Sorry … couldn’t resist this.
A BlackCT or Bored Web of course.
For a more considered opinion read on. Anyone who thinks that WebCT support can continue in the long term must be capable of the most profound self-deception which, undoubtedly, will be helped along by the PR departments of the putative marriage partners.
I’m not going to rub salt into the wounds but, overall, I think this ‘merger’ is a good thing.
Why?
My point of view has always been that I’ve never ceased to be suprised that Higher Education Institutions have been more than willing to link a fundamental part of their core mission, i.e. teaching and learning, to the vagaries of platform vendors whose first loyalty can only ever be to their own shareholders and who, therefore, as demonstrated here, are capable of the most radical strategic shifts without prior consultation. Perhaps because the administrative/managerial imperatives of the HEIs have tended to dominate the decision making?
This might finally be a wake-up-call to those institutions willing, and able, to change direction, and who realize the need to take back charge of their own destiny. So if you are now prepared to jump ship which VLE solution is best?
As is well known, I’m no great fan of the current generation of VLEs, full stop, but three criteria would be top of my list:
- The institution has complete control of what it wants to do, when it wants to do it, and is not constrained by restrictive licensing.
- There’s a sizeable and dynamic user, support, and developer community.
- User generated content is valued.
So no plugs for any particular product from me. I leave it to you to decide which tools and systems meet these criteria; if any.
Still not convinced? Then I invite you to revist E-Learning Frameworks and Tools: Is it too late? – The Director’s Cut (Auricle 15 Sep 2004).
Now I wonder which of the corporate giants could have BlackCT in its sights? 🙂
Any views expressed in this Auricle posting are mine and should not be construed as necessarily representing the views of any other individual or organisation.
