Following years of deliberation and searching and students’ continued technological problems, MSU has finally chosen a new learning management system, or LMS, to replace the nearly obsolete ANGEL.
Although the university’s decision to choose a new LMS is refreshing, the transition into the new website will take years, only adding to the confusion incoming freshmen and older students will face when balancing classes between two different websites.
Tuesday, MSU announced the selection of Desire2Learn, or D2L, as the university’s replacement for ANGEL. During the past few years, MSU considered proposals from Blackboard and D2L to potentially replace ANGEL.
D2L supposedly will be able to combat the many issues students and professors had with ANGEL in the past, such as better mobile access for smartphone users and compatibility with more web browsers. D2L also includes such features as a one-stop shop for all course materials, simplified navigation and a better calendar.
Although D2L will be available at the end of the fall 2012 semester to professors and students, ANGEL can still be utilized until spring 2015. The university’s decision to move to D2L by 2015 is pleasing to students and professors, as ANGEL has provided both with technological and navigation problems for the past few years.
MSU has searched for a replacement since 2009, when Blackboard purchased the company that built ANGEL, and although the decision took three years, it is commendable that the university finally is moving forward.
Many of the features of ANGEL were confusing to students, and navigation proved bothersome to new and old users.
During the past few years, many professors started using Facebook and other social media websites as their class communication page instead of ANGEL because of the problems they had. MSU might utilize this new software over the next few years, but some professors might choose to stay on Facebook instead of going back to a new learning system.
The transition process will take a few years, meaning some professors will begin using D2L for their class page, while others continue to use ANGEL. Some students will have to move back and forth between websites to do work for different classes, and incoming freshmen will have to learn how to use two software systems when they begin school — and one learning system is hard enough.
It is good the transition is not occurring overnight, but a quicker transition to D2L would probably cause less confusion for many students, especially freshmen who have never used either program.
ANGEL has given professors and students problems for many years. The website can be confusing, and its features often do not work correctly.
It is positive to see that MSU has finally made a decision with D2L as its new LMS, and although the transition period will be awkward for many, hopefully students will have an easier time doing class work, posting assignments and communicating with one another with D2L than they did with ANGEL.
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