How might Benoît go about deciding whether to go with Moodle or WebCT/Vista?
I would suggest that Benoît use the SECTIONS framework by Bates and Poole (2003) and the Edutools resource at: http://www.edutools.info to compare the pros/cons of both Moodle and WebCT/Vista to achieve his objectives. Based on Benoît’s scenario, below is a preliminary comparison of both products:
WebCT/Vista
– It is the university’s “official” LMS
– Has university-wide IT support
– IT help desk is slow responding to email
Moodle
– Hosted by the Faculty of Arts
– Operates stand-alone without tech support
– Instructors need to set up courses from scratch
– More faculty and instructors in the English department are using Moodle since it isn’t administered by IT resulting in less paperwork and less red tape.
What questions might he ask himself? Come up with one specific question and post it in the Benoît discussion thread. Be sure to explain why this is an important question.
So, my one specific question for Benoît would be: does he value more freedom to work on his online business course through his own initiative without potential barriers and restrictions from IT? If so, it may be the case that using Moodle may be better suited for him. This is an important question since it deals with the aspect of whether he can work on his own or requires technical support to help him. However, he does need to take into consideration all aspects of the SECTIONS framework as it pertains to him and then decide what it may ultimately come down to. As this week’s module states in regards to platform selection one must also consider the resources (including time) that can be committed to create online course materials and decide to use a particular technology based on whether it helps us meet their objectives rather than solely considering the latest, “cool” technologies to incorporate.
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