Students and professors who use the course management system Blackboard will notice a change after MSU announced Tuesday it will switch to a new program.
ANGEL, or A New Global Environment for Learning, is similar in appearance and will provide many of the same services as the 4.0 version of Blackboard MSU uses.
"Version 4.0 reached the point where we couldn't make it hold as many users as MSU needed," said David Gift, vice provost for libraries, computing and technology. "ANGEL is generally more flexible."
ANGEL will replace Blackboard during the next 18 months, Gift said. He hopes the program will be installed and tested this summer and ready for use by fall. ANGEL is developed by Indianapolis-based CyberLearning Labs.
Gift said the decision to go with ANGEL over Blackboard's newer version was based on several reasons.
"We were able to negotiate more flexible licensing," he said. "The two (programs) are similar in price, similar in user interface, but ANGEL had some advantages."
With Blackboard, the university had to report each class using the site individually and pay a fee for each one. The ANGEL system allows unlimited classes to use web space under one licensing fee.
"The two products were quite similar in cost," Gift said. "Cost control was a major concern."
And Gift said he was confident the change would go over well with the student body.
"Students will find this transition to be very simple," he said. "I'm expecting student to have no trouble at all."
Norman Hord, assistant professor of food science and human nutrition, said he's not concerned with the switch to the new program.
"Not as long as it's as easy to use as Blackboard," Hord said, adding he had never had a problem with Blackboard. "I would hope that this product ANGEL would be equally as user-friendly."
Hord said he's also not worried about students picking up the new program.
"Students are much more familiar with computer technology," he said.
No-preference sophomore Jason Gehrke said he's definitely not losing any sleep about the switch from Blackboard to ANGEL.
"Blackboard's really not that difficult," he said. "But I really don't care, to be honest with you."
