Amanda Hooser
In 2013, OSU launched eLearn@OSU to review, connect and optimize technologies for teaching and learning. This initiative was created due to OSU’s desire to provide students and teachers with a satisfying LMS. According to eLearn@OSU, an effective system was to allow for 24/7 access to course materials, provide a FERPA-compliant format for course delivery and communication, act as a foundation for learning technology, provide a way for OSU to evaluate academic goals and provide students with a consistent framework. OSU values these qualities of an effective system, therefore they used this initiative to conduct an LMS evaluation for the 2014-2015 academic school year.
In December of 2013, OSU submitted a Request for Proposal (RFP) for a new LMS. The request attracted 4 proposals and after a review process, two were selected for evaluation. The final two candidates were an updated version of the current system called Blackboard 14 and a new option called Canvas by Instructure. The evaluation of the two systems was conducted by three major groups: the core project group, OSU students and instructors, and a team of specialists. The core project group was the coordinating team that facilitated the evaluation process. OSU students and instructors had the opportunity to sign up and the core group filtered the candidates to involve all areas of OSU. The team of specialists were subject matter experts that reviewed target areas of the systems to ensure access, security and integration with current OSU systems.
The evaluation was done through a “sandbox” version in which the developers of Blackboard 14 and Canvas allowed the evaluators to experience the features and functionality of the system. The links to these two sandbox systems were provided on the evaluation form that also outlined tasks and pathways that teachers or students should simulate. For instructors these tasks were categorized as communication/collaboration, quizzes/tests and assignments, grading/tracking student performance, and creating a and organizing content. For example, one of the tasks in communication/collaboration was to create a calendar due date. For students, these tasks included submitting a quiz, assignment, discussion post, a message to an instructor and checking a grade in the gradebook. In addition to the evaluation form and sandbox systems, 16 instructors were recruited to teach a course using the systems in Spring 2014. The evaluation results were reviewed by the core project team and supported Canvas by Instructure. The LMS was installed and utilized the following academic year and has been employed since then.
This transition occurred after my freshman year in college. I took two classes online with Blackboard my freshman year and since have taken at least one class per term online with Canvas. It was clear to me my freshman year that Blackboard was not the most effective LMS. This was because I had to save several bookmarks to my browser to take my online hw assignments, reach my course materials, and to access Blackboard. Canvas streamlined this process by integrating several learning tools, for example adding links to online labs and other resources. In addition, with Blackboard I found that instructors were incredibly textbook dependent. Since the transition, I have found that instructors have taken advantage of the “Modules” tab in Canvas to provide powerpoint lectures and other materials instead of the incredibly expensive textbooks. I think this transition was well executed and resulted in a much higher quality LMS for OSU students.
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