Time to write a course?

In reading all the posts responding to the amount of time Benoit needs to write/develope and online course, I get the feeling that so many of my peers are leaps and bounds ahead of me in the fact they they have already done so.  I never know if this should act as incentive to push forward, or regret because I have not gotten on board earlier.

Does anyone know what a horizontal strike through a word is meant to symbolize?

Moodle or WebCT/Vista support for Benoît?

In order to make his decision, Benoît will have to ask himself which platform offers him the most support.  He is already armed with some technical skills, a comfort with WebCT from his current face-to-face Business course and some web design content development for personal projects. This expertise will also serve him well in Moodle.

WebCT/Vista

Working at a large University, and host on its own server, WebCT/Vista requires the support of the universities IT department.  Colleagues have stated that the new LMS has only half of its original functionality, thus facilitating the need for Benoît to access IT-help.  By current accounts, it is hard to get in touch with, and response times are markedly slow.  Benoît would count this as two strikes against WebCT/Vista.

Moodle

Moodle is based in the English Department, and while not falling under the umbrella of the University’s IT Department, a large University will have a large English Department, and so the number of support personnel that Benoît can access for help is substantial.  An open source LMS, technical help is also available online, another plus for access to support, and availability on his meagre timeline of 5 hours per week. As more of the English Department faculty members continue to use Moodle, Benoît will be able to provide his Business writing course a look consistent with other departments in the University.

Since both LMS pose unfamiliarity to Benoît, he is going to need some support, which Moodle offers more of in this scenario.  If Benoît had access to our ETEC 565 discussion forum, he would clearly note that lack of training, Pro-D, or IT Support pose substantial roadblocks to the implementation of new Educational Technology, and should choose Moodle.

 

 

 

Introduction

Hello and Happy New Year
I am Mike Rybachuk, and along with my wife and 4 children, (two in University) live at the north end of Okanagan Lake in Vernon BC.
This is my 7th and 8th MET course ( currently taking ETEC 533) and I have enjoyed the entire program immensely, despite the many late nights.  I am a high school mathematics teacher, with the exception of two years in a private school in Kuwait, have spent my entire career in the North Okanagan.
I love to travel, just returning from a wonderful holiday in Mexico.  By all accounts this is a great course, and I look forward to working with you all in the coming months.