Sakai developments
Learning Environments are currently pursuing three applications of the open-source Sakai Collaboration and Learning Environment, which is one integral component of LMS+.
We acknowledge that our endeavours in the Sakai environment owe a great deal to the far-sighted and innovative leadership provided by Dr David Hirst during the period 2005-07. David is now a research fellow in Pyschology.
In 2005, the University of Melbourne hosted a Sakai Open Forum, which included presentations from Chuck Severance and others.
MUSE: Research collaboration environment to complement community sites within Blackboard
From June 2007 to June 2008, Information Services are offering Sakai as a pilot collaboration environment to support research and other types of project-related group work. This environment is called MUSE and is accessible using your central university email username and password.
The pilot has operated successfully with positive user feedback received. We are pleased to confirm that it is currently planned that the pilot will formally conclude on Monday 30 June 2008.
From Tuesday 1 July 2008 onwards, subject to formal change control approvals, it is our intention that the “MUSE environment” will be progressively “operationalised” as a research and research training collaboration environment within LMS+ that is fully supported by Learning Environments and Enterprise Applications until 2010. The use of the term “MUSE” will be discontinued by January 2009, as the environment becomes more integrated into LMS+, to include planned developments for the Melbourne Graduate School of Research, and migrated content and functionality from the current in-house Neo environment.
From the user point of view, this will be a seamless transition, with continuity of data and sites with MUSE.
During 2010, to meet best practice, the University will of course need to re-investigate collaboration solutions in light of the inevitable evolution in research requirements.
From July 2008 onwards, it is anticipated that users of MUSE will be supported by the LMS Academic Support Team (in close collaboration with the e-Scholarship Research Centre), with additional targeted support for postgraduate students likely to be provided by the Student IT team.
The formal support arrangements will be developed during the period March-May 2008 in consultation with user representatives and colleagues, and confirmed in June 2008 by the Program Manager for Learning Environments.
Jon Peacocke, Program Manager, Learning Environments and Service Owner, LMS and Student IT (updated 30 June 2008)
Neo-Sakai: Advanced learning environment to complement community sites within Blackboard
We are planning to migrate aspects of the Neo-Classic suite of learning software into the Sakai environment, subject to further feasibility and testing. The key benefit will be continued availability of the rich Neo functionality, with the security of enterprise-level hardware and software support.
The first phase of this project has commenced and is progressing well. The migration is a complex undertaking with several phases that will be carefully scheduled across 2008, with a provisional target completion date of January 2009. Neo will remain available for subjects during the migration process.
Current and former colleagues at Melbourne developed the Neo suite to support a diverse range of teaching and learning projects that utilize similar innovative pedagogical designs. The Neo suite includes:
- Forion discussion system
- Quokka question, submission, and marking system
- Live chat
- Strata collaboration framework
- CAMS content authoring
- PRAZE
The Melbourne School of Graduate Research e-portfolio framework
The implementation of e-portfolio functionality using Open Source Portfolio (OSP) (which is part of Sakai).