Benoît should ask himself, “How much time will this course take to set up and maintain outside of the usual duties associated with teaching a course?”. Within this question there are really two: one about the initial set up and the other about maintenance, not only for the semester but in future iterations of the course as well. Whichever way he goes, this is a big decision, because, as Coates, James and Baldwin assert, “commitment to one system can mean exclusion from others” (2005, p. 32) and this could entail excluding access to “large libraries of learning objects” (p. 31). An important distinction between Blackboard and Moodle is Blackboard is a commercial system while Moodle is open source.
This question is in no way meant to discount the question of student learning. From what I know (which is admittedly limited at this time) of the two LMSs, they offer similar platforms for asynchronous and synchronous communication, accessing learning resources, and assessment, given that the teacher and/or technical staff know how to use them.
It sounds like his initial learning curve with Moodle will be steeper because he has no experience with it, as opposed to Blackboard, which he will have some facility with through his experience with WebCT. In this setup phase, Blackboard might be easier, assuming Benoît can, against the odds, access the often inaccessible HelpDesk. But Moodle may be easier in the long run, despite him probably needing more than his available 5 hours in the first week or two. It seems that, once up and running, it will be easier for him to update, correct errors, or add new content in Moodle.
Coates et al. mention access, cost and quality (p. 23) as 3 factors to consider when choosing an LMS. Access is better on Moodle, the cost is free on Moodle, and (I am assuming) paid for by the institution for Blackboard, while the quality is probably similar. That gives a slight edge to Moodle, considering the first category.
Lastly, and contrary to my warning above about this being a “big decision”, Benoît should read Stella Porto’s article and consider that fact that his students may be working less and less within the confines of the LMS, instead choosing their own “customized toolboxes” (Porto, 2015) of information from social media and the web at large, in coming semesters.
References
Coates, H., James, R., & Baldwin, G. (2005). A critical examination of the effects of Learning Management Systems on university teaching and learning. Tertiary Education and Management, 11,(1), 19-36.http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11233-004-3567-9
Moodle. (2016). Retrieved from: https://moodle.org/
Porto, S. (2015). The uncertain future of Learning Management Systems. The Evolllution: Illuminating the Lifelong Learning Movement. Retrieved fromhttp://www.evolllution.com/opinions/uncertain-future-learning-management-systems/