After Blackboard, responses to Moodle

The Fall 2010 semester marks the full adoption of Moodle as Vassar College's primary means through which the classroom is integrated into the ever-expanding sphere of the technological. This final break from the Blackboard system of old whose name itself even harkens to a darker and dustier time has been met with reactions ranging from agitation to apathy to excitement. There is no doubt that technology provides a toolbox inside of which are the instruments necessary to enhance or at least modify the landscape of education, however the selection is immense, and it remains to be seen if Vassar has chosen the proper tools to fulfill its oh-so-important mission.

Vassar's Moodle is maintained behind the scenes by the Moodle Support Team, four members of the Computer and Information Services' (CIS) Academic Computing Services group, comprised of Steve Taylor, Cristián Opazo, Baynard Bailey, and Matthew Slaats. This Moodle support team moderates the website and deals with complaints and requests, the majority of which come a month or so before the start of each semester from professors who are preparing for their courses. It was this exact same group that managed Blackboard and was primarily responsible for the decision to make the switch, although a number of individuals were involved.

Taylor explained the decision making process in an emailed statement. "In 2007, after seven years of Blackboard use at Vassar, I decided that we should explore alternatives, just to see if there might be anything we liked better. I formed a task force composed mostly of faculty members and we looked at a number of different systems. We narrowed the choices down to either staying with Blackboard or switching to Moodle. About a dozen instructors made a trial use of Moodle in the Fall 2008 semester and all recommended making the switch. The task force recommended the switch to the Committee on Computing and Educational Technology, which shared its endorsement with the full faculty and made the recommendation to CIS. We began making it available to all instructors in Fall 2009 and made Blackboard unavailable in Fall 2010," a move which would ultimately save the College close to $50,000 annually.

According to Jeffrey Schneider, Associate Professor of German studies and former chair of the Committee on Computing and Educational Technology—now known as the Committee for Academic Technology—there were a number of different reasons that the faculty were drawn to Moodle. "A sizable majority of them were dissatisfied with Blackboard—it seemed really limited and didn't offer the same kind of metaphor for learning," he explained. "It was very teacher directed, and felt fake and artificial. Moodle is a much more attractive, flexible interface. [Another reason was] cost. Blackboard was essentially charging [$50,000] a year and we expected that number to keep increasing."

Technologically speaking, Moodle is easier to maintain than Blackboard because it is an open-source software—a program whose code is accessible to those running the site. "This means that if there's a little bug, or if we want a function to behave differently or if someone has created a great new function, we can modify the program. We've made lots of modifications and while that has called for some work on our part, it's resulted in a system that better meets the users' needs," Taylor noted.

According to both Taylor and Schneider, Moodle has been well-received by the Vassar community at large. "A lot of faculty members have told us that they like it a lot better than Blackboard," Taylor said. Schneider—who creates elaborate designs as covers for his Moodle pages—explained, "I enjoy that the site is much more personalized and much more flexible. I use the survey tools, for example, to gather feedback, and the questionnaires to generate information."

Others feel less enthusiastic about the transition. Associate Professor of Greek and Roman studies Rachel Friedman, who uses the interface for her classes, offered a different perspective. "In edit mode, the visual experience of Moodle can be a bit overwhelming. There are a huge number of options, and I don't find the icons or options especially clear. For example, if I want to add an assignment on any given week, I have to click ‘insert label.' This doesn't make obvious sense to me—I don't understand what it means by ‘label.' And I myself have confused the option for adding something like an instant message with the option for creating a discussion board. Blackboard was clearer, neater and more intuitive."

Friedman did not hesitate to point out, however, Moodle's distinct advantages. The automatic layout of the semester week-by-week, for example, allows for an "interactive" syllabus—not a frozen document, but something that evolves in response to what is actually happening in the classroom. That is, according to Friedman, "really helpful."

The process of receiving and commenting on papers is also "more streamlined" than it was on Blackboard. "I love the way that it automatically e-mails a student back once I have submitted my comments; this was something that I had to do manually with Blackboard," she concluded. Students, who are not required to organize and update their own Moodle pages, seem to feel neutrally, if not positively, about the transition. "I like Moodle better than Blackboard," said Pulani Mpofu '12. "It's very easy to use and I really like the idea of having a calendar, you can use it to check it to see what's due, unlike Blackboard, where everything was scattered everywhere."

Ruthie Bolotin '13 remarked, "I honestly don't feel like there's any difference between Moodle and Blackboard, although I think Moodle is a really useful tool, and super easy to use. It's great that things are so accessible."