I’m pleased to repeat the news that local Utah company Instructure has won the RFP for the State of Utah’s LMS to replace Blackboard Vista. Here’s a snippet of the press release from Utah Education Network’s web site:
UEN committee selects Instructure to provide statewide Learning Management System for state colleges and universities
(Salt Lake City, UT) – A selection committee representing Utah colleges and universities has chosen Utah-based Instructure to provide a statewide Learning Management System (LMS) for Utah college students and faculty. Instructure’s Canvas LMS is a software application that enables educational institutions to efficiently administer, document, track and report on classroom and online learning. The Utah Education Network will host and support the application from its facilities at the Eccles Broadcast Center. More than 109,000 Utah college students and 29,000 higher education faculty and staff will have access to the system by June 2012. The system will also be available to about 40,000 public education students and their teachers.“The selection committee’s decision is a win-win-win for the state of Utah. It’s a win for Utah students and faculty who gain a state-of-the art Learning Management System at a competitive price. It’s a win for a Utah-based vendor that’s created an excellent product, and it’s a win for all Utah citizens who benefit from the economic development made possible by a well-educated cadre of college students,” said Michael Petersen, Executive Director of UEN.
“We’re excited about this opportunity to partner with UEN, higher education and public schools in Utah,” said Josh Coates, CEO of Instructure. “With Canvas, a new standard for simplicity, usability and elegance has been set, and we believe this will have a direct and positive impact on education in Utah.”
I’ve used Canvas on a few courses of my own–both fully online and hybrid–and can say it’s a great system with a lot of potential. It is also one of the few LMS that integrates with “outworld” social media services such as Facebook, Twitter, Google Docs, and to allow open publishing of courses under Creative Commons licenses.
