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C-Level View :: March 14, 2007

03/14/07

Executive View

More Than Open Source: A Second Look at Sakai

By Wende Morgaine, Portland State University

Sure, you've been hearing about Sakai, the open source collaboration and learning environment, but you've probably also heard that campuses that have implemented Sakai have huge IT budget and lots of staff. So you haven't tried it yet, and you wonder why you should. Why go through the hassle and expense? After all, it's just an "open-source" version of the CMS you already use, right?

Wrong.

Because it often gets the most press for being "open source" software, you may not know that Sakai has unique features--many not found in other course management systems--that have attracted schools all over the world, from small liberal arts colleges to large Ivy League institutions to online universities—campuses with and without enormous IT resources. And One or more of these unique features may solve a particular problem on your campus.

So when you consider Sakai with your colleagues, it may be best to examine both the advantages of open source and the unique features the Sakai community has fostered in this remarkable collaboration and learning environment....

Worth Noting

What's in the Box? Sun Offers Blackbox Tours: Project Blackbox, Sun Microsystems’ prototype of a self-contained, virtualized datacenter is making the rounds via flatbed truck. Still in Beta, the unit has everything--an entire data center--lovingly tucked into a single cargo container that's delivered by truck. Just hook up power, water, and data lines--then leave it in the parking structure or other secured area. You can now sign up to tour this unique unit when it's in your area. It's probably the most computing technology you'll ever see in a walkthrough of about 15 paces....
Mediasite 4.1 Offers Podcasting Option: Announced today, Sonic Foundry's Mediasite 4.1 release will give institutions the option to podcast their Mediasite presentation content....

CIO Product Pick

ComputracePlus Protects Laptops at St. John's University: By Joseph J. Tufano, Vice President and CIO; This generation of college students expects universities to provide technology as part of the academic learning environment. The goal of St. John's University (NY) is to provide a level playing field for all of our students, and it is essential to our Vincentian mission as a Catholic university that all students are given access to the resources needed for their education. Our laptop initiative directly supports this goal....