Pilot (and Desire2Learn) FAQs

What is the schedule for rolling out Pilot?

Pilot is here now and WebCT has been phased out, except to allow faculty to migrate courses to Pilot. It was implemented as follows:

• Fall Quarter 2010: We began offering Pilot workshops. Faculty continued to teach fall courses in WebCT. Faculty who took Pilot workshops could develop winter courses in Pilot.
• Winter Quarter 2011: We continued offering Pilot workshops. Faculty who took Pilot workshops in the fall could teach winter courses using Pilot. Faculty could teach winter courses in WebCT but could not develop courses in WebCT for future quarters. All developing courses were to be in Pilot.
• Spring Quarter 2011: With few exceptions, all courses used Pilot. WebCT closed to students. Faculty could still access WebCT to retrieve content from past quarters.
• Summer Quarter 2011: No one may teach any course in WebCT. Faculty may still access WebCT to retrieve content.

What is Pilot?

Pilot is a suite of Web-based technologies that includes a learning management system (LMS). We have replaced our aging WebCT LMS with Pilot.

What is Desire2Learn?

Commonly called D2L, Desire2Learn is the software that powers Pilot. Other institutions using D2L include The Ohio State University, the University of Wisconsin System, University of Akron, University of Oklahoma, and many more.

View a video demonstration of D2L

How can I get started learning Pilot?

Sign up for the Center for Teaching and Learning's Pilot workshops beginning fall quarter, 2010.

Or view video tutorials of the content from our Introduction to Pilot workshops.

Also, we have put Desire2Learn help files online.

Will my WebCT course transfer to Pilot?

Yes. We have a course conversion tool to transfer WebCT courses to Pilot and keep them as intact as possible. You must request that your WebCT course be migrated to Pilot:

Request to migrate a course from WebCT to Pilot (Please be patient. This form takes a while to load after you click the link.)

Of course, Pilot works a little differently and will have different features. Pilot will use menus instead of icons, for example. Since not all the tools will be the same in WebCT and Pilot, we anticipate that each person will have some cleanup to do after the transfer. You will also do things a little differently in Pilot. We are confident you will feel that Pilot is a significant improvement.

Will the content in my WebCT course work in Pilot?

Yes. This is an upgrade to a newer product that has almost all of the tools that WebCT had and a few new ones. We will probably run across some small things that won't make the migration, but contact us if this happens and we will work with you to come up with an alternative. Chances are it will just need to be tweaked a little for the new environment.

Will Respondus, Elluminate and LecShare still work with Pilot?

Yes. These will work much the same with Pilot as with WebCT.

What will be the technical requirements for using Pilot?

All you'll need is a web browser that's fairly up to date.

Will Pilot integrate with Banner?

Yes. As with WebCT now, Banner will create courses and add students. Also, you will be able to submit grades from Pilot to Banner.

What about my developing classes?

Developing classes can be moved to Pilot along with other classes.

Who chose Desire2Learn for Pilot and why?

A multi-disciplinary committee of faculty from a variety of academic departments plus staff from CaTS, the Center for Teaching and Learning, and University Libraries spent several months researching and trying out the top course management systems. The committee unanimously chose Desire2Learn for its ease of use, sophistication, performance and support.

The system we have used over the past decade, WebCT, has grown old and is no longer being updated. Support from its parent company is waning and textbook publishers develop their supplementary materials with newer platforms in mind. Pilot will bring Wright State's learning management system up to date.