Sakai new LMS provider
Sakai will soon replace Blackboard as the University of Indianapolis’ Learning Management System.
Blackboard 7, the current Learning Management System (LMS) used on UIndy’s campus, is expected to be discontinued by the end of 2010. UIndy looked into numerous LMS replacements, including the latest version of Blackboard (Blackboard 9) and Sakai. Sakai’s Web site defines Sakai as “an adaptable, interoperable, reliable, and scalable platform for learning and collaboration.” The Web site also describes its platform as student-centered.
The test version of Sakai is missing a few tools, but the full version contains more options and features for both faculty and students.
According to Chief Information Officer of Information Systems Jeff Russell, information systems wanted additional options and decided Blackboard had diminished service and support while increasing their prices.
Russell reviewed several LMS options to move away from Blackboard 7. Information Systems rotates LMS every five to six years, and UIndy has been using Blackboard for at least 10 years.
“It was time for us to migrate to either the newest version of Blackboard or something else,” Russell said.
Another reason for the switch is to save money. Blackboard is proprietary software, meaning that the company that owns Blackboard charges UIndy for using the software. Sakai, on the other hand, is an open source LMS, so software is free. Sakai will be hosted by rSmart, which provides free hosting and support, as well as free upper-level support. Hosting fees have been built into the overall cost.
Several UIndy faculty members have been testing Sakai out with their students in certain classes as part of a trial run. Feedback from test pilots was then sent to the president’s cabinet.
“Faculty input played a big role because we had a lot of faculty evaluators who were able to give a lot of input,” said Kevin McKelvey, assistant English professor.
McKelvey expects to be a trainer for faculty since he used Sakai early on. According to McKelvey, the interface and design of Sakai was also favored by his students over that of Blackboard.
“The students noted it was a lot more usable, requires fewer clicks, was more user-friendly, and was a more natural Web site interaction,” said McKelvey.
McKelvey test piloted Sakai in a section of his English 102 class. Scott Uecker, General Manager of WICR and UIndy TV5, also test piloted Sakai in his communication law class. Uecker noted that some assignments were hard to do without Sakai. Uecker said that he plans to use Sakai for one of his courses in the fall and notes that he has never used Blackboard due to extended technical difficulties.
There have also been some difficulties with Sakai, but it has not deterred the professors in wanting to use it as the LMS for their classes.
“What difficulties I have had will be fixed once we have the full capability of the program,” McKelvey said.
Uecker noted some adjustments, but overall was hopeful that Sakai would be a good alternative to Blackboard.
“A number of courses that I teach do not lend themselves to LMS. Like anything else, there’s a learning curve, so [Sakai] has not been perfect. It’s good overall though,” Uecker said.
According to Russell, Sakai offers several benefits, including contextual help for students, faculty e-mailing students without directly accessing Sakai, cleaner navigation and the ability to add more features and functionality without additional charges. Uecker also noted an online blogging tool as well as the ability to get instant online feedback on assignments.
Russell further noted that UIndy may put its own twist on Sakai.
“It may not be called Sakai; we’ll brand it ourselves,” Russell said.
While McKelvey prefers Sakai to Blackboard, he noted that getting the campus accustomed will be the biggest advantage.
The gradebook also offers fewer features, but professors have a variety of options in designing courses and content. Sakai also offers students a more usable interface and learning tools.
“It should be more stable; it shouldn’t go down as much. There are more and better help pages than Blackboard,” McKelvey said.
Sakai will be available for professors to use over the summer to start planning their fall classes. Sakai and Blackboard will run parallel through December 2010.
The university hopes to be fully converted to Sakai in January 2011.
