Blackboard creators are suing Desire2Learn’s creators for patent ifringements and might delay the latest release of Desire2Learn.
Oklahoma State University Information Technology is unsure whether a lawsuit between Blackboard and Desire2Learn will affect the university.
Information Technology staff does not know how the lawsuit will affect OSU but will monitor the situation, according to a statement from IT.
Earlier this month a Texas court ruled Desire2Learn couldn’t use or sell version 8.2.2 and earlier versions of the Learning Environment product in the United States because of patent-infringement issues, according to a court document.
The judge delayed enforcing the order for 60 days, which means Desire2Learn can continue products and business until the semester is over.
The judge also ordered Blackboard and Desire2Learn to meet to negotiate, if possible, any royalties for clients as an alternative to the injunction, according to the document.
According to the Desire2Learn’s patent information blog, the company is in the process of releasing Learning Environment 8.3, which will avoid any of the earlier version’s patent infringement problems, said John Baker, the company president.
The Canadian-based Desire2Learn replaced the American-based Blackboard at OSU in January 2007, Director of Communications Gary Shutt said.
Shutt said the Stillwater campus will pay $101,127 for the program for the 2008 fiscal year, which includes software licensing and shared expenses for maintenance and support.
He said the university technology service fee pays for the course management system.
Frank Chambers, an associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, said he uses D2L for all his classes, which include courses such as thermodynamics, fluid dynamics and heat transfer.
Chambers said he likes using the basic functions of D2L.
“Posting news items and sending e-mail are pretty easy,” Chambers said.
Chambers said he sees some problems with Desire2Learn.
He said entering grades takes too many steps and adding users is not easy or clear.
“Operations for posting files and entering and downloading grades are very tedious,” Chambers said. “It is a clunky program that is inefficient for the user.”
He said D2L and Blackboard are poorly integrated with the rest of the OSU system, particularly Faculty SISWEB.
“It is extremely inefficient to access class rosters, etcetera at two locations with very different programs, different user IDs, passwords, etc.,” Chambers said. “This is in large part an OSU problem.”
Finance junior Makenzie Beaty said she enjoys using D2L and it has made her life easier.
“The main differences I can think of are that not all professors utilized Blackboard, whereas all of my classes are on Desire2Learn,” Beaty said. “Also, when taking a quiz on Desire2Learn there are fewer complications than there were with Blackboard.”
Will Findlay, a mechanical and aerospace engineering junior, said he likes having an online classroom because he can access information whenever he needs it.
“Being able to post and turn in assignments in the online classroom allows students to work around all their extracurricular activities while doing coursework,” Findlay said.
Findlay said Desire2Learn is not immune to problems, though.
He said Desire2Learn seems a little too complicated for some, and some of his professors do not use it at all.
Findlay said there don’t seem to be many features readily available to students. He said the only things some students use are the “Content” and “Grades” tabs.
“Maybe an improvement in the ability for students with the same projects and classes to be able to communicate with each other would be a good addition to Desire2Learn,” Findlay said. “I think a lot of times in college students would be able to succeed if they had the help of their fellow peers.”
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