‘Desire2Learn’ to Replace UW-ACE

Whispers and speculations of UW-ACE’s replacement were finally hushed on March 17, 2011, as Desire2Learn (D2L) was announced to replace UW-ACE as the learning management system (LMS) at the University of Waterloo.

In May 2009, Angel Learning Inc., the software supplier of UW-ACE was purchased by a competitor LMS provider; Blackboard Inc. Shortly after Angel’s purchase, Blackboard announced development and support on UW-ACE would cease. The default option for UW was to switch over to Blackboard’s LMS, which would have required current UW-ACE users to get used to a new LMS. Since these groups would have to get used to a new LMS, an opportunity was taken to explore the bigger set of  learning management systems offered by other vendors. An LMS Selection Committee comprising of faculty, students, IST, the Centre for Extended Learning, the Centre for Teaching Excellence, the office for persons with disabilities, and the library was created to determine the needs and requirements of users and to find appropriate software.

To gather student input on a new LMS, an online survey was conducted to which approximately 7,300 students of the population of 28,000 responded. According to Jan Willwerth, lead on UW-ACE help/training/communications in the IST department, the foremost need of the students was consistency of course content delivery among a student’s many courses. For example, while instructors are advised to use the ‘Resources’ tab on UW-ACE for placing course content, many instructors use the ‘Lessons’ tab for assignments, lecture notes, quizzes, dropboxes, and many other materials leading to a confusing interface. From this, students also asked for an easier to use interface with elements of the system clearly laid out. Another important student-identified need is mobility – with the increase in smartphones, there is a strong desire of the student population to be able to visit the online component of their courses on mobile devices.

In spite of the general hatred towards UW-ACE, Willwerth commented that responses to the survey questions – particularly the open ended questions, were not too critical and did not provide any compelling reasons to look for a replacement.

Still, the committee requested RFPs from LMS vendors and explored possible open source solutions. Test sandboxes (software tests in a controlled environment) were created to gain first-hand experience on how each LMS could be used. After all the above steps coupled with further consultation of other universities, Desire2Learn was recommended by the committee.

D2L makes it easier to achieve consistency as it has separate consistent tabs for quizzes, dropboxes and other learning elements which should make it easier for instructors to offer content and easier navigation for students. It also supports mobile-device applications which UW-ACE cannot.

Parallel to the mobility of D2L, another significant issue is for the software to be supported on multiple browsers. Current sandbox testing has only been executed on IE and Firefox and at this time nothing has been confirmed for other available web browsers. From an instructional point of view D2L makes the creation of teams within a class much easier. It also incorporates desirable elements such as file sharing, reminders, personal blogs, ePortfolio system, and project investigating ePortfolios. Willwerth remarked very confidently that D2L has no disadvantages over UW-Ace.

In terms of the switch over to a new learning management system, Jan Willwerth commented that this is an opportunity to revisit online delivery of courses and to provide adequate training to students and instructors to fully reap the benefits of having an online learning system. The implementation of UW-Ace in 2004 was a rather hasty process and a novel experience for the instructors; the two main factors contributing to inconsistencies and insufficient knowledge of the UW-ACE system. Now, seven years later, the instructors and students have experience with online course delivery and are familiar with its unique features such as electronic submissions, online gradebooks, and course content delivery,  which will make it easier for stakeholders to get used to the new system and explore its features. Wilfrid Laurier University and the University of Guelph are two other universities which also use the D2L LMS. With a noticeable proportion of UW faculty cross-appointed with the two universities, the move to D2L will not over burden the faculty with more available time to focus on quality of education.

Desire2Learn was established by a UW Engineering student and has its head office in downtown Kitchener. The company is very open to feedback and working together –  a huge positive for UW as the critical issue is not merely producing software but maintaining and continuously developing it.

The use of Desire2Learn will be scaled over the next three months for smoother switch over and troubleshooting; the system is expected to be fully implemented by Winter 2012. The details of the scaling are yet to be determined. In order to provide training to the users videos, documentation, one-on-one and group sessions will be offered. An open house is also in the plan with the LMS Selection committee and Desire2Learn representatives in attendance to address any questions.