After a two-year evaluation and piloting period, Marist College has selected "iLearn" (Innovative Learning Environment and Research Network) as our long-term course management system. The College is currently in the process of transitioning from the Educator eLearning System to iLearn.  Courses will not be allowed to actively run in the Educator eLearning System starting in Fall 2009. For those who have content in Educator, you can request that course content be "migrated" from Educator to the new system.

Below is a memorandum from Dr. Thomas Wermuth, Vice President for Academic Affairs/Dean of Faculty, concerning the elearning transition that provides more details. If you have questions please contact Josh Baron, Director of Academic Technology and eLearning at Josh.Baron@marist.edu or at (845) 575-3623.

M E M O R A N D U M To:  All Faculty From:  Thomas S. Wermuth, Vice President for Academic Affairs/Dean of Faculty Subject:  eLearning Transition Announcement Date: February 29, 2008 I am writing to announce and explain a recent Cabinet decision to replace the Educator eLearning System (or, as many call it on campus, “eLearning”) with a new innovative collaborative learning environment called iLearn. As many of you are aware, our Strategic Plan calls for growth of our graduate and continuing education programs in ways that extend the geographic reach of the College to national and international audiences.  To ensure that this objective is met, the College has been engaged over the past two years in an assessment of our “eLearning technology” infrastructure.  This evaluation, which places a priority on concerns raised by faculty and students, has focused on the capability of our current system to support instruction as well as to grow while remaining reliable over time.  As part of this evaluation, the market trends in this industry have also been closely monitored. Based on these efforts, it became clear that replacing the Educator eLearning System was necessary to meet our strategic goals.  As a result, the Information Technology office began reviewing, in coordination with the Cabinet, a range of potential replacement systems.  In March 2006, the Sakai Collaborative Learning Environment (CLE) was selected for an initial pilot and was used to support Marist’s fully online Institute for Data Center Professionals (IDCP) program.  Based on the success of these pilot activities, the Cabinet, in consultation with AAC and FAC, has decided to select the Sakai CLE as our long-term eLearning technology solution. For communication purposes, “iLearn” or Innovative Learning Environment and Research Network has been adopted for our localized version of Sakai. In addition to the system’s innovative instructional tools and enterprise-level capabilities, we believe that the unique “built by educator, for educators” model underpinning it is an ideal match with our mission of teaching and learning.  Unlike commercial products, the Sakai CLE is being developed by a consortium of 100 higher education institutions, including Marist.  It is already in use at many of these colleges and universities, including: Stanford University, Yale University, University of Michigan, Indiana University and University of Cambridge.  As a member of this consortium, Marist’s faculty will be able to influence and contribute to its development, thus ensuring that our priorities are met over the long-term. Like any change in core technology, the transition from the Educator eLearning System to iLearn will require a great deal of advanced planning, regular communication, and technical support.  Over the next several weeks the Office of Academic Technology and eLearning will be working with the Deans as well as faculty leaders to finalize a transition plan that will also include a comprehensive communication strategy for informing students of the change.  To begin this process, Josh Baron, Director of Academic Technology and eLearning, will be attending upcoming school meetings to demonstrate the new system, answer questions, and gather feedback.