Students with distaste for using eCompanion in their classes will not need to worry much longer; starting this summer, the eCompanion Learning Management System (LMS) will be gradually phased out here at UW. In its place, a new LMS will stand known as Canvas, or WyoCourses as it shall be called here.
Learning Management Systems like eCompanion and WyoCourses are online templates where assignments, grades and other information relevant to the class can be found. The University of Wyoming has been utilizing eCompanion and its sister system eCollege as its LMS since the 1990s. Most UW students, especially those in Outreach programs, have used the systems for some or all of their classes.
Some students may have dealt with WyoCourses to some extent already, said Cody Connor, Instructional Technology Education Specialist at the Outreach School on campus. A trial run of the system began this past fall semester in which 20 classes and about 1000 students participated. All professors were given the opportunity to use WyoCourses this spring, with a shell website automatically set up for every class.
This pilot for the new Learning Management System was brought about because UW’s contract with eCollege was coming up for renewal and alternative LMS’s were sought; WyoCourses was a finalist in the selection process. Connor said the contract with eCollege was not renewed because the user interface on WyoCourses is an improvement.
“It’s a tool built for 20th century learning,” Connor said. “I’ve been at the Outreach School for 4 years and in that time, eCompanion has looked and behaved exactly the same as it did the day I started. With WyoCourses, we have a whole new, easy to use user interface. In the end, we believe that means it will be easier for instructors to utilize〝to deliver academic content.”
WyoCourse will include a number of new or improved features, including a notifications system, web conferencing, an attractive user interface and complete mobile device compatibility.
Matt Anderson, a senior who has spent two years taking Outreach courses, said though he could not log on to WyoCourse in the first week he had to use it, the problem was fixed by technical support and he likes the new management system.
“I like the new one because everything is grouped together,” said Anderson, a psychology major. “You get e-mail in the same folder and your assignments show up on the side; I like it.”
Another one of the students in the same class as Anderson said she likes WyoCourse because she thinks it is better organized. Junior Ralynne Riddle said she thinks the new system works well.
“I just feel like my teachers post more on Canvas,” said Riddle, also a psychology major who has been taking Outreach courses for two years between Western Wyoming Community College in Rock Springs and UW. “It seems like it is updated more.”
Both students said they are happy the university is moving forward with WyoCourse.
Connor’s colleague, Athena Kennedy, Instructional Technologist at the UW Outreach School, said using technology was important in the classroom because today’s students are tech-savvy and interested in utilizing it’s potential.
“[Students] find it very engaging and want to employ it in their classroom for projects and communication,” Kennedy said. “Research suggests that the more you use technology in the classroom, video, audio, music, anything-the more engaged the student is. That’s why we’re trying to get faculty to adopt this technology.”
Kennedy and Connor held a webinar yesterday, detailing the various technological tools that can be used to help in the learning process. They included Pinterest, TED-Ed and even Facebook as tools that can be productive in the classroom.
More changes are coming to the UW online world, with the updates coming to the WyoWeb system in the near future.
