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- Instructors: Provide a collaborative learning environment for students that is accessible on and off campus, encourage collaborative learning by allowing students to build publicly editable wikis, encourage critical discourse on discussion boards, keep track of your courses, host virtual office hours from any location with highspeed Internet acces, and more!
- Researchers: Network with colleagues, organize data, collaborate on projects, chat in real time, brainstorm solutions ondiscussion boards, host video conferences, stream PowerPoint presentations, and more!
- Students: Host Web sites, plan events, share files, form social networks, organize student groups, host study sessions, collaborate on creative projects, create research groups, and more!
With Sakai, you have the freedom are free to experiment. There are a multitude of many ways to use Sakai's tools to your advantage, but what you ultimately decide to work with is entirely up to you. To see what other folks are doing with Sakai, see INSERT LINK TO SPOTLIGHTS and PODCASTS. Also, consider reading expanded descriptions of Sakai's features at ADD LINK.
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MyUCDavis is a portal that most all university affiliates use at UC Davis. Inside the portal, there are a group of some tools known as the "Coruse Course Management Tools," which include QuizBuilder, GradeBook, etc. The Sakai system will replace these course management tools with more effective and updateable tools, as well as that work better and can be updated. Sakai will also introduce a whole host of new tools and features that have been designed for your convience. To see what tools are currently available in both Sakai and the MyUCDavis course management tools, please see our Implementation Timeline provided by CS/KA
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 association with the Sakai Consortium, UC Davis is sharing resources and collaborating with universities around the world, such as UC BerkelyBerkeley, Stanford, MIT , and Yale, to develop, test-drive , and improve Sakai. Combining the resources, dedication, and expertise of the top universities in the country should ensure a smooth and successful transition to the next generation of course management tools , – a constantly improving sets of utilities that universities can update and share.
Is the system replacing MyUCDavis and
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do I
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have to use Sakai?
MyUCDavis is the portal by which faculty, students and staff access a number of informational documents, course management tools, and other campus informational systems. At present, there are no plans to eliminate the campus Web-portal system. Sakai is eventually expected to be a full replacement for (just) the course management tools.
The current MyUCDavis course management tools you are accustomed to will still be remain available for at least a year, to give you plenty of time to begin learning and transfering your class materials to the new system. During this year transition period, you can use either system you prefer (or both!). That being said, we strongly encourage users to begin to play with Sakai, because getting your toes wet will make the transition easier when MyUCDavis course management tools are eventually retired.
What resources are available for transferring documents from MyUCDavis to Sakai and how do I access these resources?
There is a tool that will You can export quizzes from the MyUCDavis quiz builder Quiz Builder to a file that can then be imported into Sakai. The tool currently exports only full quizzes, but support for question pools will be available soon. To begin exporting your quizzes from MyUCDavis, click the "Export" button that now appears in the Quiz Builder tool on MyUCDavis.
In Sakai, what
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processes will be automated so that I need not worry about them
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?
To make it easier for instructors, Sakai has been programmed to create course sites and fill your class rosters automatically. Direct connection to the Final Grades Submission is not yet automated, but should be available for use along with GradeBook's upgrade in Winter 2007.
What, specifically, should I do to get started with Sakai, to create an account, and to setup a worksite or personal site.
This depends on when you want to begin. Prior to fall 2006, please forward your requests to sakai-info@ucdavis.edu, ask to be a participant in the pilot project and we will review those requests together. Everyone gets a "MyWorkspace" site automatically.
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