Larry Johnson just sent an email to the NMC list with news that Blackboard and WebCT are merging. Holy. Crap. I mean – there goes any sense of competition in the LMS game. What’s left to compete? Moodle? Sakai? Something else? I really hope there is more than one Big Player left in the LMS world…
Here’s hoping the new LMS behemoth doesn’t go all Microsoft on our asses, and is able to do something innovative with their new collective girth.
Looks like Bb and WebCT brands will continue for some time, with the best of both being amalgamated into a new Bb version. BbCT?
I, for one, welcome our new LMS overlords…
Larry Johnson just sent an email to the NMC list with news that Blackboard and WebCT are merging. Holy. Crap. I mean – there goes any sense of competition in the LMS game. What’s left to compete? Moodle? Sakai? Something else? I really hope there is more than one Big Player left in the LMS world…
Here’s hoping the new LMS behemoth doesn’t go all Microsoft on our asses, and is able to do something innovative with their new collective girth.
Looks like Bb and WebCT brands will continue for some time, with the best of both being amalgamated into a new Bb version. BbCT?
I, for one, welcome our new LMS overlords…
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I don’t work for the company, but it’s one that deserves a closer look – Desire2Learn. What I liked was the easy interface for faculty to use. Very clean interface. The entire state of Wisconsin and Minnesota have selected D2L as their LMS.
Aren’t you over-reacting a bit? Did the monopoly on Monopoly keep you from playing and enjoying the fine Parker Brothers board game? Soon there will be no confusion where educators go to “sell out” to “The Man”. (Incidentally, “The Man” has a name — it’s spelled L-I-G-H-I-P-S).
It’s simply the irresistible logic of capitalism, my lad. Big fish eat other big fish, and when the big fish are all gone they eat all the little fish, and when all the little fish are gone they start eating farmed salmon. You spurned my offer to join Lighips eLearning Supremacy Inc. back in the day, and as I recall you had some jovial sport at my expense. Now you know what I was setting in motion back then (and I have only begun my campaign). I offered you the hand of friendship, the hand that might have fed you and your family, and you bit it like an ill-trained dog. I’m willing to overlook your lack of gratitude. There is still time to join the winning team. You will not enjoy the riches you would have received had you pledged subservience to me when you first had the chance, but I will slip more “Benjamins” into your palm than the Moodlers ever will. And some day, these offers of velvet-gloved friendship will cease, and all that will remain is the iron fist.
Mmmmm… salmon…..
Not sure a velvet glove is something that I should be enticed by. Keep those in the drawer, next to the fur-lined handcuffs. Thanks for the offer, though…
At PSU we use ANGEL, from ANGEL Learning. We went with it a few years ago becuase we struck a deal to have access to the code base. We also are able to control our pricing which is criticial. When we were WebCT customers many years ago, they took us from an affordable deal to something totally outrageous. We dropped them. The merger is in many ways good — unless, IMHO, you have spent the last 5 years on BB … it is so hard to drive faculty and student adoption of these tools. If I had spent the same amount of time and energy as our ANGEL group on adoption and diffusion of the LMS/CMS toolset and it got switched out on me I’d freak. At any rate, “the times they are a changin’, Miss Daisy.”
Hi D’arcy,
I came across your site through Stephen’s Web. There is a great alternative to BbCT as you put it out there. Have you ever checked out http://www.Desire2Learn.com?
There is a choice, and it’s a great one. Desire2Learn’s technology is years ahead of its competition, its first class support and client services keep their clients happy, and they provide the option of self-hosting or Desire2Learn hosting at their tier 1 facility.
But don’t take my word for it – their impressive client base speaks for itself (http://www.desire2learn.com/clients/index.asp). Take the time to learn more about them, and if you like what you see, help spread the word.
D2L is used in Calgary a bit – I believe the public school board has adopted it – and from what I hear it is really nice. I haven’t had a chance to check it out though.
I was more lamenting the fact that there aren’t any other “big players” in the LMS market – although SABA and NetG are bigger they are primarily corporate training systems.
Aside: I used to work for a company that was building a new competitor to NetG and its ilk – it was a really nice LMS that blew the user interface of the others out of the water, and was based around compelling interactive content. But that was a looong time ago, and that company is no longer viable.
Ish — does D2L pay you a salary, or by commission? If you want to sell something, I suggest you bring your impressive and subtle marketing skills to bear as a Lighips eLearning Supremacy Inc. reseller. The effort you just expended might just as easily been spent spreading the Lighips word, with a far more lucrative rate of return.
I like the cut of your jib, Ish, but it’s time you got serious, and made some hard-headed and tough-mined choices about who will pay the piper to call the tune you end up singing. Think long and hard, and take the plunge into unlimited wealth. Lighips operators are waiting to receive your call.
BlackCT is not a bad product. It more or less accomplishes all that all of the LMS products do. They are all cars. But like cars, they do differ and the home garages offer different degrees of service. We use Desire2Learn because I have been told that their car has many extra features, is cheaper than the other cars and has a responsive home base.