UR Courses Implementation

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Overview

This page provides details about the implementation of UR Courses, the new course management system for the University of Regina.

UR Courses uses the Moodle software system. Moodle is a free (open source) software package designed using sound pedagogical principles, to help educators create effective online learning communities.

Project Updates

31 August 2009

WebCT will no longer be available after today.    If you have courses in WebCT that need to be converted, please submit a course request (see main page for UR Courses) as soon as possible.

Any recent courses in WebCT that have not been converted as of August 31 will be exported to an external file and will be available to be converted for a period of time.    The conversion can be requested using the course request form.

Several change requests were received over the last year.   Please have a look at the Change Request page to view all open change requests.    Please note that as we are nearing the end of the implementation period, the project team is concentrating on completion of project tasks and these requests will not be addressed until after the start of the fall semester.

As of September 1, 2009 website references to WebCT will be changed to UR Courses, but the old links to WebCT will still work for some time - they will be re-directed to the UR Courses page.

General Information

• Courses can now be offered in French. Please indicate this on the request form when submitting your course request for the next term.
• Please see the Training section on this page for training options.
• A course has been set up within UR Courses (titled 'Learn to use UR Courses') that provides comprehensive details to aid course authors in using the new system.

Major Milestones and Important Dates

Project Summary

Pilot Phase

The pilot phase of the project commenced on May 5, 2008

The pilot phase included implementation of the production operating platform and a small number of courses in the new system with the goal of monitoring system operation and to obtain feedback from users about the system (e.g., is the system easy to use? Are there suggestions for improvements?)

Phase 1 - Expanded Pilot

The expanded pilot phase consists of expanded usage of UR Courses through the addition of more courses to UR Courses (new courses as well as courses that were previously set up in WebCT). Course authors (face-to-face courses) can now start converting their existing courses from WebCT.

Phase 2 - New Course Implementation

At the start of Phase 2, all new courses (i.e., courses not previously set up in (WebCT) will be required to be set up in UR Courses. Course authors still using WebCT are encouraged to convert their existing courses to UR Courses.

Phase 3 - Online Course Conversion for Spring 2009

At the start of Phase 3, all online (TEL-funded) courses) scheduled for the Spring 2009 semester are expected to be converted to UR Courses. Course authors can continue converting existing courses from WebCT.

Phase 4 - Full Implementation

WebCT will no longer be accessible to users after this date (August 31, 2009). Phase 4 signals the timeframe by which all courses (both new and those that exist in WebCT) should be converted to UR Courses.

Training and Support

User training sessions are available on a regularly scheduled basis. Please visit the IS Training Schedule for details and to sign up for training: Training Schedule

Need some one-on-one help with UR Courses? Contact the Computer Training team to book a appointment
...send an email to Computer Training

How to Get Help

To report a problem relating to UR Courses, or if you have a training question, please call the IT Support Centre at 585-4685, or submit a Footprints ticket: http://www.uregina.ca/compserv/ITSC/fp.shtml

Converting from WebCT

For all courses other than Tel-funded (online) courses, course authors are responsible for converting their own course material from WebCT to UR Courses. A basic export utility will be available by mid-July to copy the course material to UR Courses (please refer to the course request form for more information). Faculty Request Form

TEL-funded (online) courses will be converted by CTL and the Distance Learning Division of CCE.

For further information or if you have questions about this project, please contact the Centre for Teaching and Learning at cat@uregina.ca