The Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching, along with Information Technology Services, has created a joint project to upgrade WebCT’s software to the company that owns it, Blackboard Learn.

Allan Schmidt, assistant director of CELT, said the long-range plan is that the university will be able to have all courses and faculty upgraded from WebCT to Blackboard Learn by the summer semester of 2012.

Seven pilot courses have been testing out the upgraded software and 30 pilot courses will use it in spring 2011.

Instructors will have a year to learn the new software, make any changes and move their course materials from WebCT to the new software.

“It’s a software upgrade just like Facebook gets upgrades from time to time,” Schmidt said. “We want to go slowly so the faculty have a chance to look it over to see what the new software is like.”

Schmidt said students might still be using WebCT as well as Blackboard in the new version, but there will only be one log-in.

There will be help for ISU faculty, including workshops and meetings with the different academic departments, so everyone understands the new changes.

“It will look different, but in general the course layout will be the same,” Schmidt said. “There are just more features and more teaching tools for faculty. It’s a little easier to use; less clicks.”