1:12 p.m., July 13, 2010----The 11th annual international Sakai conference was held mid-June in Denver, bringing together managers, developers, user support staff, instructional designers, usability experts and commercial affiliates to discuss what Sakai is and what it should become to better support teaching, learning and collaboration.

THIS STORY

E-mail

Print

Twitter

The University of Delaware's Sakai Learning Management System is an open-source project supported and developed by the collaborative effort of its 200-plus adopting institutions worldwide.

For the last four years, the Sakai community has put a lot of energy into exploring how instructors want to use technology to support student learning and innovation. Its vibrant Teaching and Learning group has been very active during the past year in two areas that were showcased at the conference: the 2010 Teaching With Sakai Innovation Award (TWSIA) and the Teaching and Learning Design Lenses project.

2010 Teaching With Sakai Innovation Award

The annual award recognizes exceptional technology-supported teaching practices. Submissions are evaluated based on the excellence of pedagogy and innovative use of the Sakai Collaborative Learning Environment.

This year's award winners and honorable mention recipients presented their uses of Sakai at the conference; their presentations are available online. The main theme for all four finalists: make your course highly relevant, create spaces for students to collaborate, and watch them unleash their energy and passion.

Although he was not selected as a finalist, Robert Hodson, associate professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Delaware, submitted his practice of just-in-time teaching using the Tests and Quizzes tool. "The TWSIA application was nevertheless worthwhile. It's always good to take stock of one's activities, and since the application will be made publicly available, perhaps it can be of some use to fellow instructors," Hodson said.

A description of Hodson's use of Sakai@UD along with links to his course page can be found at this webpage.

The call for submissions for the 2011 award will be announced at the end of the fall semester, so those who are interested are encouraged to stay tuned.

Teaching and Learning Design Lenses

Spearheaded by the Teaching and Learning group of the Sakai community, the Design Lenses resulted from a year of work to understand what instructors and students wish to accomplish in a technology-enriched environment.

Presenting the background of the initiative, Josh Baron, chair of the Sakai Board and director of Academic Technology and eLearning at Marist College, explained that the Teaching and Learning group was looking into "a new requirements process, a way of gathering what we felt needed to be built in Sakai," especially in the context of the next generation Sakai 3 coming up in the next few years.

Beyond being a set of community guidelines for developers, the lenses also represent ways to look at a course to reflect on your own practices.

The video from the presentation is available online, with Part 1 at this website and Part 2 at this website, and the current version of the lenses and facets is located online at this website.

Share your thoughts and stories

If you wish to share a story about your pedagogical use of Sakai@UD, suggest ways to make the software work better to support your learning activities, ask about the next TWSIA, or simply discuss new ideas on how to use Sakai@UD, contact Mathieu Plourde, project leader, IT Client Support and Services, at [mathieu@udel.edu], or fill in the comment form, available through the "Contact IT" link located in the footer of any Sakai@UD page.

More information about the Denver Sakai Conference, including recorded sessions, slides, and various artifacts, is available on the Sakai community wiki page.