Summer brought a new, graphics-based version of the UF e-Learning system — and with it came plans for the future.
The Office of Academic Technology is considering creating a faculty committee next spring to evaluate whether UF should continue to use the current course management system, Sakai, or move to an alternative product, said Assistant Director for Learning Support Services Douglas F. Johnson.
The committee members will be instructors from various colleges who primarily rely on online learning systems to teach.
Sakai was introduced to UF in 2010, and the course management system is typically evaluated every five years, Johnson said. The new systems that will be up for consideration are Canvas, Sakai Open Academic Environment and Adrenna.
“Somewhere between 70 and 75 percent of all courses at the University of Florida use the course management system for some part of their instruction,” he said, so it will be a huge process to move from one course management system to another.
The final decision will be made by faculty and not UF Information Technology, he said.
Dominique Barker, a 19-year-old UF psychology junior, said she doesn’t think UF needs another course management system.
“As technology continues to advance, I think Sakai has potential as a platform because it is an open source,” Barker said. “If something were to break, it could be fixed immediately without waiting for a company to fix the problem.”
