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Learning Management System (LMS) Review 2023

EKU is embarking on an evaluation of learning management systems (LMS).  An informal faculty survey in December 2022 found that a majority of faculty showed interest in an learning management system (LMS) review.  A meeting followed between Academic Affairs, EKU Online Learning, and Information Technology (IT) to discuss the LMS future. Since our contract with our current LMS provider-Blackboard-expires on June 30, 2025, it was decided at that time, in order to conduct a thorough review with time to convert current courses from Blackboard Learn into a new system, we needed to begin the process immediately.  

An LMS Review Committee was convened that represents faculty, the Instructional Design Center (IDC), eCampus leadership, and IT leadership and a timeline was developed. 

Learning management systems have changed significantly since EKU began using Blackboard.  In fact, Blackboard has introduced its next generation LMS Blackboard Ultra. The goal of this review is to evaluate Blackboard Ultra along with two additional systems, Brightspaces D2L and Canvas and identify the system that best meets the needs of our academic community.

The review process will include students, faculty, and service units that provide user support for these systems.

Committee Goal

Given the research and contribution from various internal and external stakeholders, this committee will be able to make recommendations and select the LMS that best fits the needs of Eastern Kentucky University. 

Fall 2023 Timeline Breakdown

Product Demonstrations will begin in September 2023 for all three candidate systems.  The campus community will receive more information on these demos.  Links to recordings of the viewings will be available on the menu to the left under each platform as they occur.

Sandbox environments will be provided as well for each system - in the sandbox faculty members can create, import, and modify courses in order to test the new systems.  Students will be able to test them and use the mobile app too.  We will publish how to sign up for an account in the next few weeks.   

Demos and the sandboxes will continue until mid-November.  After, a survey will be sent then the survey results will be analyzed.  The LMS committee will use this data to make a recommendation.  

Purchasing will begin vender negotiations at the end of 2023. 

Definitions:

Product Demonstration – these will be product demonstrations staged by product vendors, likely to include presentations to groups of EKU faculty and staff.  These demonstrations will be recorded and made available for anyone to view on this website.

Sandbox – a sandbox will be a test environment for an LMS.  In the sandbox you will be able to create a test course to play with and evaluate the different features and the interface for the LMS. A sandbox course IS NOT a course actually being taught and is not a permanently archived course in the university.  It is only a place for you to play with a new system.

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