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Sunset to Sunrise: The University of Windsor Evolution of Sakai

Purita Bristow Assistant Director, Enterprise Information Systems Services. Branden Visser Application Programmer, IT Services. Terry Collins LMS Administrator & Coordinator, Centre for Teaching & Learning. Lorna Stolarchuk Learning Technology Trainer, Centre for Teaching & Learning.

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Sunset to Sunrise: The University of Windsor Evolution of Sakai

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  1. Purita Bristow Assistant Director, Enterprise Information Systems Services Branden Visser Application Programmer, IT Services Terry Collins LMS Administrator & Coordinator, Centre for Teaching & Learning Lorna StolarchukLearning Technology Trainer, Centre for Teaching & Learning Sunset to Sunrise: The University of Windsor Evolution of Sakai

  2. Project management is like juggling three balls - time, cost and quality. • Programme management is like a troupe of circus performers standing in a circle, each juggling-three balls and swapping balls from time to time. G. Reiss http://www.projectauditors.com/Company/Project_Management_Quotes.html 11th Sakai Conference - June 15-17, 2010

  3. About the University of Windsor • Mid-sized University in South-West Ontario, Canada, across the river from Detroit, MI. • Approx. 16,000 students • 150 bachelor, master's and doctoral degree programs • 524 Faculty • Student/faculty ratio: 26:1 11th Sakai Conference - June 15-17, 2010

  4. Session Outcomes By the end of the session, participants will be able to: • Describe at least three lessons learned about the deployment of a Sakai system in a mid-sized university • Identify at least three pros/cons regarding system support • Discuss at least three effective pedagogical practices discovered when using the Sakai system 11th Sakai Conference - June 15-17, 2010

  5. Sakai Rollout Processin Windsor • 2004-2005. Mandate to evaluate and select a new LMS • Why look for another LMS? • Current LMS: ViCKi (Virtual Course Kit) • Limited Development and Resources • Difficult/expensive to upgrade • Limited Toolset 11th Sakai Conference - June 15-17, 2010 5

  6. Sakai Rollout Processin Windsor • Fractured Support • Distance between divisions (technical, administrative and academic) • Failed to Meet Everyone’s Needs • Encouraged a patchwork of online environments • U of W was at a place where it needed to improve its capacity to deliver on-line learning environments • We were falling behind other universities in our capacity to offer solid, interactive and scalable online course web sites 11th Sakai Conference - June 15-17, 2010 6

  7. Sakai Rollout Processin Windsor • Commercial vendors: Desire2Learn, WebCT and BlackBoard. • Sakai was added afterwards • University of Michigan - 2004 • Educause 2005 • Entry into Open Source world • University requirements a priority vs profit • a very powerful, flexible and affordable tool for handling the growing demand for on-line course management • a research collaboration tool. 11th Sakai Conference - June 15-17, 2010 7

  8. Sakai Rollout Processin Windsor • source code available • best way to get the software developed quickly and at virtually no cost • creates a community of avid supporters, people actively involved in promoting and helping others use the software. • Fairly large number of developers working on a very sophisticated code 11th Sakai Conference - June 15-17, 2010 8

  9. Sakai Rollout Processin Windsor S/I 2006 Fall 2006 Winter 2007 S/I 2007 Fall 2007 Winter 2008 -> Pre-Pilot Phase I (5 courses – no DE) Development Implementation Phase II (15 courses - incl DE) Development Implementation Phase III (add S/I 2007 DE +)Development Implementation Phase IV (open to all) Development Implementation Phase V Migration of ViCKi kits to Sakai

  10. Sakai Rollout Processin Windsor Multi Phase Implementation Plan Pre-Pilot (Intersession/Summer 2006) temporary Server set up Sakai version 2.1.2 (not Oracle based; MS based DB) 1 course Theater – designed and taught LMS coordinator hired to provide ongoing client support (tier 1, 2 & 3). 11th Sakai Conference - June 15-17, 2010 10

  11. Sakai Rollout Processin Windsor • Purchased Production Server • Installation/Setup included: • hardware (Solaris) T2000 model • sakai 2.1.2 • Oracle based • Enterprise backup • Established ldap/eds connection • Authentication • Class lists from SIS db 11th Sakai Conference - June 15-17, 2010 11

  12. Sakai Rollout Processin Windsor Phase I – Development (Intersession/Summer 2006) Admin/Technical training conducted in August 2006 via rSmart Candidates selected for development of non-DE courses for delivery in Fall 2006 Instructors briefed on Sakai format and features Established organizational structure and detailed implementation plan 11th Sakai Conference - June 15-17, 2010 12

  13. Sakai Rollout Processin Windsor Phase I – Implementation (Fall 2006) • 5 non-DE courses delivered in Fall 2006 from • Education, Engineering, Psychology, Business, Computer Science • Installed rSmart CLE 2.2 • 1st tier support switched to ITS HelpDesk • Training for participants • Instructor training to be conducted in November/December 2006 via rSmart 11th Sakai Conference - June 15-17, 2010 13

