correspond to items on the LMS Review Checklist)

Process/Milestones:

Assessment/Review Inception:
Fall 2015: ITS reviews costs, functionality, and compares to alternatives and their respective costs prompting action to begin.

Committee Involvement: 
November 20, 2015:  Education and Technology Committee Chair presents status and involvement to Faculty Senate

February 2, 2016:  CIO attends Faculty Senate Education and Technology Committee meeting and introduces assessment/review plans and invites participation.  Committee accepts participation.

Survey 1:  LMS Review survey distributed
May 2, 2016: eMail requesting participation from faculty distributed.   15 respondents take action within first week.  Click Here to take the brief survey.

LMS Review Website (Mycampus->Faculty->LMS Review)
May 16, 2016:   An icon titled LMS Review is added with the MyCampus portal for all faculty users where presence and access to details of the project are always available.

Survey 2:  LMS Checksheet posted to LMS Review website
May 16, 2016:  Faculty are encouraged to participate by using the checklist for an objective comparison of functionality and features within the LMS packages.  For faculty willing to do a more comprehensive review of the test systems please Click Here.

Current 2016 Annual LMS Environment Costs posted to website
May 16, 2016

May 2016 LMS Review Update - email sent out. Click here to review it. 
May 24, 2016

March 2017 Canvas Demo Invitation sent to Department Chairs.  Click here to review it.

March 16, 2017 Live Campus Demo.  Attendees were sent a follow-up survey.  Click here to review survey results. Click here to review open-ended responses. Please note* ITS and AAR staff members in attendance are not included in the results.

To view a recording of the Canvas Demo, click here.

April 2017 Blackboard Learn Demo Invitation sent to Department Chairs and announcement in A-State Daily Digest.  Click here to review invitation.  Click here to review Digest announcement.

April 19 Blackboard Learn Live Campus Demo.  Attendees were sent a follow-up survey.  Click here to review survey results.  Click here to review open-ended responses.  Please note* ITS and AAR staff members in attendance are not included in the results.

To view a recording of the Blackboard Learn Demo, click here.