Course Management System Conversion to Sakai
Goal
Convert the current Course Management System and associated services from Backboard/Vista to the Sakai open source Collaboration and Learning Environment, including the migration of existing courses to the new system.
Background
The current Course Management System is heavily used by more than 50,000 on-campus, distance education, and extension students. With more than 8,000 courses in the system, this service is of great importance to UF learning and outreach programs.
In April 2009 the CMS Review Committee, after extensive evaluation and testing, recommended UF adopt Sakai to replace the current CMS software which will no longer be supported by the vendor after October 2012.
Objectives
All to be accomplished by September 2010:
- Establish a Sakai governance committee integrated with UF-IT governance
- Create an open source programming team to support software maintenance and development
- Establish support and training programs
- Migrate 8,000+ existing courses in Blackboard Vista to Sakai
- Evaluate the feasibility of upgrading to Sakai 3 when it becomes available.
Sponsors
- CIO
- Dr. Joe Glover - Provost
Impact
- Convert from a vendor supported system to a community supported system
- Enhanced online courses and pedagogy as a result of new tool availability
- Increased integration capabilities with related UF systems
- Improved support through the Sakai community and increased local capabilities
- Integration into a collaborative consortium of universities
Timeline - January 2010
A preliminary timeline is shown below.
The use of Sakai was recommended by the CMS Review Committee and accepted by the UF CIO. Major activities related to the deployment of Sakai at UF are shown below.
| Activity | Start | Completion |
|---|---|---|
| Hardware (core) | ||
| Development system | Complete | |
| Testing system (provisional) | Complete | |
| Production system (provisional) | Complete | |
| Mirror site (production) | January 25, 2010 | March 8, 2010 |
| PILOT | January 4, 2010 | April 21, 2010 |
| Integration | ||
| Phase 1: Single section courses (small scale) | Complete | |
| Phase 2: Integration to Student Info. System, indentity management, etc. | January 11, 2010 | April 26, 2010 |
| Sakai Modules (Gap Resolution) | ||
| Set Priorities | Complete | |
| Add/Test Modules | January 11, 2010 | August 10, 2010 |
| Conversion (Vista to Sakai) | ||
| Round 1: Courses for Summer 2010 | February 15, 2010 | April 26, 2010 |
| Round 2: Courses for Fall 2010 | March 22, 2010 | August 13, 2010 |
| Round 3: Courses for Spring 2011 | May 17, 2010 | December 17, 2010 |
| Training | ||
| LSS staff | Complete | |
| Awareness/Info Seminars | December 14, 2009 | August 13, 2010 |
| Faculty, Instructor and TA | February 15, 2010 | December 17, 2010 |
| Local Administrators | February 15, 2010 | December 17, 2010 |
Hardware
Sakai requires a robust and reliable hardware infrastructure. Sakai is open source and allows UF to correct, adapt, and enhance the software. This requires four platforms: 1) Development, 2) a system identical to the production system where changes can be tested, and 3) a production system to provide services to the user community, 4) a mirror production system to ensure failsafe learning continuity. Progress to date: Systems are deployed and in place. Mirror sitein progress.
Pilot
A small number of courses will be delivered this spring term using Sakai to assess: 1) The faculty and student experience with Sakai, 2) evaluation of the feature set, 3) correct issues identified during delivery of a course, and 4) obtain use metrics and profiles. Progress to date: Courses were identified and the content migration started.
Integration
Successful use requires integration of Sakai with other UF systems (Authentication, Registrar's student database, etc.) and licensed services (TurnItIn, Respondus, etc.). Progress to date: Integration with UF services nearing completion for testing before deployment to production.
Sakai Modules
Because the core version of Sakai does not have all features currently used by faculty in our course management system, a series of modules that provide this functionality need to be integrated with Sakai. These will be prioritized and implemented sequentially. Progress to date: Modules identified and prioritized.
Conversion
Course content must be moved from the current CMS to Sakai. To minimize faculty efforts in the transition to Sakai AT staff will move the content from one system to another and work with faculty to ensure content is complete and organized. Progress to date: Hired conversion team leader and part of the staff, testing of migration process started.
Training
Although great care has been placed on retaining functionality, faculty, staff and students using Sakai will see changes to the CMS interface and possibly to some processes. Training will be made available throughout the conversion process to ensure that users are skilled in using Sakai. Progress to date: Hired training coordinator, developed and delivered introductory session. Skills training under development.
