We’ve upgraded! Welcome to Sakai 2.8

Posted on 05/10/2012 by keke

Photo of celebratory balloons

Thank you for your patience while we worked behind-the-scenes to upgrade Sakai. You are invited to explore and discover new features and improvements tucked away in a variety of places.

If you find issues we need to resolve, please open a help request so that we can fix them as quickly as possible. Our goal is to continually improve the system so that you can continue to collaborate, teach, learn and innovate with Sakai at UNC.

Ready to get started with Sakai?

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Sakai upgrade brings new features May 8

Posted on 04/20/2012 by keke

Happiness photoIt has been a whirlwind year and the Sakai upgrade is the next milestone on the list. By way of review…

Coming up next… on May 8, 2012 (starting at 5 pm), Sakai will be upgraded to version 2.8 which will bring new improvements and enhancements. We expect the upgrade to be completed and Sakai available to campus by noon on May 12.

What can you expect from the upgrade?

General improvements

  • New text box editor improves accessibility, contains spell check, and improves paste from word functionality.Screen shot of text box editor
  • Session timeout notification pops up to remind you your session will end and you will be logged out if you fail to take action (e.g. similar to online banking notifications).
  • New default look-and-feel with additional “skins” for course sites.New default skinNew Sakai default skinOther skins available for course sites
  • Show/hide menu provides more screen “real estate.”

New features

  • Sign-up tool is new!  It allows users to organize office hours, review sessions, study groups and similar activities. See an online demo from our friends at Yale. Signup tool

Enhancements to existing tools

  • Resources tool Quota shows percent of available space. Check Resources quota

We will continue to update you on Sakai 2.8 improvements throughout the summer months and we look forward to your feedback. If you have any questions about the upgrade, please open a help request at your convenience.

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New Faculty Spotlight: Dr. Richard Goldberg, Biomedical Engineering

Posted on 04/17/2012 by keke

Dr. Richard Goldberg is Research Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering and the Director of Undergraduate Studies for the Curriculum in Applied Sciences and Engineering at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He teaches cross-institutional courses and has students from UNC, Duke and NC State enrolled in the same Sakai course site. In the video below, he discusses Sakai features he uses including the wiki, groups, WebDAV (via an application like Cyberduck) and an integrated Google Calendar.  Thank you, Dr. Goldberg!

Want to learn more?

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5 things students need to know about online testing in Sakai

Posted on 04/12/2012 by keke

What students need to know about online testing.This semester more instructors than ever before are using Sakai’s online testing to assess students.  Before final exams begin, we wanted to remind students of a few guidelines that will help to make the online testing experience more positive.

1. Confirm you have dedicated Internet access (wired or wireless)

If you are using wireless, check to see if your building or residence hall has dedicated wireless access points. Avoid taking tests at coffee shops or similar as you may find the bandwidth for public wireless access to be inconsistent.

2. Use a computer with the Firefox browser

Use FirefoxTests and quizzes perform best on computers. Avoid using mobile devices. We strongly recommend using Firefox for test taking as problems have been reported with other browsers.

3. Avoid opening new browser windows or tabs

While it’s common behavior to open new windows or tabs when browsing the web, refrain from doing so when taking a test. New tabs or windows will cause serious problems when opened while taking a Sakai test.

4. Use Sakai’s built-in navigation (not browser buttons)

Similarly, there are navigation options built into Sakai tests and quizzes. Use the within-test navigation to move forward, back, save or submit. Avoid using the browser’s forward and back buttons for best results.

5. You will time-out after 60 minutes of inactivity

Frustrated ladyIf you are working on a quiz question and there is no interaction between you and Sakai for an hour or more, you will be logged out of the system. Depending on the quiz settings, you may be prevented from accessing the test or question. Timed tests begin when you start the test and launch the timer. Even if you log out, the timer continues to track remaining time available to complete the test.

If you are taking a test that may require more than one hour to complete, keep an eye on time and save an answer at least once per hour to prevent being logged out.

Remember, you can contact 962-HELP if you have problems before, during or after an online quiz. We know that taking tests is stressful enough without having to worry about the software. With your feedback we will continue to improve the online assessment tools in Sakai.

 Related resources:

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Spring 2012 Migration Update

Posted on 03/13/2012 by keke

Now that the semester is well under way, it’s time to provide an update on the status of the migration. We are tracking the number of courses listed with the Registrar’s office that use a learning management system (LMS)  — either Sakai or Blackboard — as well as the number of instructors who have migrated.

At present, of the 3,600 courses using a LMS, 66% use Sakai while the remaining 34% use Blackboard. These numbers are on target for where we hoped to be at this time.Percent of courses in Sakai and Bb

Below is a line graph depicting the growth in the number of courses since the initial pilot in 2008.

Growth over time in Sakai courses (2008-2012)Wow! These numbers speak to the herculean efforts of all of our instructors and students who have worked to move and to use Sakai for their courses. In the past year, the number of courses has increased by 2,175.  There are currently 1,480 instructors using Sakai, or, 58% of all instructors using a LMS.

We thought you’d like to recognize colleagues in schools that have achieved important milestones.

Below are the schools with 75 percent or more of instructors using Sakai for courses this term.

Schools with 75% of instructors using Sakai this term.

The College of Arts and Sciences is the largest school on our campus. This term it  unlocked the Sheer Number of Instructors badge for having the most faculty using Sakai: 855 instructors!

Most instructors using Sakai

Congratulations! These are important accomplishments and we appreciate the time, patience and effort that everyone has put into the migration. Thank you.

Looking ahead…

It’s hard to believe but the end of the migration is drawing near. Sakai will be the only centrally-supported learning management system  collaborative learning environment in Spring 2013. That means we still have some work ahead.

The goal for Fall 2012 is to have 80 percent or more of courses using Sakai.  In order to reach that goal, it means adding 700 more courses (or approximately 600 more faculty) by August. We will be reaching out to Blackboard instructors soon to offer assistance for those who wish to move in the summer and fall.

We want 700 new courses by Fall 2012

We will continue to report on the migration status throughout the fall semester.  We are on standby to help you if you need it. Many thanks!

Related posts:

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Faculty Spotlight: Using Sakai for Problem-based Learning

Posted on 02/29/2012 by keke

Emily Furgang, Doctoral Candidate in Occupational Science and CIDD Fellow shares the transformation of a traditional Blackboard course to a problem-based, hybrid Sakai course (part online, part face-to-face instruction). For students, Sakai becomes “a universal meeting place.” Learn more in the two-minute clip below.

When it comes to learning Sakai, Emily offers this advice from both the student and instructor perspectives: “Don’t overthink it.”

Here are some of the help resources mentioned above. Thank you, Emily, for sharing your experiences!

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Create Sakai summer course sites

Posted on 02/22/2012 by keke

Create your summer coursesWhile it seems like the semester has just begun, many on our campus want to start developing their Summer Session 1 and Session 2 course sites. Instructors, you can create summer Sakai sites in your My Workspace area any time you are ready!

Note that only Instructors can create course sites and student enrollments in your summer courses will begin to show up in late March/early April.

Create Course Sites

How do I create a course site?

  1. Go to your My Workspace tab
  2. Click on Worksite Setup
  3. Click on New
  4. Select the appropriate term
  5. Continue through the screens that follow; finish!

Want to get started on your Fall 2012 sites? Fall course data will available at the end of March. Stay tuned…

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