From 0 to 60 in 4 months: Reflections on Moving from WebCT Hosted In-

houseto Learn 9.1 and Managed HostingDr Sara Preston

eLearning Team Leader, Centre for Learning & Teaching

University of Aberdeen

Overview

• Background to the VLE Upgrade Project• Timeline• Our Approach• Communication Strategy• Engaging Students • Support for Staff and Students• Experiences to Date • Achievements and Future Plans

‘To deliver a high-quality student experience, growing the population where there are opportunities to do so through the recruitment of students with outstanding potential.’

Strategic Plan, 2011-2015. Objective 1:

Background to the VLE Upgrade Project

• eLearning Strategy 2010-2013, March 2010• Requirement for an ‘enhanced’ VLE to support

flexible delivery• Requirement to upgrade the VLE

– RFI sent in July 2010 to leading suppliers of VLEs– eLearning Strategy Group recommended upgrading

to Learn 9.1 for Academic Collaboration Suite

• Problems with self-hosted WebCT– unreliable and unstable

' 11 Apr2011 May Jun Jul Aug Sep ' 11

MyAberdeen (Learn 9.1) available to students20/8/11

WebCT hosted by Managed Hosting30/6/11

Tender notice for synchronous web conferencing and audio tools 27/6/11

VLE Upgrade Project Board23/5/11

Students notified of VLE upgrade, asked to complete a survey5/5/11

Staff notified of VLE upgrade and project website launched7/4/11

Consultation Process on Upgrade Project14/4/11 4/8/11

Move WebCT to Managed Hosting20/4/11 30/6/11

Implementation of MyAberdeen20/4/11 20/8/11

Tender: web conf/audio27/6/11 15/8/11

Training staff on MyAberdeen30/6/11 23/9/11

Timeline

Our Approach

• Encouraged staff to start afresh (~10% migrated)• Established a network of School/discipline

eLearning champions• Implemented School/discipline ‘flexible’

course/programme templates• Worked in partnership with Blackboard

– Bb Onsite Training: Admin / Course Essentials– Bb Strategic Consultancy

• Reviewed existing processes and integrations

Communication Strategy

• Project website• Email communications to all staff • Presentations at various committees/groups• Consultations with key stakeholders• Previews of new VLE• Email communications to students:

– VLE upgrade, asked to contribute via a survey– Migrating their WebCT Portfolio

• Consultation with the Students’ Association

VLE Upgrade Project Website

Engaging Students

• Student Survey launched 5 May 2011 for 11 days• 2689 responses (~22.5% response rate)• The survey consisted of questions posed in four

sections: – About You (85% Undergrad, 95% FT)– Your Use of WebCT– About Your Experience of Other Technologies– About Your New Virtual Learning Environment

Key Findings: Use of WebCT

Access

lecture notes/s

lides

Submit work electr

onically

Take online te

sts or q

uizzes

Sign-up to tu

torial g

roups

Carry out o

nline disc

ussions

Watch

videos or li

sten to

audio

Carry out g

roupwork

Peer review other s

tudents' w

ork

Keep a journ

al/logbook

Access

library re

source

s

Calendar

ePortfolio

Off-campus a

ccess

Access

lecture re

cord

ings

Other/Something else

None of these

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500Most UsefulLeast Useful

Num

ber o

f Tim

es S

elec

ted

Which three things do you find the most/least useful about WebCT

Key Findings: Good WebCT courses

In answer to ‘Is there a WebCT course that you feel is particularly good? Why?’

• 13.1% said Yes due to:– Content well organised/arranged (24.3%)– Availability of lecture slides and notes (23.8%)– Availability of lecture recordings (20.8%)– Availability of additional resources (11.9%)– Use of online tests, quizzes and assessments (10.6%)– Content kept up-to-date (4.3%)– Web links (4.3%)

Key Findings: Other Technologies

Discussi

on Forums

Wikis

Subject or T

utor's w

ebsite

Social n

etworking

Social B

ookmarking

Collaborative docu

ments

Blogging

Windows L

ive email (stu

dentmail)

Windows L

ive Messe

nger

Windows L

ive Mobile

Windows L

ive Skydrive

University le

cture re

cord

ings

Extern

al Podca

sts

Online Chat

Online videos (

e.g. YouTube)

Web co

nferencing

Turnitin UK

PRS (Perso

nal Resp

onse System)

0200400600800

10001200

Other Technologies Used

Num

ber o

f Use

rs

Key Findings: What Would You Like

In answer to ‘What would you like to be able to do in your new VLE which you currently can’t do and why?’

• 28.3% made suggestions: – Better compatibility with mobile devices (13.9%)– Integration of all University web pages – VLE, Turnitin,

Student Portal, Studentmail (13.7%)– Easier to use interface (13.4%)– Access to lecture recordings (10.7%)– A better chat facility (8.8%)– Direct contact with tutor (7.4%)– Control layout of courses (4.5%)

Name for the new VLE?

Support for Staff and Students

• Short (1 h) general and tailored workshops for staff

• Usual support for staff:– Consultancy– Telephone– Email– Online resources (new eLearning website)

• Documentation and webcasts produced for students (student intern over the summer)

Experiences to Date

• Move to Managed Hosting: a positive experience• Overall, feedback from both staff and students

has been positive• Implementation of Bb Collaborate web

conferencing, after teething issues, going well• Challenges

– Some bugs– Tests tool has missing WebCT functionality– Upgrading to Service Pack 7 Hotfix 1

Achievements and Future Plans

• Successful project

' 11 Apr2011 May Jun Jul Aug Sep ' 11

MyAberdeen (Learn 9.1) available to students20/8/11

WebCT hosted by Managed Hosting30/6/11

Tender notice for synchronous web conferencing and audio tools 27/6/11

VLE Upgrade Project Board23/5/11

Students notified of VLE upgrade, asked to complete a survey5/5/11

Staff notified of VLE upgrade and project website launched7/4/11

Consultation Process on Upgrade Project14/4/11 4/8/11

Move WebCT to Managed Hosting20/4/11 30/6/11

Implementation of MyAberdeen20/4/11 20/8/11

Tender: web conf/audio27/6/11 15/8/11

Training staff on MyAberdeen30/6/11 23/9/11

Timeline

Achievements and Future Plans

• Successful project• MyAberdeen Steering Group• MyAberdeen Development Group• Further develop communities / improve

management of content• Embed the use of Bb collaborate web

conferencing and voice tools• Student engagement • Staff professional development• Effective use of SIS framework / ASR

Questions?