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Campus community invited to try out learning management systems
Mar 11th, 2022
Learning Management Systems

The LMS Evaluation Committee invites members of the campus community to test drive each of the three systems — Blackboard Learn Ultra, D2L Brightspace, and Instructure Canvas — vying to be the University of Windsor’s next Learning Management System (LMS).

From March 14 through April 3, the vendors are providing a “sandbox” — or testing version — of their systems to showcase their products and allow UWindsor faculty, staff, and students to get a hands-on experience of the look, feel, and function of each LMS.

“The LMS impacts almost everyone who is teaching or learning at UWindsor, so it’s critical that the campus community has an opportunity to see inside the potential systems and have their say on what they like and don’t like about each of the products in the running,” says Nick Baker, co-chair of the LMS evaluation committee.

Feedback from the campus so far, through the LMS Review surveys conducted in 2021 and on the recent vendor presentations, has been invaluable in informing the review committee on the needs and preferences of the community, and ultimately feed into the selection process.

The sandbox sites for the three LMS options will be available for three weeks starting Monday March 14, for users to test each system and provide their feedback and insights.

Between March 14 and April 3, visit https://www.uwindsor.ca/itservices/lmsreview, select one of the vendor sandboxes, and spend at least 30 minutes exploring each system using the provided list of suggested actions as a guide. Testers can go back as often as they like and spend as much time as they like. Once you have finished exploring a product, complete the evaluation form for it, found on the LMS Review-Sandbox Evaluation page.

In appreciation for taking the time to evaluate these systems, for each feedback form submitted by noon April 4, individuals may enter a draw for one of over 20 prizes, including podcasting kits, gaming headsets, ring lights, and wireless charging stations sponsored by the Office of Open Learning, and at least 10 goodie bags of swag from the Centre for Teaching and Learning. Anyone who completes a feedback form and enter the draws for all three systems will be entered into an additional draw for gift cards and a grand prize of the latest Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.5” tablet from the Office of Open Learning.

Bookmark the page now and begin playing in the sandbox sites on March 14.

The University of Windsor began an LMS Review in 2021 after Blackboard announced that as of 2023, the company will no longer support or allow self-hosted instances of its product, such as the one University of Windsor uses. For more information about the LMS Review and its timeline, visit the LMS Review website or email lmsreview@uwindsor.ca.

New payment system to launch April 21
Mar 3rd, 2022
computer displaying TouchNet screen

The University of Windsor will be getting a new payment process system — TouchNet, a Global Payments company — as part of project to modernize campus systems. Finance and Information Technology Services team members, with the help of many other areas across campus, are currently implementing and testing the new platform, which is set to launch on April 21.

TouchNet was selected for its modern ecommerce platform, integration with UWinsite Student Financial Accounts, and enhanced security, says Chris Lanoue, manager of financial services, in Budgets and Financial Services.

“We have met with many campus partners to identify their needs,” he says. “We ask that any campus unit that collects payments and has not been contacted, to please reach out to ensure we can support integration with the new system.”

Campus community members can email sfadmin@uwindsor.ca with information about what type of system they use to collect funds and the purpose of collecting funds.

Campus on-premise payment terminals will be replaced in April. In addition, websites and applications that utilize ecommerce as a payment method will be upgraded and integrated with TouchNet. The new system also offers improved functionality for students, who will be able to schedule pre-authorized debit transactions for tuition payments and grant account access to a guardian or parent to make payments on their behalf.

More information on the Payment Modernization project will be provided in DailyNews in the coming weeks.

Choosing our Future LMS presentations open to campus community
Mar 1st, 2022
List of presenters

The LMS Review Team invites input from the campus community on the vendors vying for the opportunity to be the University of Windsor’s next generation Learning Management System (LMS) when they provide public presentations of their products on March 2 and 3.

The LMS Evaluation Committee, which includes representatives from all major stakeholders across campus, has been working hard to evaluate the extensive written proposals from each vendor since the Request for Proposals closed at the end of January, and has invited vendors to present their vison to the campus community for feedback.

