ADVERTISEMENT
- Rozovsky wins prestigious NSF Early Career Award
- UD students meet alumni, experience 'closing bell' at NYSE
- Newark Police seek assistance in identifying suspects in robbery
- Rivlin says bipartisan budget action, stronger budget rules key to reversing debt
- Stink bugs shouldn't pose problem until late summer
- Gao to honor Placido Domingo in Washington performance
- Adopt-A-Highway project keeps Lewes road clean
- WVUD's Radiothon fundraiser runs April 1-10
- W.D. Snodgrass Symposium to honor Pulitzer winner
- New guide helps cancer patients manage symptoms
- UD in the News, March 25, 2011
- For the Record, March 25, 2011
- Public opinion expert discusses world views of U.S. in Global Agenda series
- Congressional delegation, dean laud Center for Community Research and Service program
- Center for Political Communication sets symposium on politics, entertainment
- Students work to raise funds, awareness of domestic violence
- Equestrian team wins regional championship in Western riding
- Markell, Harker stress importance of agriculture to Delaware's economy
- Carol A. Ammon MBA Case Competition winners announced
- Prof presents blood-clotting studies at Gordon Research Conference
- Sexual Assault Awareness Month events, programs announced
- Stay connected with Sea Grant, CEOE e-newsletter
- A message to UD regarding the tragedy in Japan
- More News >>
- March 31-May 14: REP stages Neil Simon's 'The Good Doctor'
- April 2: Newark plans annual 'wine and dine'
- April 5: Expert perspective on U.S. health care
- April 5: Comedian Ace Guillen to visit Scrounge
- April 6, May 4: School of Nursing sponsors research lecture series
- April 6-May 4: Confucius Institute presents Chinese Film Series on Wednesdays
- April 6: IPCC's Pachauri to discuss sustainable development in DENIN Dialogue Series
- April 7: 'WVUDstock' radiothon concert announced
- April 8: English Language Institute presents 'Arts in Translation'
- April 9: Green and Healthy Living Expo planned at The Bob
- April 9: Center for Political Communication to host Onion editor
- April 10: Alumni Easter Egg-stravaganza planned
- April 11: CDS session to focus on visual assistive technologies
- April 12: T.J. Stiles to speak at UDLA annual dinner
- April 15, 16: Annual UD push lawnmower tune-up scheduled
- April 15, 16: Master Players series presents iMusic 4, China Magpie
- April 15, 16: Delaware Symphony, UD chorus to perform Mahler work
- April 18: Former NFL Coach Bill Cowher featured in UD Speaks
- April 21-24: Sesame Street Live brings Elmo and friends to The Bob
- April 30: Save the date for Ag Day 2011 at UD
- April 30: Symposium to consider 'Frontiers at the Chemistry-Biology Interface'
- April 30-May 1: Relay for Life set at Delaware Field House
- May 4: Delaware Membrane Protein Symposium announced
- May 5: Northwestern University's Leon Keer to deliver Kerr lecture
- May 7: Women's volleyball team to host second annual Spring Fling
- Through May 3: SPPA announces speakers for 10th annual lecture series
- Through May 4: Global Agenda sees U.S. through others' eyes; World Bank president to speak
- Through May 4: 'Research on Race, Ethnicity, Culture' topic of series
- Through May 9: Black American Studies announces lecture series
- Through May 11: 'Challenges in Jewish Culture' lecture series announced
- Through May 11: Area Studies research featured in speaker series
- Through June 5: 'Andy Warhol: Behind the Camera' on view in Old College Gallery
- Through July 15: 'Bodyscapes' on view at Mechanical Hall Gallery
- More What's Happening >>
- UD calendar >>
- Middle States evaluation team on campus April 5
- Phipps named HR Liaison of the Quarter
- Senior wins iPad for participating in assessment study
- April 19: Procurement Services schedules information sessions
- UD Bookstore announces spring break hours
- HealthyU Wellness Program encourages employees to 'Step into Spring'
- April 8-29: Faculty roundtable series considers student engagement
- GRE is changing; learn more at April 15 info session
- April 30: UD Evening with Blue Rocks set for employees
- Morris Library to be open 24/7 during final exams
- More Campus FYI >>
2:35 p.m., Sept. 24, 2010----Ian Dolphin, new executive director of the Sakai Foundation, held a question-and-answer session with University faculty and staff on Monday, Sept. 13.
After only six weeks on the job, Dolphin is visiting several universities to learn how Sakai is being used and to hear the comments of faculty and staff. The University of Delaware was the first stop on his tour.
In addition to introducing himself, Dolphin explained the background and context of Sakai, spoke about the state of the Sakai 3 initiative and listened to comments about experiences with Sakai@UD.
According to Dolphin, the 1990s saw the development of several homegrown learning management systems (LMS). When these systems became commercialized, academic institutions lost control over how the products were developed and the collegiality that came with the process.
In 2003, six institutions of higher learning, with funding from the Mellon Foundation, pooled their resources to develop Sakai, an open system for collaboration and learning. Now the not-for-profit Sakai Foundation has 116 global institutional and commercial partners focusing on teaching, learning and research.
UD uses Sakai version 2. The Sakai 3 project -- which is just getting underway -- represents a major evolution in the underlying technology of the software. There will be much more flexibility in how components work together, and Sakai will be more closely integrated with social networking and Web 2.0 technologies.
Dolphin said that there is a clear need in the community for a transitional hybrid version that combines features of Sakai 2 and 3. Faculty in the audience commented that they have tailored Sakai@UD for their classes and do not want to move to a new version. Dolphin assured them that Sakai 2 will exist for many years to come.
Following Dolphin's introduction, participants were invited to ask questions about Sakai and to comment on improvements they would like to see in the product. Although not physically present at the event, Lou Rossi, associate professor of mathematical sciences, submitted a question: "Is there a way or a plan for Sakai to partner with Google or Facebook -- to integrate their tools into our LMS? Is there a nice way to make these tools work together?”
Dolphin answered that one of the things Sakai is based on is academic and social networking and that there is flexibility in incorporating best-of-breed external tools. In addition, some schools are integrating programs like Google Docs into Sakai.
Participants offered ideas for how Sakai could be improved. Fred Hofstetter, professor in the School of Education, asked about plans to allow students to go through a tutorial sequentially. And Stephen Bernhardt, Andrew Kirkpatrick Jr. Chair of Writing, commented that the way Sakai uploads and downloads files slows the evaluation process for students' papers.
Dolphin commented that Sakai 3 will be much more versatile, including quick handling of files and versioning. He added that there is work being done on sequencing in Sakai but that it is just beginning.
To see the entire question-and-answer session, you can view a UD Capture of the event.
Dolphin also met with IT staff for a more technical discussion about Sakai. He is interested in developing a process whereby institutions and individuals with similar environments, issues and problems can communicate and collaborate (he referred to this process as a “dating agency” for Sakai institutions). IT staff discussed the need for usability testing done by actual users of Sakai, not only by developers.
IT-CS&S has always used the feedback on Sakai@UD received from faculty to help set priorities when installing updates. Following this mutually beneficial event, we plan to involve the faculty more by publishing a comprehensive prioritized list of bug fixes and improvements that matter most to our community. For comments, suggestions, or to volunteer some of your time for this effort, contact Mathieu Plourde, project leader, LMS, at [mathieu@udel.edu].