College seeks replacement system for ANGEL

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By Sara Maleki

The college is investigating proposals for a new Learning Management System (LMS) which would gradually phase out the current system, ANGEL.

Procurement Services is one of the departments involved in the process of finding a new LMS.

“JCCC Procurement Services facilitates the expenditure of college funds in a manner that maximizes the ultimate value and meets the college’s needs, consistent with Board of Trustee’s policies as well as statutes and other guidelines,” said Gary Cromer, senior buyer.

The process of finding a new LMS system involves inviting various companies, such as Blackboard, to submit proposals to the college. At the end of February, a request for proposals (RFP) was released, with a deadline of March 7. Procurement Services at the college provide open opportunities for companies to make proposals and defines the terms and conditions of the proposal.

The RFP contains basic ‘yes and no’ questions for companies to answer in order to identify a suitable LMS for the college. Questions for companies include ‘Does the LMS support mobile learning?’ and ‘Can students create their own portfolio?’

Prior to using ANGEL, the college used the Web CT system. The ANGEL system was developed in 2002 by the University of Indiana, and has been used by the college since 2008. In 2009, ANGEL was acquired by Blackboard, which has also acquired other competitor learning systems, such as Prometheus.

An updated LMS is needed to fit the needs of students and faculty. The options for mobile technology, sending texts to students and the use of ANGEL on iPads, are not available under the current system.

“ANGEL has worked well,” said Ed Lovitt, director for distance learning. “[There is] the option of staying with Blackboard, but [we] owe it to students and faculty to see what changes are available.”

On March 27, a Student Senate Town Hall meeting sought student opinions on what features were important in an LMS.

The current system has received some positive feedback from students, such as Ben Anderson.

“I think ANGEL is a pretty efficient way of checking my grades and homework”, Anderson said.

However, other students think there is room for improvement.

“I’m not a huge fan of ANGEL,” said Kelsey Sparrow. “I think it’s too hard to get to see your grades[…] a good change would be to make grades easier to see and have them automatically update.”

In April, three companies will be invited to the campus to demonstrate the features and functionality of their systems. Students and faculty will have the opportunity to fill out survey sheets to provide feedback on how well these companies answered their questions.

“The first priority is to meet student and faculty needs,” Lovitt said.

In making a decision about the potential choices, the college will look at whether other schools are currently using the system, and whether the LMS can be customized to the college. The final decision will be made in May, taking into account feedback from faculty and students.

If a new LMS is adopted by the college, it will be run parallel alongside ANGEL over the course of one year, with spring 2014 being the final semester with ANGEL. Washburn University, which also used ANGEL, has now switched to another LMS, and will phase out ANGEL by the fall 2013 semester.

The final decision about a new LMS will be approved by the Board of Trustees, and students will be informed of any changes to the LMS by August.

Contact Sara Maleki, reporting correspondent, at smaleki@jccc.edu

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