Four Major Universities to Collaborate on Open Source CMS
The University of Michigan, Indiana University, MIT, Stanford,
and the uPortal consortium are joining forces to integrate and
synchronize their educational software into a pre-integrated
collection of open source tools. The project, dubbed Sakai, for
the Japanese chef Hiroyuki Sakai, was inspired by an U. Michigan
information technology project, the Comprehensive CollaborativE
Framework, or CHEF. Sakai is expected to yield a framework that
builds on the recently ratified JSR 168 portlet standard and the
OKI open service interface definitions to create a services-based,
enterprise portal for tool delivery.
The products of the project will include an Enterprise
Services-based Portal, a complete Course Management System with
sophisticated assessment tools, a Research Support Collaboration
System, a Workflow Engine, and a Tool Portability Profile as a
clear standard for writing future. The Sakai Project universities,
which are committing $2 million per year to launch and support
the two-year project, are committed to implementing these tools
at their own institutions starting in Fall 2004 through the
duration of the project.
The commitment of resources and adoption was purposefully set on
an aggressive timeline to swiftly integrate and synchronize the
educational software at the core institutions, according to
Sakai project officials. “This will demonstrate the compelling
economics of ‘software code mobility’ for higher education, and
it will provide a clear roadmap for others to become part of an
open source community.”
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Blogware Harnessed as Course Management Software
Elizabeth Lane Lawley, assistant professor at the department of information
technology at Rochester Institute of Technology, is experimenting with using
Moving Type, an open Web content publishing system, as a course management development
tool. Her efforts demonstrate the advantages blogs hold over conventional course
management systems, as well as what commercial course management systems offer
that blogs lack. Movable Type (MT) is a Web content publishing system, though
often difficult for beginners to implement. Here are the links I have found
most useful while implementing Movable Type Weblogs. This list will grow as
I continue to add features to my MT powered sites and need resources beyond
that which the MT manual provides.
Read more
Online Case Study: Ingredients to Successful Blended Learning
’
Michael Speed, Professor of Statistics and Associate Dean of
Technology Mediated Instruction at Texas A&M University, will
host a free online seminar to share the technologies he incorporates
into his graduate statistics course for campus and off-campus
students. In the seminar, Professor Speed will share his insights
on using a virtual classroom and virtual class recordings to
teach students, as well as demonstrate materials and tools that
can be used for increased learner retention.
The seminar takes place on Tuesday, Feb. 17th, 2004 between 1:00 PM and 2:00
PM Eastern Time.
Read more
Coventry U. Upgrades WebCT Vista to Drive Online Learning
Coventry University selected WebCT’s Vista academic enterprise
system to expand its e-learning facilities. Coventry will be
implementing WebCT Vista in June 2004, and aims to go live across
all modules by September 2004, with staff training taking place
throughout the summer. The solution includes new features to
simplify course development for teaching staff and an expanded
set of Web services interfaces, which will allow the University
to customize the system to meet its unique requirements.
"We have seen student participation in online lessons grow each year and have
witnessed more cohesive relationships developing between students and staff
through the online tutor sessions and discussion groups," said Andy Syson, head
of learning technology at Coventry. "Our teaching staff is inspired by the students'
positive reactions to the new lesson formats. Most importantly, the learning
experience for students has been greatly enhanced through e-learning. The current
uptake of online learning is 50 percent. However, by the end of this year, we
anticipate it will rise to 60 percent."
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