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The service has evolved to become an established community of experienced online teachers, a collection of dynamic and interactive online courses and a technical support team managed by professionals. Today, the OC online educational services hosts 25,000 users registered in over 3,000 course instances. |
Customer and Technical Support
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The OC support staff is committed to our customers and they show this every day with their professionalism and prompt response to our members’ inquiries. This team of IT professionals also supports the equipment and infrastructure to ensure the web service remains available. The OC support staff is skilled systems professionals with years of experience in configuration and maintenance, database administration, WebCT administration, WebCT designer functionality, web design and deployment. There is also an extensive Procurement and Supply Services (PSS) Information Technology team of professionals available with further knowledge and support. |
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The OC is a membership-driven service provided by Open School BC that functions as a cost-recovery operation. OC membership is made up of school districts and schools, operating on a fee per usage basis. OC members save on equipment, maintenance and technician costs. Subscription to OC services is less expensive than implementing and maintaining your own system. The expenses associated with running fully featured Learning Management Systems includes licensing costs, computer hardware, networking, technical staff, support staff, and management. Our research and input from the field indicates the costs to run a complete system independently would be in excess of $100,000 per year for an average-sized district. Open School BC is able to keep costs low because to the volume of licenses we acquire. As a shared service we are able to purchase quality hardware that ensures dependability and performance. The cost of purchasing and running the server, disk array, backup, network and associated infrastructure, is shared. Our members benefit from these economies of scale. |
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The implementation of WebCT CE 8 has included many factors that we are pleased to offer on your behalf:
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If your students can use a web browser, they can take an online course. Open School BC’s premium modular-designed courses are self-directed and learner-centric. They include intuitive and engaging interactive multimedia resources to enhance students’ conceptual understanding. With a little training, a teacher can manage a program of online students and courses through a simple, easy-to-use interface. The OC provides school districts the freedom to build an online program that fits students’ needs, teachers’ needs, and the district budget. The OC also has several online courses designed by online teachers available to the membership. WebCT makes it easy for teachers to create their own courses or modify an existing module to suit their own style or preferences. |
Open School BC Online CoursesA current list of Open School BC courses can be viewed at http://online.openschool.bc.ca/online_courses.html |
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Learning Management System: WebCT 8 Campus Edition
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WebCT was chosen through a public Request For Proposal (RFP). This lengthy evaluation process involved a diverse group of invested professionals including online teachers and administrators, technical experts and representatives from the Ministry of Education. They examined a variety of criteria to determine a LMS that could facilitate a province-wide service. The process led to the development of a business plan to take advantage of a matching grant offer from SUN Microsystems to acquire new servers. Open School BC has moved forward with the latest generation LMS and the most up-to-date server technology. Open School BC is proud to offer one of the most advanced online services to our membership at an economy of scale that could not have been realized without their participation. WebCT Campus Edition is a market-leading course management system used by institutions around the world, in all stages of e-learning deployment. Built on a strong technical foundation, WebCT Campus Edition includes a Virtual Course Environment with a complete set of tools for course preparation, delivery, and management, resulting in an e-learning system that is easy to use, innovative, and reliable. |
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Open School BC’s Online Consortium now offers members access to a Moodle learning management system (LMS) to host online courses. Moodle is an open source software package designed to help educators create online/internet-based courses and websites. Why is Open School BC offering Moodle as an alternative learning management system? Open School BC wants to give members the opportunity to try Moodle to determine if this LMS meets their expectations. We also decided to implement this additional service because:
In making this service available, our membership will be able to evaluate this LMS at their convenience and make an informed decision about the Moodle LMS. |
WebCT and/or MOODLE "YOUR CHOICE"Open School BC’s Online Consortium offers its associates tremendous value with its wide array of services that are included with its membership. As a consideration to the education community we are offering "YOUR CHOICE". The services included in the two learning management systems...[read more] [ TOP ] |
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