While BCcampus is known for innovation in connecting British Columbia’s post-secondary institutions, we can’t do it all alone. Rather, we’ve incorporated a very smart business idea: the concept of shared services.

That means we collaborate with other institutions and vendor partners to bring students and educators the latest in technological innovations aimed at higher learning. By putting our heads together and sharing our technology and expertise, we save time and money, which benefits everyone.

One of our key partners is Lambda Solutions, a B.C.-based company that specializes in Managed Hosting services for Moodle. Lambda’s mission is “to provide cost effective, quality e-Learning solutions that are easily deployed in organizations, large and small.” For the past four years, BCcampus has been working closely with Lambda on our Moodle shared service. As an official Moodle partner, Lambda helps us analyze, develop, design, deploy and support Moodle in a variety of ways including:

• Installation of Moodle and various plug-ins;
• Training for faculty, course creators, and administrators;
• Integration of existing systems based on the needs of the organization, such as Banner, Mahara, etc;
• Assistance in moving from Moodle 1.9 to Moodle 2.x;
• Working closely with institutions in developing themes and course templates;
• Hosting of Moodle installations in partnership with BCcampus through Simon Fraser University (SFU).

Thanks to this unique partnership, any B.C. post secondary institution can access Lambda as a dedicated Moodle service provider through BCcampus Shared Services. Currently, 11 B.C. institutions have various Moodle instances supported by Lambda Solutions. Lambda considers BCcampus a trailblazer in the implementation of our shared services model.

“Several years ago, BCcampus and Lambda launched this initiative as a pilot project with only two participating schools. Today, we’ve not only expanded that number considerably; we’re also making inroads with other jurisdictions who’ve heard about our success with the BCcampus shared services model and want to explore opportunities of their own.” -Lambda Solutions CEO, Shevy Levy.

While the costs savings associated with the BCcampus shared services model are significant, our partnership with Lambda isn’t just about saving money – there are other benefits. Pooling resources and expertise creates a type of support network. For example, participating institutions can join Lambda-led professional development workshops, access ongoing technical support, and share best-practices in using Moodle. This network minimizes the learning curve for all and helps institutions adopt Moodle as the e-learning solution of choice.

“BCcampus is an enthusiastic supporter of the shared services model,” says Lawrence Parisotto, BCcampus director for shared services. “Our collaboration with Lambda is an excellent example of a forward-thinking solution for acquiring, hosting, and supporting an important post-secondary teaching tool – we couldn’t be more pleased by how well this initiative has been embraced.”

Posted by BCcampus Editorial Staff