Special Section
NOVEMBER 8, 2011
PAGE 17
BYU-Idaho makes technology changes
tape or DVD put on a university server.
From there, faculty can create a link in
I-Learn that allows students to watch a
video for class.
RACHEL BRUTSCH
Scroll Staff
Technology throughout the world is
constantly changing. BYU-Idaho follows
that trend.
Arlen Wilcock, manager of the
Academic Technology Center, has
witnessed and participated in the
technological changes on campus for 26
years.
The following is a brief glimpse of
how technology has been implemented
or changed in the 10 years since Ricks
College became BYU-I.
THE EVOLUTION OF I-LEARN
In fall 2000, before the announcement
that Ricks College would become BYU-I,
20 faculty members were trying out
the school’s first learning management
system, Blackboard.
“Those faculty that used [Blackboard]
that first maiden voyage were stalwarts
just to continue on, because if you can’t
rely on a learning management system
to deliver and receive the content, it’s
very frustrating. But we knew we had to
start somewhere,” Wilcock said.
In 2007 the university adopted
the name “I-Learn” for its learning
management system. That way, if future
changes came, university could present it
as a newer version of I-Learn.
The 2007 version of Blackboard
frustrated faculty with its more
complicated grade book. On a 7-point
scale, the faculty rated it a 1.7.
“We knew at that point that we
needed to start looking at some other
tools,” Wilcock said.
The technology department formed
an advisory council, comprised largely of
faculty, to find a new program.
The council chose BrainHoney. A
handful of faculty piloted it fall 2009, 35
faculty used it in winter 2010, and 65 did
so in the spring. On a 7-point scale, the
faculty rated it a 6.3.
Students use BrainHoney in I-Learn
today. New versions are released several
times a year, but the university upgrades
I-Learn twice a year, during the winter
and summer breaks. That way, if there
are any problems, there’s time to fix
UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATION | Courtesty Photo
Dan Bauman, a BYU-Idaho employee and former intern, in the computer server Information
Technology area. Technology has changed through the years to help students and faculty.
them before students resume classes.
“There’s always a little bit of
hesitation, because what if things don’t
quite work?” Wilcock said.
MY.BYUI
Ricks College had a student
information system built by its IT
department that had been in place for
over a decade.
“We could tell that the programming
was written in very old code, and rather
than keep patching it together, we knew
that at some point we needed to start
from the ground up again and develop
a new and better student information
system,” Wilcock said.
About three years ago, the
department chose a product through
the company Jenzabar, and my.byui was
introduced.
DIGITAL LIBRARY RESOURCES
The library had already digitized its
card catalog when Ricks College made
the transition to BYU-I, but that change
was only the beginning.
Within the last decade, library
resources have been moving online.
Where the library used to buy most of its
materials, such as books and journals, in
physical form, it now pays for access to
databases of books and articles and buys
fewer physical books.
A year ago, 10,000 VHS tapes were
boxed up and moved off campus.
Another change within the last few
years is online media streaming. Faculty
can request to have material from a VHS
COMPUTERS AND PROJECTORS IN
THE CLASSROOM
Overhead projectors that used
transparencies made way for digital
projectors in 2004. While some
overheads can still be found around
campus, almost every classroom is
equipped with a digital projector.
“Initially, it was a little bit bumpy
because it wasn’t as ‘plug and play’ as it is
now,” Wilcock said.
“You would bring a laptop in and
you’d bring your power plug and you’d
bring in a projector and you’d try to
hook it all together, and if it didn’t work
and you had planned your lesson around
it, then you’d have to wing it.”
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