UW-ACE

About UW-ACE (University of Waterloo ANGEL Course Environment)

UW-ACE is a web-based course management system that enables instructors to manage course materials and interact easily and efficiently with their students. UW-ACE can function both as a complement to traditional on-campus courses and as a site for distance learning.

UW-ACE History

Thirty (30) pilot courses ran with some online course components in UW-ACE during the spring 2004 term and ramped up to 240 courses with just under 12,500 students in the Fall 2004 term. Students whose courses are in UW-ACE can access each of their courses through one Web site. They use the system for various course activities, such as accessing course notes and resource links, reading course announcements, communicating with fellow students, and submitting assignments to online dropboxes. Professors and instructors use UW-ACE as their course home site, to distribute marks, and to communicate with students. Some instructors are using more advanced activities such as pre-class preparation quizzes, weekly discussion topics, and project group work. UW-ACE easily brings all these types of activities together.

The Help section of UW-ACE (http://uwace.uwaterloo.ca, click Help) contains lots of information. The UW-ACE Help is divided into Information and Help for Instructors as well as Information and Help for Students. The two-page UW-ACE Overview and Help Information gives a concise overview of UW-ACE features, and points you to detailed documentation which is also available under Help. If you prefer to learn through hands-on training sessions, check the list of courses offered to help get you started. You can also talk to your CTE Faculty Liaison about using UW-ACE, and about who in your area is already using it. CTE Liaison contact information is found in the Help section of UW-ACE. If you are interested in building an entirely online course, please contact the Distance and Continuing Education Office who are also moving their courses to UW-ACE.

The UW-ACE system is managed by IST, with support provided through a collaboration between CTE, DCE, and IST, and with the cooperation of the Faculty Computing offices. CTE Faculty Liaisons, or DCE staff for DE courses, provide the first point of contact for faculty members and instructors, with Jan Willwerth or Sean Warren in IST coordinating the second level of support and training. Staff in the Faculty Computing offices are kept apprised of the evolving support, and in many areas are involved in providing technical assistance. For more information on the support in your area, contact your CTE Faculty Liaison.

Oversight and direction for UW-ACE is provided by the UW-ACE Steering Committee with representation from all Faculties, the Teaching Excellence Council, related support units, and student groups.

Last updated by Sean Warren (email sgwarren at uwaterloo.ca), April 8th, 2008