Fall 2006 Roll-out: Communication Strategy and Goals
- Gradually introduce the new online collaboration and learning system to UC Davis faculty, students, staff, and other affiliates. (The campus is moving forward with the 'enterprise version' of Sakai.)
- Focus initially on two areas: a) existing users of the MyUCDavis CMS small classes, and b) the system's ability to support multi-level research/collaboration among students, instructors, and other academic partners.
- Position the system in support of pedagogy, research, and collaboration needs.
- Draw on pilots and other campuses' implementations to illustrate the system's easy-to-use features and potential uses.
- Build a campuswide community of users.
Key Communication Messages
Fall communications will buil on, and support, the strategic goals for the implementation of Sakai. Key messages will emphasize the following:
- Functionality now provided through the MyUCDavis course management tools will be part of the new system, and new features will be introduced. Like MyUCDavis, but richer and more flexible.
- Ease of use and stability.
- Integration with major campus systems and data sources.
- Need for a change in pedagogy towards inquiry and collaboration. This is an opportunity for faculty to change how they conceive their teaching - much more as a process of inquiry and less purely as a means of information dissemination.
- Availability of training program and support resources to ease faculty adoption of the new system.
- Benefits of transitioning from other systems (MyUCDavis, homegrown, etc.).
- Focus on WIIFM. Includes specific concrete examples of how the tools can be used in support of teaching, learning, collaboration, and research; user-friendly descriptions and explanations for new tools and their functionality.
- 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.
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.
- What is a Wiki?
- What happens if two people edit a wiki at the same time?