1. Blackboard, WebCT, or Something Different? TELECOOP Conference 2003 Kathy Keairns Senior Instructional Designer University of Denver

2. History of Blackboard at DU  Adopted Fall 2000  Web-enhanced courses, some online courses  Prior to Blackboard, WebCT  DU Blackboard Support pages DU Blackboard Support pages  Currently Level II hosted on own servers

3. Online Course Options  Purchase course management software license (Blackboard, WebCT, e-College)  Course web sites  Create a home-grown course management system  Open-source

4. Open-Source Movement What is Open-Source software?  Resides in public domain (not proprietary)  Underlying code can be downloaded for free  Flagship open-source product - Linux operating system

5. Course Management Open-Source  Jones Knowledge Jones Knowledge  Open Knowledge Initiative (OKI) Open Knowledge Initiative  The Internet Course Reader The Internet Course Reader  More More

6. Open-Source Advantages  Availability of the source code and right to modify  Less expensive or free  Right to use the software in any way  Collaboration Advantage  No single company on which future depends (in general)

7. Open-Source Disadvantages  No guarantee that development will happen  Must have dedicated staff with technical expertise  Initially minimal or no support and no single point of control  Poorly-funded nature of open source products may make with their uncertain future

8. Trade-offs “you get what you pay for”  More control with open-source or home-grown system but may require additional technical support staff  Schools need to evaluate if tradeoffs are worth it

9. Web Resources and URLs  Open Source Course Management System Open Source Course Management Systemhttp://web.mit.edu/oki/index.html  Blackboard Building Blocks Open Source Distribution Blackboard Building Blocks Open Source Distribution  DU’s Blackboard Support Site DU’s Blackboard Support Site  Course Management Systems Web site http://www.c2t2.ca/article.asp?item_id=3744&path http://www.c2t2.ca/article.asp?item_id=3744&path

10. Software Bugs