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Who would have thought a Learning Management System developed during a PhD would be such a world-wide success?

UWA has moved from WebCT as its LMS to a new system using Moodle software. The open source system was developed in WA by Martin Dougiamas while a postgraduate student.

Integrated with the LMS is a new lecture capture system, EchoSystem, in place of Lectopia.

Mr Dougiamas was at the launch of the new eLearning systems LMS last month, at which staff from the university, including the Centre for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning (CATL ) and Information Services celebrated the smooth adoption of the new system.

Dr Shannon Johnston, UWA project manager for e-learning implementation and the Moodle implementation at CATL , said that, although there had been some teething problems, not unexpected in implementing a new system for more than 30,000 users and in a very tight time-frame, it was a huge success.

"The overall feedback from staff has been very good and we are able to add improved functionality, as we have monthly updates and upgrades," she said.

When the company that supported WebCT indicated that support would be withdrawn, Dr Johnston chaired a review of learning management system options that included an environmental scan, staff survey, staff and student testing and other methods.

"We chose Moodle for a few reasons," she said. "It is the most flexible. We can add to it or change things as needed, which is a vital attribute as we work towards a place in the top 50 universities. We can have greater control over how it feels, what it looks like, and how it works.

"We can develop the system into whatever we want over time. It is our learning system."

UWA has engaged NetSpot to create the LMS environment and to continue hosting and developing the system. "Staff can use it to reflect their own teaching methods and needs, and they can propose changes and developments," Dr Johnston said.

The new system has been in place since the end of February. "It was a huge job to create the environments and get it up and running, fully integrated with UWA information systems, in just nine months. It would normally take 18 months for this sort of project but it was a brilliant job by many different people at UWA and the NetSpot staff.

"We have integrated it into nine different system at UWAs. For example, the students enrol in Callista, and they are automatically put into their units in LMS.

They can also access course reading materials, captured lectures, and their Webmail."

She said the new lecture capture system replaced Lectopia when, like WebCT, the company that supported it withdrew its support. "Lectopia was developed at UWA and bought by Echo360 but we can't use a system for which there is no support. EchoSystem is fully integrated into the LMS and it is now even easier for students to access lectures.

"It is also easier for staff, as lectures in centrally-timetabled venues are automatically recorded, and captured lectures are made available to students."

EchoSystem is now in 75 venues at UWA.

"We have provided more than 130 training opportunities, both formal and ad hoc, from September 2011 to the start of semester one, 2012. For the first time, we also offered student training in week one of semester, and SISO staff were trained to be prepared to support students," Dr Johnston said. There are extensive online resources and guides for both staff and students on how to use the eLearning systems through the staff and student help units: lms.uwa. edu.au

Staff can get help with using the LMS, solve problems, ask questions and organise training through CATL at [email protected]

Published in UWA News , 14 May 2012