  14. Sakai Rollout Processin Windsor Phase I – Implementation (Fall 2006) Selection of instructor candidates in Winter 2007 done through the Deans’ Office Training of new instructors on CLE 2.2 15 new courses to be developed in Fall 2006 (including DE) for delivery in Winter 2007 Representation from all Faculties except Law (Phase III) 11th Sakai Conference - June 15-17, 2010 14

  15. Sakai Rollout Processin Windsor Phase I – Implementation (Fall 2006) Education -- Human Kinetics Engineering -- Psychology Social Work -- Women’s Studies Business -- Computer Science Biology -- Earth Sciences Nursing 11th Sakai Conference - June 15-17, 2010 15

  16. Sakai Rollout Processin Windsor Phase I – Implementation (Fall 2006) University of Windsor branding applied through “Name the LMS” Contest. New Name: CLEW LMS Trainer (ITS) hired to begin training faculty in 2007 11th Sakai Conference - June 15-17, 2010 16

  17. Sakai Rollout Processin Windsor Phase II – Implementation (Winter 2007) Promotional campaign begins with consultation from PAC Hiring of EISS developer ITS Helpdesk assumes Tier 2 support Feedback from new courses 11th Sakai Conference - June 15-17, 2010 17

  18. Sakai Rollout Processin Windsor Phase II – Implementation (Winter 2007) All DE courses from Summer/Intersession 2007 to be developed, plus carryover where applicable from Phase II Project sites for researchers, graduate students and non-academic associations become available as training provides 11th Sakai Conference - June 15-17, 2010 18

  19. Sakai Rollout Processin Windsor Phase III – Implementation (Summer/Intersession 2007) Promotional campaign continues with consultation from PAC All Summer/Intersession DE and non- DE sites developed are delivered All U of W courses that require on-line resources or delivery to be developed 11th Sakai Conference - June 15-17, 2010 19

  20. Sakai Rollout Processin Windsor Phase III – Implementation (Summer/Intersession 2007) Selection and conversion of existing ViCKi kits to Sakai begins Timetable for eventual discontinuation of ViCKi to be established 11th Sakai Conference - June 15-17, 2010 20

  21. Sakai Rollout Processin Windsor Phase IV – Development (Summer/Intersession 2006) • Promotional campaign continues with consultation from PAC • “Open to All” – all U of W courses that require on-line resources or delivery to be developed, plus carryover where applicable from Phase III 11th Sakai Conference - June 15-17, 2010 21

  22. Sakai Rollout Processin Windsor Phase V – Migration of ViCKi to Sakai (Summer/Intersession 2007) • Timetable for eventual discontinuation of ViCKi to be established • Fall 2008 – Planning for release 2.5 • Fall 2009 – Release 2.5 • Fall 2010 – Plan for release 2.7 • Intersession/Summer 2010 – Vicki Server retired 11th Sakai Conference - June 15-17, 2010 22

  23. ViCKi to Sakai Conversion Steps Conversion strategy • Contacted via email those with existing Vicki kits. • Developed a program to create a Sakai site from existing Vicki Kits upon request Note: Over 1000 Vicki Kits, 300 Converted, less than 30 complex kits 11th Sakai Conference - June 15-17, 2010

  24. Project Administration Model • Governance model based on input from across campus • Administration, Faculty, Student Associations, Support Services, Library, Public Affairs Project Teams and Committees: • Steering Committee • Executive overseer of the project. 11th Sakai Conference - June 15-17, 2010

  25. Project Administration Model Project Teams and Committees: • Implementation Team • a self directed team that handled the overall management of the LMS project. Membership: Assistant Director of Enterprise Information Systems Services, Assistant Director of Client Support Services, Manager – Centre of Teaching and Learning 11th Sakai Conference - June 15-17, 2010 25

  26. Project Administration Model Project Teams and Committees: • Client Support Team • LMS Administrator, LMS Developers, LMS Trainer, + Implementation team • Technical Team • Representations from • Systems Programming, Main Library • + Client Support Team, + Implementation Team 11th Sakai Conference - June 15-17, 2010 26

  27. Project Administration Model Project Teams and Committees: • Advisory Team Representations from all the Faculty areas across the University + Implementation Team • Other Teams: • rSmart • Sakai Foundation 11th Sakai Conference - June 15-17, 2010 27

  28. Project Administration Model • The model • Strengthened relationship between Centre for Teaching and Learning, IT Services and the Faculty areas • Successful Delivery of project • Committee model works 11th Sakai Conference - June 15-17, 2010 28

  29. Environment • Web: F5 BigIP LTM v9.0 • Upgraded from Apache HTTPd 2.0 + mod_proxy • Database: Oracle 10g on AIX • App Servers: Sun Solaris, Tomcat 5.5.28 • LDAP for user and group “provider” and authentication • Synchronizes from SIS • Database content storage • JIRA holds many more Sakai environment details1 1 http://jira.sakaiproject.org/browse/PROD 11th Sakai Conference - June 15-17, 2010

