...
- Announcements: Inform site participants of current items of interest
- Assignments: Create, distribute, collect, and grade online assignments
- Chat room: Carry on real-time conversations with worksite participants
- Discussion: Hold structured conversations organized into categories
- Drop Box: Share documents within private folders between instructors and students
- Email Archive: Keep track of course or project site email correspondence
- Gradebook: Manage grades and submit as Final grades
- Message: Center Communicate through discussion forum topics and private messaging
- Modules: Create ordered content for student review
- News: Add RSS feeds to your worksite
- Preferences: Control how often you are notified of course or project site activity
- Project Sites: Use Sakai for other purposes besides teaching (e.g., research collaboration)
- Quiz and survey: Create online assessments
- Resources: Make any kind of material available online
- Schedule: Organize and post items in a calendar format
- Section/Group: Info Manage sections of a class (lectures, labs, discussions, studio work, recitations, or any combination thereof)
- Site Info: Maintain course or project site settings
- Syllabus: Post and maintain your official course outline
- Web Content: Maintain course or project site settings
- Wiki: Create/contribute to a collaborative, editable Web site
h1. Public Sakai Web Site FAQ
Background
What is Sakai? (What is a Collaborative Learning Environment (CLE) and Course Management System (CMS)?
Sakai is a national consortium of 80+ institutions of higher education, including UC Davis, that are working together to build a broad set of applications that merge online course management tools with research tools that allow for unique forms of collaboration.
A Course Management System (CMS) is a group of applications that instructors can use to improve and diversify their classes by bringing in the latest and greatest in education technologies. Some example tools include GradeBook, QuizBuilder, and Online Grade Submission, Announcements, Surveys, and more.
A Collaborative Learning Environment (CLE) refers to new and revolutionary technologies that allow participants to share information, collaborate on research, organize clubs or meetings, and much more. A CLE includes any number of tools, including a wiki (an open, community maintained Web site), chat rooms, discussion boards, and more.
What can students, faculty, staff, and researchers do with Sakai?
How does Sakai differ from MyUCDavis and how are the two similar?
- Implementation Timeline and Features List to be provided by CS/KA Features List
Why did UC Davis choose to pursue Sakai considering we already have the MyUCDavis course management tools?
The course management tools in MyUCDavis have become increasingly difficult to extend and scale. To address this issue, Sakai is being developed as an open-source project that lends itself well to evolving to meet the needs of its users. In fact, UC Davis will be collaborating with universities around the country, including Stanford, MIT, Yale, and others. Combining the resources, dedication, and expertise of the top universities in the country will ensure a smooth and successful transition to the next generation of course management tools, as well as constantly improving sets of tools that can be shared from university to university.
Is the system replacing MyUCDavis and am I required to use Sakai?
First, it is important to recognize that different people at UCD think of different things when they hear the term "MyUCDavis". To some this is a synonym for the web mail system (Geckomail). To others it is the portal by which faculty, students and staff access a number of campus information systems. And to faculty and students the term is often equated with the course management functions such as MyClasses, Website Builder, Quiz Builder, MySpace, etc. At present
there are no plans to eliminate the campus Web-portal system. There are plans to improve Geckomail but these are unrelated to Sakai although Sakai itself offers additional course related mail functionality.
Sakai is eventually expected to be a full replacement for (just) the course management tools, such as GradeBook and Quizbuilder. The current MyUCDavis course management tools that you're accustomed to will still be available for at least a year while Sakai is perfected. In the meantime, you can use either system you prefer. However, we do encourage users to begin to play with Sakai. Getting your toes wet will make the transition easier when MyUCDavis course management tools are eventually retired.
What is the current status of Sakai and what are the university's future plans?
In the Winter and Spring of 2006, the Faculty Mentoring Faculty program hosted a Sakai pilot, where instructors from various departments tested Sakai for the first time and identified complications as well as provided requests for additional features. Intrigued by Sakai's features, various instructors have already begun utilizing Sakai in and out of the classroom. As of now, programmers are working to enhance the QuizBuilder and GradeBook so they more accurately respond to professor's needs. In addition the Sakai Community continues to enhance the core Sakai toolset. The timeline for these changes will allow UCD to make Sakai available for an extended pilot in the Fall 2006. Additional functionality in support of large courses with multiple sections and instructors should be available for testing by Winter Quarter 2007. More detailed information on these developments should be available mid summer 2006.
What's in it for me?
Who should consider using Sakai this fall?
Instructors teaching small classes with a single section are encouraged to begin experimenting with Sakai this fall. Instructors who often implement group work, research, collaboration, and technology into their curriculum are also encouraged to begin exploring the new opportunities Sakai will allow you.
As Sakai's GradeBook does not yet provide adequate support for larger classes with multiple sections, participation by professors of such courses is not recomended at this time.
I have a large class with multiple sections, should I consider using Sakai to manage the class?
At this time, Sakai does not adequately handle large classes with multiple sections. Programmers are working hard to resolve this issue. Until then, we recommend you stick with the old MyUCDavis course management tools.
I use QuizBuilder and GradeBook frequently. Does Sakai have all the same features I'll need?
Sakai has both a GradeBook and a QuizBuilder; however, at this time both tools are missing some the functions that instructors may require. For that reason, it is suggested that instructors use the MyUCDavis GradeBook and QuizBuilder until additional functionalities are added to the tools and they are synced more adequately to other major campus system, such as SISWeb and BANNER. If you would like to be notified when Sakai is upgraded and these tools become fully functional, please subscribe to our mailing list at MAILING LIST TO BE CREATED
What is the Sakai pilot project and why should I join?
- KA/AJ
How do I give a presentation to my department, encouraging them to explore and perhaps adopt Sakai for their own needs?
