Blackboard, WebCT, or Something Different? TELECOOP Conference 2003 Kathy Keairns Senior Instructional Designer University of Denver
History of Blackboard at DU Adopted Fall 2000 Web-enhanced courses, some online courses Prior to Blackboard, WebCT DU Blackboard Support pages DU Blackboard Support pages Currently Level II hosted on own servers
Online Course Options Purchase course management software license (Blackboard, WebCT, e-College) Course web sites Create a home-grown course management system Open-source
Open-Source Movement What is Open-Source software? Resides in public domain (not proprietary) Underlying code can be downloaded for free Flagship open-source product - Linux operating system
Course Management Open-Source Jones Knowledge Jones Knowledge Open Knowledge Initiative (OKI) Open Knowledge Initiative The Internet Course Reader The Internet Course Reader More More
Open-Source Advantages Availability of the source code and right to modify Less expensive or free Right to use the software in any way Collaboration Advantage No single company on which future depends (in general)
Open-Source Disadvantages No guarantee that development will happen Must have dedicated staff with technical expertise Initially minimal or no support and no single point of control Poorly-funded nature of open source products may make with their uncertain future
Trade-offs “you get what you pay for” More control with open-source or home-grown system but may require additional technical support staff Schools need to evaluate if tradeoffs are worth it
Web Resources and URLs Open Source Course Management System Open Source Course Management Systemhttp://web.mit.edu/oki/index.html Blackboard Building Blocks Open Source Distribution Blackboard Building Blocks Open Source Distribution DU’s Blackboard Support Site DU’s Blackboard Support Site Course Management Systems Web site
Software Bugs