  30. Robust, Reliable and Stable • Jump-started with commercial support from rSmart • Stability didn't come right away • Lots of unknowns • Further JVM tuning required • Further database tuning required • Software bottlenecks in Sakai 2.4 • Lessons learned: • More interaction with the Sakai Community to estimate usage and resources • More thorough load testing (e.g., JMeter) • More thorough performance monitoring (e.g., JMX, JSTAT, custom scripting) 11th Sakai Conference - June 15-17, 2010

  31. Contributing • Contribute where possible • It's win-win • It seems like the right thing to do • Ways to contribute1 • Technical • Design • Teaching & Learning • Bug reports / Feature requests • Ways we contribute • Bug reports / Feature requests • Software patches 1 http://sakaiproject.org/contributing-sakai 11th Sakai Conference - June 15-17, 2010

  32. Making Technical Contributions • Getting started • Joined the “lists”1 • Set up the development environment2 • Jump-start: Attended a Programmer's Cafe3 • What needs to be done? • Found “bite-size” issues in JIRA4 and tackled them • What do your users want done? • Report, discuss, test and fix! 1 http://sakaiproject.org/join-email-lists 2 http://confluence.sakaiproject.org/display/BOOT/Development+Environment+Setup+Walkthrough 3 http://confluence.sakaiproject.org/display/BOOT/Programmer%27s+Cafe 4 http://jira.sakaiproject.org/secure/Dashboard.jspa 11th Sakai Conference - June 15-17, 2010

  33. Instructors: Converting to Sakai • Pros/cons of phasing out our previous LMS • ViCKi (LMS in Lotus Notes) - May 2010: Severs were turned off PROS 1. Sakai was exciting 2. Many new tools to use CONS 1. Replacement Tools – not always better 2. Many relied on 2 being replaced (Assignments & Discussions). 3. Many users were asked to leave a system they knew very well. Migrate to CLEW Content converted to web pages & viewed through Content Viewer 11th Sakai Conference - June 15-17, 2010

  34. Windsor’s Customization • Early adopters came into Sakai willingly. • Reluctant faculty needed a reason to move. • Customizations helped them make the move. • Windsor’s Customizations: • Dashboard • Course Site Requests /Approvals • Content Viewer • Email Instructor • Quizzes & Tests 11th Sakai Conference - June 15-17, 2010

  35. Troubleshooting • Pros/cons of troubleshooting the system and responding to instructors • Dashboard & Site Requests / Approvals PROS 1. Innate knowledge of the system and users 2. Trusted relationship 3. Accountability CONS 1. Optimum level of communication & details (fine-line) 2. Problems with other systems = Sakai problems (CLEW is Down) 3. Not a shared role (one administrator) 11th Sakai Conference - June 15-17, 2010

  36. Training: Then, Now and Next Interactivity Basics Calendar Syllabus Structuring Lessons Assessment Announcements Resources Managing Student Work 11th Sakai Conference - June 15-17, 2010

  37. Learning Community 11th Sakai Conference - June 15-17, 2010

  38. Learning Community Quotes from participants • “likes diversity and make-up of group, both technically & faculty” • “See all possibilities & keeps me alert to what I could do” • “Connects with Resource people who are knowledgeable” 11th Sakai Conference - June 15-17, 2010

  39. Goals of Learning Community 11th Sakai Conference - June 15-17, 2010

  40. Ways of Being Together • Keep confidentiality in mind • Be respectful and empathetic • Don’t cut people off or take too much time • Be encouraging and support creativity • Have fun while learning • Trust the model, model the trust 11th Sakai Conference - June 15-17, 2010

  41. Ways of Being Together cont’d • Tolerate those who are passionate • Be brave enough to be honest • Capture the memories and history of the meetings • Share food and don’t choke • Tidy the room when done 11th Sakai Conference - June 15-17, 2010

  42. Support Evolution • Moving from providing “tool” training to integrating with pedagogical principles • Evening classes are appealing, particularly to sessional instructors who work elsewhere • Some faculty prefer phone/email/one-on-one vs. class 11th Sakai Conference - June 15-17, 2010

  43. Individuals Attending Classes Aug. 09 - June 10 11th Sakai Conference - June 15-17, 2010

  44. Workshop Attendees by Time of Day Aug. 09-June 10 Note: evening classes began Dec. 09 11th Sakai Conference - June 15-17, 2010

  45. Support:Personal and Phone Consultations Aug. 09 - June 10 11th Sakai Conference - June 15-17, 2010

  46. Online Education Course:Using Sakai • Wiki was an effective tool 11th Sakai Conference - June 15-17, 2010

  47. Online Education Course:Using Sakai • Forums was an effective tool 11th Sakai Conference - June 15-17, 2010

  48. Online Education:Using Sakai • Melete (Lessons) posed us some challenges 11th Sakai Conference - June 15-17, 2010

  49. Next Steps • Develop group processes more clearly next offering of Online Education • Work to integrate and embed more content directly into lessons with accessible visuals • Develop group interaction Sakai training classes • Develop Learning Community – other locations host, review goals annually 11th Sakai Conference - June 15-17, 2010

  50. Questions Remember to complete the session evaluation @ http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/sakai10 11th Sakai Conference - June 15-17, 2010

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