- KA/NO
http://mediaworks.ucdavis.edu:8080/confluence/x/Wgs draw from this page: winter pilot kickoff document
What is the Faculty Mentoring Faculty Program (FMFP) and how do I get involved?
- AJ
Have others already tested and used Sakai?
More than 100 Universities across the globe have embraced SAKAI, including its originators, MIT, Stanford, University of Michigan, and Indiana University. On campus, Faculty recently tested Sakai in both the Winter and Spring 2006 pilot project under the Faculty Mentoring Faculty Program. In addition, several students have already experimented with the system and then were trained to provide one on one support to faculty interested in using Sakai.
What are Worksites, how can I make one, and what I can do with one?
For each class, a Worksite is generated for use by both student and instructor. Beyond that, however, you can create an additional worksite for any number of university-related tasks. For example, if you would like to use all of the Sakai tools to help organize an academic club, you could create a worksite for chatting, discussion, and wiki-building within that community. Other possibilities include sports teams, events, study groups, creative writing workshops, etc.
How are others using Sakai?
Support and Training
Who do I contact for support?
For questions, concerns, and technical support, contact IT Express at 530-754-HELP (4357), e-mail them at ithelp@ucdavis.edu, or visit 182 Shields Library for walk-in assistance.
Are you offering training for those interested in using Sakai?
- NO/AJ
What documentation is available to get me up to speed on the new system?
- NO/CS/AJ
What do I need to tell my students when introducing them to Sakai?
- CS/NO/AJ
Does Sakai have Browser requirements?
- MS
I have a number of quizzes and a large Web site in MyUCDavis. How can I ensure all my course materials will successfully transfer to Sakai?
- CS/NO
How much storage space do I have in Sakai?
Sakai users are provided with 100mb of storage space.
- KA TO VERIFY THIS
Tools
Does Sakai have the old tools I am used to from MyUCDavis' course management tools?
At this time, Sakai has many of the same features and several additional ones. Unfortunately, at this time GradeBook and QuizBuilder do not adequately sync up to every campus system and thus some MyUCDavis faculty, such as those teaching large classes with multiple sections, should refrain from using the Sakai GradeBook and QuizBuilder until they are perfected. Programmers are working hard to get these programs ready for faculty use.
- KA: Is this the message we want to spread, or something different?
What new tools/features does Sakai have?
Using Sakai, you'll have access to a number of brand new tools, including:
- Discussion forums for critical discussion and group work.
- Wiki a dynamic Web site created, edited, and maintained by your students, club-members, or research-associates.
*Web-Content for incorporating Web content directly into your project's Web site. - A Drop Box for file sharing
- Sequential Modules for automating the process of releasing content on your project's site slowly over the course of the quarter, year, etc.
What is a wiki?
A wiki is unique, dynamic Web site that anyone can contribute to. With everyone having the ability to read, edit, add, and revert content, a collaborative, evolving environment is created that encourages critical thinking and a community respect between participants. For more information, see 7 Things You Should Know About Wikis.
How do I edit a wiki?
On a wiki, all you have to do is click the "Edit" link on the page you would like to make changes to. You'll see a small style guide to the right of your screen that explains how to format your text.
Can we have more than one wiki?
For any single Work site, there is provided one editable wiki; however, your wiki can have as many pages as you'd like. As a result, if you'd like to seperate your wiki into two ares of study, or two research programs, simply add links to your first wiki pages for the desired secondary categories.
How do we convert wiki information into a completed, static document?
There are a number of ways to accomplish this goal, depending on the length, depth, and complexity of your wiki. Simply copying and pasting text to a word processing program will work, though if this proves too time consuming, you should consider contacting IT Express to discuss other possible methods. Contact IT Express at 530-754-HELP (4357), e-mail them at ithelp@ucdavis.edu, or visit 182 Shields Library for walk-in assistance.
How do you delete a wiki page?
At this time, there is no physical way to delete a wiki page. For the time being, simply choose to edit your page and then remove all content. Then, remove all links that point to that page.
What happens if two people try to edit a wiki at the same time?
If a wiki page is edited by two people at approximately the same time, the first person to submit the edit will change the wiki content. The second person attempting to edit the page will receive a message stating that the wiki page has been updated with new content.
Can I use Quizbuilder and Gradebook?
As Sakai's GradeBook does not yet provide adequate support for larger classes with multiple sections, participation by professors of such courses is not recomended at this time.
Does Sakai support extended/complex mathematical symbols
- KA
Can I use Sakai for my online grading?
As Sakai's GradeBook does not yet provide adequate support for larger classes with multiple sections, participation by professors of such courses is not recomended at this time. When these updates are made and Sakai can succesfully communicate with the registrar, online grading should be fully supported.
Customization
How do I give guest access to my Sakai worksite?
- KA
How can I view my worksite from the perspective of a student, guest, or other external person?
- KA
Can I resort the buttons on the left?
- KA
How do I change the look and feel of the main page?
The top button tool is the one that will apppear on the front/default page. By pointing the top button to a personalized Web site or HTML file will allow you full control over your main page's look and feel.
- CS/KA - Is there a more accurate way to describe this process?
Can I make new buttons and link them to Web content?
Yes! Simply choose to "Revise" your worksite and then add the tool "Web Content." Select a name and URL for that button and students should be able to access via the menu on the left.
Can I change the order of the buttons?
- KA
Implementation Timeline
http://sakai2.ucdavis.edu/access/content/group/57c3877b-1b08-4eab-005e-f1fc1d9f3ff4/timeline.html
Get Involved!
Join the Pilot Project!
Want to be one of the first to test drive Sakai? Want your course-management needs heard? By joining the pilot project, you will be have the opportunity to work side-by-side with specially-trained ET Partners who can assist you in accomplishing a project you develop.
...