CONNOR HOFFMAN
Staff Writer
Starting in the Fall 2016 semester Fredonia will no longer be using ANGEL and will switch to using a new service called OnCourse
Some students have already seen OnCourse in their classrooms this semester, and there will also be workshops held to help students learn how to use this new Learning Management Service (LMS).
The main reason that the university has decided to switch from ANGEL is its lack of updates since its purchase in 2009 by Blackboard.
“In 2009 there wasn’t anything wrong with ANGEL,” said Online Learning Coordinator Lisa Melohusky via email. “From 2009 to now, Blackboard has not done much development in ANGEL so the system has fallen behind other LMSs and [it’s] time to move to a more innovative and flexible system.” She also said that this year ANGEL would be unsupported by Blackboard, which means that no bugs will be corrected or changes made.
Following the sale, a faculty committee assembled to search for potential replacements. Melohusky said that a number of LMSs were identified as possible choices, but ultimately a service called Moodle was chosen. (The committee changed the service’s name, however, to OnCourse.)
The university has made sure that they don’t rush this transition so that it causes the least amount of confusion.
Melohusky said that there will be workshops offered every week for faculty on how to use the OnCourse system and course design. She said the committee currently working on materials to be available inside the courses themselves to help answer any questions students may have.
Some professors have already chosen to move from ANGEL to OnCourse this semester, with political science professor Alex Caviedes being one of them.
Caviedes said that one of the main reasons he is happy to switch from ANGEL is that OnCourse is much simpler in comparison. He said that ANGEL was very complex and would be hard for students and professors to find things because of its “weird interface.”
“It felt very clunky. It’s not like everything else on the Internet. Let’s say if you guys do a submission, or if you’re applying for a scholarship, or an online transaction, the normal Internet is pretty quick [and] you understand things pretty well. Whereas ANGEL looked like a Windows Directory … it was nowhere near as user friendly,” said Caviedes.
Despite having to learn an all-new service, he said that he really has enjoyed OnCourse for its easy to use interface.
“It offers more options to the instructor, in terms of when I want to want to make some materials, and changing some things it’s a lot more flexible as a program,” said Caviedes. He said it’s also much smoother and easier to find files.
Caviedes is happy switching from ANGEL to OnCourse, and he didn’t feel it was too hard of a transition. He said that he also was happy with the amount of support that the administration has provided to help explain OnCourse.
Some students don’t feel the need to change from ANGEL, and would rather keep it than change to OnCourse.
“I don’t like change much, and I don’t see anything wrong with ANGEL,”said Sarah Kalish, a sophomore art history major.
There will be seminars provided Friday, Feb. 5, during Professional Development day to help people better understand OnCourse, according to the Fredonia website.