UNE’s Learning Management System (Moodle) this week celebrated its 10th anniversary of “going live” to all students in (what was then) Semester 2/2011. Happy Birthday, UNE Moodle! How time has flown.
Moodle acts as the learning environment and actual classroom for all UNE students and is the single most important system within the University’s virtual learning ecosystem. About 1800 units are delivered via the LMS every year, 700 in both T1 and T2 and about 400 in T3.
A decade is a very long time in systems world and a lot has happened with learning technologies since UNE first began using Moodle. With that in mind, the project team has begun a review of the options available for a UNE Learning Management System.
Consultation at School level is underway and further review opportunities will become available as the year progress. A “request for information” has been completed and received a good number of responses. Potential solutions are currently being shortlisted for testing and consideration.
Later this year, the project team will ask shortlisted vendors to set up “sandpits” and invite anyone who is interested to help with testing and evaluation of the shortlisted options. A decision will be communicated in the last quarter of 2021.
The LMS is at the core of UNE’s online learning environment and will be a major contributor to the Digital+ initiative and UNE’s Future Fit strategic plan. If UNE does decide to select an alternative LMS solution, it will be implemented in 2022, followed by a transition of content in 2022/2023 before a “go live” to all students at some point in 2023. This will be a huge undertaking for the University and due consideration will be given to team development and support for academic staff. Simultaneously it is also a fantastic opportunity to focus on uplifting learning, teaching and assessment (LTA), and not just transferring existing content as is.
Staff who want to know more about the project or want to become involved can follow progress via emails, school meetings, Pulse and other channels for opportunities to provide input and feedback.
You can also email lerenewalproject@une.edu.au at any time if you have any questions, suggestions or feedback.