Communications: General Key Messages

• The campus is moving forward with the 'enterprise version' of Sakai.
• This campus service will satisfy most units' learning infrastructure needs.
• Ease of use and stability are absolute musts.
• Adoption of the new system is not simply a matter of faculty allocating time to it, although that is clearly a big part of it. Faculty must also change how they conceive their teaching - it must be viewed much more as a process of inquiry and less purely as a means of information dissemination.
• Some units have homegrown software (e.g., Geography?) and appear capable of sustaining this software. But there are mission critical people in place who may be hard if not impossible to replace, should they leave or retire. For this reason, most units will want to use the centrally-provided software, where 7x24 service is delivered and where continuity of service should be easier to sustain.
• All the functionality of the course management tools will be part of the new system, and new features will be introduced
• Both MyUCDavis and the new system will run concurrently for at least a full academic year to allow faculty ample time to familiarize themselves with the new system and to make the transition.

Additional, less generalized messages to communicate.

The following ideas/messages/concerns came up during faculty pilots and other Sakai-related uses. They are stored here to track possible messages that should be communicated in the future.

• The need for a change in pedagogy towards inquiry and collaboration.
• Descriptions and explanations for new tools and their functionality.
  • What is a Wiki?
  • What happens if two people edit a wiki at the same time?
• Like MyUCDavis but more flexible.