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Dalhousie was recently informed by Moodle Rooms (the company that provides Moodle support to our Faculty of Agriculture) that the contracted services will be terminated within six months. That means Moodle will not be available for use effective this fall.

We understand and appreciate that this is not welcome news. To date, we have emphasized that our Faculty would not be moved off Moodle until the University completes its larger review of the learning management systems. This review process is scheduled for the next nine months. However, this news from Moodle Rooms has occurred earlier than was anticipated and leaves us with few alternatives.

Moodle Rooms offered an extended support structure in the 'cloud'; however, it would be located outside of Canada and thus poses significant challenges pertaining to privacy law. As a result, there is no choice but to commence a rapid conversion of all Faculty of Agriculture courses into Blackboard between now and August of this year.

We know that many faculty researchers are out in the field or have long-planned vacations and are not readily available during the summer. The good news is that we have received significant support from units on the Halifax campus to make sure that we can make this transition with as little disruption as possible. A team of individuals from both campuses has been formed to look at the work plan, content conversion and training for faculty members. We shall have people on the ground throughout the summer including August and September to assist as best we can.

We will ensure ongoing communications on this priority project and should you have specific questions or comments, please contact Linda Jack (Linda.Jack@Dal.Ca)Ìý or Marc Comeau (Marc.Comeau@Dal.Ca).

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