The Office of Information Technology (OIT) charged the CMS Implementation Project team to:
- facilitate the University's transition to Moodle as the sole Course Management System (CMS),
- and to manage and plan for the Moodle 1.9 upgrade to version 2.0.
The first steps were to engage governing bodies, a steering committee for guidance and approvals processes, and a user-group, called the CMS Implementation group, to enable communication between the CMS Project team and the colleges and units who design and use Moodle courses. Since then, the CMS Implementation team has continued to work toward a smooth transition and upgrade.
RFI Complete
The CMS Implementation Project team completed the Request For Information (RFI) process that we undertook to investigate a hosted Moodle solution. After reviewing the results, the Project team recommended continuation of the on-premise solution that is currently in place. The CMS Steering committee has reviewed and approved that recommendation.
Timeline and Migration Strategy
The Project team has developed a timeline and migration strategy for moving to Moodle 2.0. Key aspects of the plan are:
- Moodle 2.0 would be available as an option for new and existing fall 2011 courses.
- Moodle 1.9 and Moodle 2.0 would be available through May 2012, providing a transition period for migrating and developing content in Moodle 2.0.
- Content migration from 1.9 to 2.0 will be automated where possible, but will still require a "sanity check" from users to review any changes. Work is underway to test the upgrade process and identify any areas of concern.
Anti-Plagiarism Requirements Analysis
Analysis of requirements for an anti-plagiarism tool are now complete and we have moved to the next phase of the process.
Sandbox for 2.0
Members of the CMS Implementation group and others have been asked to experiment in a "sandbox" of the Moodle 2.0 environment. Some of the differences in version 2.0 include the navigation, file structure, and other enhancements.
Feedback and More Information
The CMS Project Team welcomes your comments and questions. Please send email to cms-trans@lists.umn.edu. For more information, please visit the Moodle website.