[quote]Blackboard costs the university about $22 per student, while Moodle costs about $4 per student.[/quote]
The complete transition from Blackboard to Moodle is fast approaching. By June of this year, all faculty members and campus organizations are required to have made the switch. About 300 courses are currently active on the new system, which is used by more than half of Elon’s faculty, according to Chris Fulkerson, assistant vice president for technology.
Although many faculty members now post course information to Moodle, few student-run campus organizations have yet to transition. To aid the transition, training will be available to students who run the websites of campus organizations later this semester, Fulkerson said.
Blackboard costs the university about $22 per student, while Moodle costs about $4 per student. The money saved from changing systems will be used to upgrade and expand existing technology on campus, such as software and computers. The university is currently investing in virtual software applications, which would allow students and faculty members to access software programs outside of a computer lab.
“My budget for software is almost a half million dollars, and costs just keep going up,” Fulkerson said. “One of our goals in technology is to try and save the university money. We look for ways that technology can make a department more efficient.”
Feedback from faculty members regarding the effectiveness of the new system has been largely positive, Fulkerson said.
Philosophy lecturer Martin Fowler transferred his course information to Moodle during the fall semester and has adjusted to the new system with the help of technology support staff members, he said.
“Moodle is more user-friendly than Blackboard, which required more intermediary steps (when editing information),” Fowler said. “I like having the ability to give students instant feedback on assignments (through Moodle). I like that I can see the information I add from a student’s perspective, too.”
Catholic Campus Ministry was one of the first organizations to switch to Moodle, according to Trung Huynh-Duc, business manager of CCM.
“CCM actually made the initial contact to have our information transferred," Huynh-Duc said. "We knew the switch was coming in June, so we wanted to be proactive. I don’t believe the switch will affect the information content. The big difference is how all the content is organized. It is not as easy to access certain documents or information.”
Huynh-Duc said he recognizes that the capabilities of Moodle and Blackboard are similar, but does not consider Moodle’s interface to be as user-friendly.
Phoenix card information will be moved from Blackboard to Moodle on June 1.