May 2006
Cabling is in the process of being installed. We have two proposals for switching equipment and will make a decision the first week of June.
Tags: SpaceMaster
February 2006
At this point we are investigating an upgrade of WebCT software and the impact of Blackboard’s purchase of WebCT on our installation. The application was moved to a more stable and flexible Linux server in February 2006.
March 2006
A meeting of WebCT stakeholders was held on March 22. Participants discussed the process for creating courses and student accounts, as well as licensing issues and the need to break the connection between unused courses and their students. A “seat” is defined as one person in one class, and we currently have about 1700 seats occupied. However, Matt Ivaliotes estimates that roughly half of the courses that account for the 1700 seats are not currently being used. Breaking the connection between unused courses and students could free up 800 seats. Both the course materials and the student accounts can be retained for future use without affecting our license. The group encouraged Matt to upgrade to WebCT 6.0. Following the implementation of TrackIt! (see below), course developers will be able to request new courses through the new help desk application.
April 2006
Planning has begun for the upgrade of WebCT to version 6.0.
May 2006
The move to version 6.0 requires migration to a database back end. We are investigating whether we can use an existing SQL installation or whether WebCT requires the acquisition of SQL Server 2005.
June/July 2006
Hardware considerations are being reviewed. WebCT/Blackboard is concentrating its efforts on larger installations such as colleges and universities, so we are looking for the right combination of equipment and operating environments to meet our needs.
August 2006
We believe we have a solution that will allow us to continue with WebCT despite our not needing the large campus configuration they recommend. A test server has been set up, and upgrade options are being tested.
ITTS staff are working with Choice to install a new version of SpaceMaster (software used to integrate ad sales into iMIS). Completion is expected in late May or early June.
Tags: SpaceMaster
ALA has maintained WebCT software since August of 2000. It was little used until late 2005. There are now four divisions (RUSA, YALSA, ACRL, and ALCTS) using the WebCT software, and interest seems to be growing.