Extended eClass Outage Sunday June 26th, 2011

We want to remind you that the eClass (Blackboard/WebCT Vista) system will be offline for scheduled maintenance on Sunday June 26, 2011 from 6:00 AM to 4:00 PM. During that time we will be applying performance and reliability updates to the system.

Please do not schedule any teaching or learning tasks during this period. If you have any questions, please contact ctl@ualberta.ca.

Thank you for your patience.

CTL Technology Services

eClass - Powered by Moodle Transition Website Launch

The LMS transition website is now live at http://www.moodle.ualberta.ca/.

This website overviews the switch now underway from Blackboard Vista to Moodle as the software that runs the campus LMS, eClass. On the site you can learn more about what this transition means for you as an LMS user at the U of A.

The site will also be the focal point for the project team’s efforts to provide users with the required support to ensure a smooth transition. You will find links to Moodle tutorials, information on upcoming training sessions, and some sample courses.

If you have any questions about the site or about the eClass transition in general, please email us at ctl@ualberta.ca.

Regards,
CTL Tech Services

Fall Course Creation

We are pleased to announce that the course creation and section management system for eClass has now been updated. It is now possible to request Fall term sections on eClass powered by Blackboard Vista and on eClass powered by Moodle.

The course request process still follows the same basic process from previous terms, and will be very similar for each version of the LMS: requesters identify and select credit sections from Beartracks to create in eClass, choose to create a blank course or to migrate content, list initial instructor/designer/TA enrollments, and specify the desired Start and End dates.

The turnaround time for standard eClass powered by Blackboard Vista sections will continue to be 1 business day, with a slightly longer turnaround time for eClass powered by Moodle sections. We are initially quoting up to 10 business days for Moodle sections that require content migration from Blackboard Vista, but expect this turnaround time to come down sharply as we refine our systems and automate some components of content migration.

Course creation for both versions of eClass is available through the eClass Section Management System at https://cc.elearning.ualberta.ca/

More information about Moodle, including background information, resources, and an overview of the LMS transition, can be found at http://www.moodle.ualberta.ca/ . This website also details the available Moodle training sessions and how to register.

Please email us at ctl@ualberta.ca if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

CTL Tech Services