Welcome, this page will walk you through the most current information about the Learning Management System (LMS) transition process occurring at the College of the Rockies.
What is Happening?
Moodle 4.5 active and security support are coming to an end, forcing us to upgrade to Moodle 5.x in the next year.
What does this mean?
User Experience (navigation) and Interface (look and feel) changes will be significant for all users. New course layouts, activity icons and color themes, font styles and page layouts, and gradebook setups will need to be learned and implemented in all courses.
More details on how these changes will affect faculty and students are provided below.
A transition is coming. But what we transition to is an opportunity.
We have a rare opportunity to look seriously at an alternative LMS: D2L – Brightspace.
Why D2L now?
There are three core reasons supporting a potential move to D2L right now. Select each to learn more.
1. A recent cost increase for Moodle
A price increase with the BCNet Moodle Agreement has provided a window for us where the transition is more financially viable. This includes the full expansion of the Bongo video assessment tool to the wider college body as part of our D2L agreement.
2. BC Online Learning D2L Mandate
In 2023, the BC Provincial Government passed a mandate that D2L Brightspace would be the official Provincial Online Learning Platform, causing a trickle down to secondary and primary schools. The growth in the use of D2L in the BC Education system should ease school-college transitions.
3. Security and Stability
D2L Brightspace is hosted on Canadian servers and regularly updated from a security and tech standpoint without major ‘look and feel’ transitions year to year.
Learn More
Use the dropdowns below to review the LMS Transition plan for the coming weeks and learn a little more about the two LMS systems.
Community Input
The college is undertaking a decision-making process that is seeking the input of Faculty, Staff, and Students across our community.
Test Kiosks in the Learning Commons
All college community members are invited to try out both D2L and Moodle 5.2 on our LMS Kiosk Stations in the Learning Commons throughout November.
Instructional Staff and Faculty Input
D2L Engagement Meetings October 28th at 10:00AM and 1:00PM
All Faculty Survey sent out on October 15th (ongoing)
Moodle 5.x Presentations November 18th @ 10:00AM and 1:00PM in KC151
Focus Groups are running through October and November
Open input welcome, please use the open form provided at the top of this page
Moodle 5 is a significant shift from our current Moodle experience at the College of the Rockies for two primary reasons:
Changes to administrative setup of activities, gradebooks, and question banks are the major updates in Moodle 5.x
Our current Moodle 4.5 experience with the New Learning Theme will not be carried forward so we are changing to the Moodle default theme: Boost+Union.
Moodle 5.x brings a few changes to the administrative structure of Moodle and will be introduced with the Boost+Union default theme. This theme change in particular will result in significant changes to the look and feel of a Moodle course. Many course elements will be moved to new locations and a few tools are going away.
A few examples of the changes are listed below. This list is not exhaustive.
Changes for All Users
New theme will change the Home Page to be more Course-focused
Simplified course page, two menu blocks on the left and right of the page
New Activity Icons and content colours
All activities in one place, single page interface
Bookmarks are gone
Changes for Instructional Staff and Faculty
Question Bank and Gradebook updates will require review
Editing tools and settings re-located to single top-menu
New Course Layout and navigation structure
Bookmarks are gone
Content styles relying on theme will need to be located and replaced as needed
Introduction to Moodle 5.0 by Moodle Academy
D2L Transition Experience
D2L Brightspace is a very different LMS that takes a different approach to the User Experience. A large part of this adjustment will be related to the multi-page navigation of D2L in juxtaposition to the Moodle single-interface approach.
Despite the multi-page approach, the content interface for learners is generally considered to be more streamlined and intuitive for navigation.
A few examples of the changes are listed below. This list is not exhaustive.
Changes for All Users
Multi-page course layout with separate course home, content, and discussions pages
Reduced content types means consistent content delivery with low learning curve
New terminology and naming conventions for common activities
Changes for Instructional Staff & Faculty
Gradebook interface transition
Reduced Quiz question type options for more advanced question builds
More limited content options than in Moodle with an emphasis on assignments, quizzes, and forums.
Quick Grading tool to streamline grading notifications and interface across all courses
Discussion interface is a streamlined course element with all discussion builds in one place
New page layout HTML and CSS language may mean adjusting common content build patterns
This timeline will be updated as we move through the process and finalize decisions. Check back for continuing updates and more information.
Consultation & Preparation
October to December 2026
Faculty and student demonstrations
Focus groups
Testing of tools, integrations, and workflows
Mapping of Moodle content and functionality to Brightspace
Decision
December 2026
Training & Readiness
January to August 2027
Instructional staff and faculty workshops
Creation of onboarding and help guides
Provision of instructional sandboxes
Course design and readiness support
Tentative Course Migration Schedule
March to December 2027/June 2028
Migration of existing Moodle courses to the new LMS
If we stay with Moodle
Spring 2027 courses:February to April 2027
2027–2028 courses:March to December 2027
If we move to D2L Brightspace
Fall 2027 pilot programs:March to June 2027
2028 Spring courses:August to December 2027
2028-2029 courses:January to June 2028
Please note, this is a tentative timeline for finalizing bulk migration processes and is subject to change.
More detail about migration and launch will be shared once the Moodle vs. D2L decision is made in December 2026.
Transition Team
Administrative & Advisory
Technical Leads & Support
Shaun Longstreet | Dean of Innovation in Teaching and Learning
Anna-Marie Rautenbach | Associate Dean of Innovation in Teaching and Learning
Kyle Brown | Manager Information Technology Services
Norma Sherret | Interim VP Academic
Devon Coutts | Educational Technologist
Sam Twietmeyer | Educational Technologist
Kyle Stooshnov | Educational Technologist
Kelly Fyke | Teaching Specialist
Monique Poulin | Administrative Assistant
Frequently Asked Questions
No. We are still in a consultation and consideration process. A decision on whether the College will change to a new LMS system is expected in December 2026.
The Educational Technologists on the eLearning/COTROnline team in coordination with either the BCNet Moodle Server team or the Brightspace team will migrate all courses in bulk to the new LMS.
The Team is taking steps right now to map where issues may arise during this transfer and how to mitigate them so that nearly all content transfers directly and a little as possible review and update will be required on the instructional side.
Right now there is information available on both platforms and you can try out the systems at the Kiosks in the Learning Commons or instructors may request a Sandbox.
When the decision on the new LMS is made, there will be in-person and virtual workshops as well as regular weekly drop-in opportunities and an intro-guide to the new platform. A number of resources will be made available here to support learning and navigation of the new platform.
Yes! We have planned for several months of overlap with both systems. This will support all users in ensuring content is not lost in the transfer and edits and adjustments do not need to be made from memory alone.
Instructional Staff and Faculty are able to request a Moodle 5.x or D2L Brightspace Sandbox via our Feedback Form.
For all technical questions or questions about the process of migration and how your course will change in the new LMS, please direct your queries to: lmstransition@cotr.bc.ca