“The LMS is critical digital infrastructure that significantly impacts the experience of all instructors and learners, so it’s vital that the campus is part of the decision-making process to select our next generation LMS that is capable of supporting our diverse community now and into the future,” says Nick Baker, co-chair of the evaluation committee.

The committee’s other co-chair, Graham Fawcett, says “The campus community voice played an essential part in the LMS review last year in shaping the extensive requirements that we asked vendors to meet, and now we are seeking input from the community again through the vendors’ presentations.”

The presentations will be held virtually in Teams Webinar. To attend one or more of the presentations, register using the following links:

Each vendor will have up to 45 minutes to present their visions to campus, addressing seven key themes informed by the LMS review process:

  1. Accessibility and universal design;
  2. User experience, interface, and personalization;
  3. Collaboration, co-creation and community;
  4. Analytics, curriculum, and activity;
  5. Assessment, communication, and content;
  6. Extensibility and standards compliance; and
  7. Migration.

Questions from the audience will not be possible during the presentations, but all attendees are invited to share feedback with the evaluation committee using a short survey that will be provided following each presentation, which will not be recorded.

In the next phase of the evaluation process, the vendors will be invited to provide the campus community with access to a “sandbox” version of their system to showcase the product and allow users to test the system over approximately three weeks. Feedback from the sandbox experience will help inform the final recommendation and decision. More information on sandboxes will be available after the vendor presentations.

The University of Windsor began an LMS Review in 2021 after Blackboard announced that as of 2023, the company will no longer support or allow self-hosted instances of its product, such as the one University of Windsor uses. For more information about the LMS Review and its timeline, visit the LMS Review website or email lmsreview@uwindsor.ca.

University internet inaccessible early Wednesday and Thursday
Feb 18th, 2022
hand pulling ethernet connection

The University of Windsor’s internet will be inaccessible on two occasions next week:

  • Wednesday, Feb. 23, from 12 to 3 a.m., and
  • Thursday, Feb. 24, from 6 to 8 a.m.

The outage on Wednesday is due to ongoing network improvements by the service provider, Connecting Windsor-Essex (CWE). On Thursday, Information Technology Services will conduct maintenance for the buildings listed below and may impact connectivity to the overall University network from off-campus.

Affected buildings on Thursday:

  • School of Creative Arts - Armouries
  • Alan Wildeman Centre for Creative Arts
  • Windsor Hall
  • Psychological Services and Research Centre
  • the Institute for Diagnostic Imaging Research

Users may have to restart or log in again on various platforms when service resumes.

If you have difficulties accessing the internet on campus or the University network after the disruptions, contact the IT Service Desk by calling 519-253-3000, ext. 4440. The IT Service Desk opens at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday and Thursday.

University to discontinue Google Services on April 30
Feb 17th, 2022
cartoon trucks transferring material from Google Drive to One Drive

Campus community members will be required to migrate or download any remaining files, documents, or data they may still want from the UWindsor-hosted Google Drive by April 30.

“The move to Microsoft 365 for our students and alumni came in 2020. Since then, some students, and alumni, as well as faculty and staff have continued to use Google Drive as a place to save documents or share files.” says Mike Fisher, manager of web services and systems support, IT Services. “We want to ensure people have a final chance to move their files by the deadline.”

UWindsor students should review their Google accounts and save files elsewhere if they have:

  • received an email listing failed files after the 2020 migration process;
  • used Google products like Sheets or Docs, which save to Google Drive, after the migration process; or
  • continued to use their Google account for storage after the migration process.

A few faculty and staff had also activated UWin Gmail accounts for collaboration purposes. These employee accounts were not part of the May 2020 migration. Any files saved only on Google Drive that faculty or staff wish to keep need to be transferred to OneDrive or downloaded prior to the deadline.

Knowledge base articles are available to aid faculty, staff, and students who would like to migrate their outstanding Google files to their OneDrive, which has one terabyte of storage. Alternatively, information on how to download files to a computer is also available.

Alumni who still have files on the UWindsor hosted Google Drive they want to transfer can download them to their computers for storage in their preferred location.