Oncourse makeover creates confusion

The new Oncourse has more than a fresh coat of paint. \nThe student Web site features new functions to aid in research projects while easing navigation of the essential educational tool, said Brad Wheeler, associate vice president for research and academic computing. Oncourse CL was officially put into place Aug. 14, according to the Web site.\nOncourse CL will be used by professors wanting to make the switch, while the old version of Oncourse will run for a year if an immediate switch isn't convenient for the professor, Wheeler said. This will cause some classes to run on the old version, and others on the new version of Oncourse for the entire academic year.\nA quick sampling of opinions at the Indiana Memorial Union revealed some small complaints from students familiar with the old system, but few major problems.\n"I haven't had too much trouble, but some teachers still use the old version, while others use the new one," said sophomore Lacy Padgett. "It can make it confusing. I would rather just have them all conform to one medium."\nMeanwhile, sophomore Sarah Payne said she's had no problems, and felt she has a handle on the new program.\nNew features on Oncourse include the ability to create a site for a collaborative project by making a request, instead of only offering teacher- and class-based sites, Wheeler said. \n"It's not a secret, there's lots of group work in college," he said. "It'll allow group members to create ListServs, share files and create calendars."\nChanges will also allow students to flip through their classes without constantly going back to the tab window, and the interface now has a "rich text" editing tool, which will allow users to write in different fonts and bulleting.\n"Transitions are always a challenge," Wheeler said. "But we're doing everything possible to make a smooth transition."\nTo help students and faculty learn the ins and outs of the new program, there will be hands-on workshops announced on the UITS Web site, said Elizabeth Van Gordon, director of learning technology operations at UITS.\nIf workshops can't be worked into student schedules, then online tutorials, UITS student consultants and the UITS help line will be available to help users get a grasp on the changes, she added.\nOncourse CL will also save the University money, Wheeler said, because it uses open source programming. He said 82 universities around the world have joined the project, which will work on various functions that can be shared because of the open source code. Those functions can then be integrated into our system, he said. \n"We'll be moving from an island to a system with other universities," Wheeler said.