ANGEL Community Hub

ANGELshorts Vol. 3, Issue #1 Five Things Everyone Should Know about ANGEL 7.3 is now available.

From the article:
"On May 16, Information Technology Services upgraded Penn State's Course Management System, ANGEL, to version 7.3. The new version features enhancements to several existing tools and several new tools that will help course editors perform administrative tasks. There are also several minor interface changes."

Go to the ANGELshorts tab to read previous issues.

Users will now find up-to-date documentation when they click the Help (?) button within ANGEL (or go directly to http://angelkb.ais.psu.edu).

Penn State’s Course Management System, ANGEL (http://cms.psu.edu), was upgraded from version 7.1 to version 7.3 during the weekend of May 16. The new version of ANGEL features enhancements to several existing tools, and several new tools will help course editors perform administrative tasks. For the most part, however, the functionality should remain familiar to users. To learn more about the new features in version 7.3, please visit: http://tlt.its.psu.edu/about/news/2009/angel-to-be-upgraded-to-version-7.3-weekend-of-may-16 . For more information, please contact ANGEL Support

Here are two more articles on the move. The first is from Campus Technology. The article contains some interesting quotes from technologists in the academy and Blackboard's CEO, Michael Chasen, about what this does for choice and competition. Chasen also talks some about Blackboard's plans for incorporating ANGEL's LMS. (Read the Campus Technology Article).

The second article is from The Washington Post and focuses more on the financial implications of the acquisition. Both Chasen and Christopher Clapp, ANGEL's chief executive, discuss what each of them bring to the deal. (Read the Post article).

Here is a link to an article in the Chronicle of Higher Education discussing Blackboard buying ANGEL. The article was published yesterday and has since been updated. The big take away from the article is that in the short term Blackboard plans to sell the ANGEL products separately. So, we most likely will not see an immediate impact to the software we're currently using. However, there are plans to merge them together in the future. This is something Blackboard did with WebCT. A process that was not always smooth by reports but hopefully many lessons were learned that will make this transition as smooth as possible.

Earlier today the University posted an announcement on the ANGEL Homepage reacting to the news (contents below).

"Penn State has just learned about the Blackboard Inc. acquisition of ANGEL Learning, Inc. In the coming days, the University will be in discussions with the company to determine the implications of the acquisition. A formal statement will be forthcoming."

Late yesterday afternoon Blackboard Inc. announced it was acquiring ANGEL Learning, Inc. The acquisition is expected to become final later this month. We are in the process of evaluating the meaning of this acquisition and how it impacts the Penn State community.

Here are links to two articles from Blackboard that provide further information:
Blackboard Press Release
Blackboard's ANGEL Page (I recommend reading the FAQ)

I would like to know where I can find more information on the things that will change in ANGEL 7.3- I saw that discussion forums will change and that there are now quizzes and assessments.

Where can we go to find out about this and any other changes so that we are prepared for the 1st day of summer courses when the new Angel version is rolled out??

Thanks!