Phase II Implementation & Beyond: Phase II Implementation & Beyond: Migration, Communication & CMS Migration, Communication & CMS

StrategyStrategy

Josh BaronDirector, Academic Technology & eLearning

Presentation Overview

• Marist College & Phase I implementation background

• Phase II implementation (Fall 2006)• Beyond Phase II– Next Steps (SP 2007)• Beyond Phase II – Strategic Planning

– Evaluation Criteria– Communication Strategy– Transition Strategy

Note: iLearniLearn is SakaiSakai @ Marist College

MARIST COLLEGE• We are NOTNOT a large research university!

• Founded 1929 – small complex liberal liberal arts collegearts college

• Approximately 5700 FTE5700 FTE student population

• 200 full-time faculty200 full-time faculty, 500 part-time

• Long history of incorporating technologyincorporating technology into the teaching and learning process

Phase I Background

• Wanted to test the waters while mitigating mitigating riskrisk

• “Production PilotProduction Pilot” began in March 2006• Selected self-containedself-contained fully online

program– Institute for Data Center Professionals (IDCP)– Initial cohort included 25 students

• Added second program in Summer 2006– Summer Game Institute for HS students

Phase II - Overview

• Expanded productionExpanded production pilot in Fall 2006 to include: – Two additional IDCP cohorts (total 75 studentstotal 75 students)– New System “z” mainframe program (25 students)– 4 additional instructors

• Challenge #1: Upgrading to 2.2Upgrading to 2.2 within a small window of “down time”

• Challenge #2: Faculty needed to begin begin developmentdevelopment of Fall 2006 courses over the summer

Phase II - Solutions

• Implemented a phased upgrade planphased upgrade plan:– Upgraded test systemtest system to 2.2 upon release– Moved our development systemdevelopment system up to 2.2– Allowed faculty to develop courses in develop courses in

development systemdevelopment system running 2.2– Two days prior to Fall semester, we:

• Upgraded our production system to 2.2.1• Migrated courses from our development to

production systems

Migration issues

• Site DuplicationSite Duplication only copied Resources• Import Tool had “permission” problems“permission” problems• Assessment import/export XMLimport/export XML problems• Solutions:

– Duplicated sites using Admin account– Signed in under Instructor account and

imported announcements, assignments, etc.– Used VI to identify HTML tags causing XML

parser problems and cleaned up code

Beyond Phase II – Next Steps

• Plan to expand “production pilot”expand “production pilot” in the Spring semester– Adding new IDCP Cohort– Piloting use of Project SitesProject Sites for collaboration– Add several face-to-face coursesface-to-face courses

• Will move new discussion toolnew discussion tool into production

• May begin to pilot OSPpilot OSP

Strategic Planning Process• Decision Point Target: January 2008January 2008• Evaluation criteria are being developed for

deciding:– (a) Is Sakai the right long-term CMS solutionright long-term CMS solution for the

College?– (b) If it is, what is the recommended transition recommended transition

timelinetimeline?

• Communication planCommunication plan will involve entire College community in the decision process

• Transition strategyTransition strategy is part of decision making process

Evaluation Criteria (EC)

• EC #1: Functionality RequirementsFunctionality Requirements

• EC #2: Available SupportAvailable Support

• EC #3: Health of the Sakai CommunityHealth of the Sakai Community

• EC #4: Innovation FactorsInnovation Factors

• EC #5: Reliability & StabilityReliability & Stability

EC #1: Functionality Requirements

• Gap analysisGap analysis will compare functionality of current CMS to Sakai at a “fine grain level”

• Functionality filtersFunctionality filters:– CriticalCritical – Cannot deploy without it– EssentialEssential – Can deploy but will need ASAP– DesirableDesirable – Can deploy, may limit innovation

• Critical functionality – available & reliableavailable & reliable

• Essential functionality – timely solutionstimely solutions

EC #2: Support Resources

• What are the staffing requirements for user supportuser support and are they available?

• What are the staffing requirements for “backend” support“backend” support and are they available?

• rSmart OptionrSmart Option: Way of freeing up our limited staffing resources to work on innovation and community developmentinnovation and community development.

EC #3: Health of the Sakai Community

• Is the community growing or shrinkinggrowing or shrinking?

• Are community set deadlines and goals deadlines and goals being metbeing met?

• Is the governance structuregovernance structure working?

• Are commercial affiliatescommercial affiliates coming onboard?

• Disruptive forces (e.g. legal issues) (e.g. legal issues)

EC #4: Innovation Factors

• Will “innovation factorsinnovation factors” be realized?

• Bottom-line is not a profit margin– Built by educators, for educatorsBuilt by educators, for educators

• Service Orientation Architecture (SOA)– Customization at low costCustomization at low cost

• The crowd-sourcing factor– 10,000 idiots10,000 idiots can come up with one good idea

EC #5: Reliability & Scalability

• Performance testing protocolsPerformance testing protocols have and will be deployed with each release

• Reliability: Is critical/essential functionality perceivedperceived to be reliable by users?– Perception factors: Bugs, design flaws, UI issues– If not, can we implement solutions to address issues?

• Is there a enterprise solution that will support long-term growth projectionslong-term growth projections?

Communication Strategy

• Audiences: Cabinet, faculty, students, ITCabinet, faculty, students, IT• Find the right message for each audienceright message for each audience

– ROI and recognition (Cabinet)– Built by educators, for educators (faculty)– Innovative functionality (students, faculty)– Opportunity to do development work (IT)

• Set realistic expectationsrealistic expectations and timelines• Tips: rumor luncheonsrumor luncheons, breakfast briefings,

newsletters, school and committee meetingsschool and committee meetings

Transition Strategy• ““Opt in”Opt in” phase for faculty over two year period• Data migrationData migration planning…

– What will we move and what will we ask faculty to move? – What to move and not to move?

• Considering movingConsidering moving: “raw” resources, exams, and syllabus but not discussion postings and assignments

• Policy for new program cutover• New policiesNew policies will be enacted:

– Faculty training will be required– Every courses at College gets a course site in iLearn/Sakai– Standards of eLearning Excellence

Josh BaronJosh BaronDirector, Academic Technology & eLearningDirector, Academic Technology & eLearning

Josh.Baron@Marist.edu

(845) 575-3623