Slow and Steady Wins the Race:Moving from Commercial to Open Source

Ryan Allen, Senior E-Learning SpecialistUniversity of Dayton

Session OutlineRolling Out Sakai

– Where We Came From– Analyzing Our Options– Sakai Roll-out– Training

Sustaining and Future Growth– Data Collection– Development Process– Overcoming Issues – Tips

University of Dayton• Private University founded in 1850• Founded by the Society of Mary (Marianist)• ≈7,000 Undergrad / 4,000 Grad Students• Top 10 Catholic University in the nation• Faculty are not shy about asking for help• No real Instructional Designers• Advanced to second round of NCAA

Basketball Tournament last year

Where We Came From• UD adopted WebCT Campus Edition 4.1 as its LMS in 2003• About 1800-2000 courses on WebCT each year• Primarily used for:

• Submitting Assignments · Online Assessments• Accessing Readings · Discussion Forums• Posting/Reviewing Grades

• E-Learning’s primary customers are campus faculty• Provide training, support, and instructional design assistance

LMS Usage2003-present

The E Learning ‐Lab prepares

approximately 300 faculty to deliver

500-700 web‐assisted and

distance learning courses each

semester.Fall Winter Summer

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

5 5 1

161

213

94

175

263

120

432417

131

536506

179

635

682

225

2003-2004

2004-05

2005-06

2006-07

2007-08

2008-09

“WebCT has been a reliable product but as our needs expand and instructional technology develops, a new LMS that better fits the needs and identity of the UD Community must be sought out.”

THE CROSSROADS

Analyzing Our Options

WebCT Satisfaction Survey Results

Despite the overall positive results and the fact that over 90% of the responders said they would recommend WebCT to a colleague…

…a large majority of faculty noted that:

1. WebCT was not user-friendly2. Among others, the Mail and Gradebook tools were

consistently mentioned as weak points3. Many tools such as the Quiz and Assignment tools had steep

learning curves4. The product was becoming outdated and didn’t embrace

newer technologies 5. More support and training materials were necessary

The Hunt• LMS Evaluation Process: 2006-2007• LMS Advisory Panel Assembled• The panel reviewed resources

compiled by the E-Learning Lab:– WebCT Usage Reports– WebCT Satisfaction Survey Results– ePortfolio Experience with Sakai

• 3 migration paths• Sakai unanimously chosen

http://learn.udayton.edu/isidore

Sakai 1.0 - ePortfolios

• OSP Tools piloted during 2007-2008 school year• Course level portfolios• Some other Sakai tools in sites

Ultimately, lots of work down the tubes

Sakai 1.0 - ePortfolios

Sakai 1.0 - ePortfolios

Sakai 1.0 - ePortfolios

Sakai 1.0 - ePortfolios

The Big Questions

1. What’s the real cost of Open Source?2. Do we have the current staff to support an

Open Source LMS?3. Is there commercial support available?4. Can we meet the high expectations of the

faculty and students?5. Are we up to the task?

Getting Things Rolling….

Answering Questions #1 & #2

1. What’s the real cost of Open Source? Hardware Time / Lots of Effort Ultimately, it depends on what we want

2. Do we have the current staff to support an Open Source LMS? No. We needed another developer for starters.

From Sakai to Isidore

St. Isidore of Seville

Patron saint of students and schoolchildren and recently recommended for patronage of computers and the Internet

Isidore TimelineJanuary Sakai/Isidore Approved as Replacement

February– April System / Tool Evaluations Completed

May Pioneer Faculty Identified

May – July Development / Roll-out Preparation Work for Isidore 2.0 Begins

July Isidore 2.0 Completed

July 18 Pioneer Faculty Trained over 2 Day Period

August First 22 Courses in Isidore Begin

September Development / Roll-out Prep Work for Isidore 2.1 Begins

October Faculty User Group Meeting Held

November Isidore Student Survey Administered

December Isidore 2.1 Completed

December Isidore Open to all Faculty … let the games begin!

2008

Answering Question #3

3. Is there commercial support available? Did we need it? Could we have success without it?

• All core tools reviewed• Slow roll-out with limited

number of tools – manage expectations and

maintain better support.• 11 of 15 core chosen tools

for the initial Fall release• 3 additional tools for the

Winter release• The Form

Tool Review Process

How We Keep Track of Progress and Needs?

• 240 Bug Fixes and Improvements Already Made

• 70 more planned for fall 2009 release

VI. Migrating from WebCT

• Create Automated Migration Utility• Start Fresh or E-Learning Lab Migration

– Began late Spring 2009– Utilized Georgia Tech Migration Tools– Online Migration Request Form Created– Faculty were emailed the courses for

which they were instructors in as a reminder

Communicating with CampusBlanket (Non-Threatening) Marketing

Where is Isidore now?

Fall 200818 ‘Pioneer’ Instructors teaching 22 courses

– User Group Meetings– Student Surveys

Spring 2009 110 Instructors teaching 300 sections

- ‘Tuesdays with Isidore’ sessions

Summer 2009≈ 50 Instructors teaching 140 section

Fall Winter Summer0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

5 5 1

161

213

94

175

263

120

432417

131

536506

179

635

682

225

2003-2004

2004-05

2005-06

2006-07

2007-08

2008-09

LMS Usage2003-present

64% Isidore

3% Isidore

The E Learning ‐Lab has trained

nearly 200 faculty members in

hands-on Isidore sessions since last

August.

41% Isidore

Training

2 Hour ‘Mastering Isidore’ Sessions 2 Trainers Per Session

Specific Tool Training Departmental Planning Customized Training Material

& Isidore Help File Isidore ‘Tip’ Emails

Students/Instructors

Student & Faculty ‘Tips’

… Get Butts In the Seats

Incentives…

Answering Question #4

4. Can we meet the high expectations of the students and faculty?

The Student Perspective

What the Students

are Saying

I Love It Baby!

Academic Standing Average Rating

First Year 4.6Second Year 4.3Third Year 4.0Fourth Year 4.2

Student Preferences

WebCT Isidore

Which system is easiest to learn? 49.00% 51.00%

Which system is easiest to use? 44.80% 55.20%

Which system is better at supporting learning? 36.20% 63.80%

Which system do you prefer to use? 42.70% 57.30%

The Faculty Perspective

Faculty Preferences

WebCT Isidore

Which system is easiest to learn? 10.7% 89.3%

Which system is easiest to use? 0.0% 100.0%

Which system is better at supporting learning? 3.6% 96.4%

Which system do you prefer to use? 3.6% 96.4%

Development

How do we decide what to ‘develop’?1. E-Learning Lab Guided

Trainer Feedback Developer Suggestions

2. Faculty Feedback/Requests Phone Calls Emails

Still working towards firm solution

Disagreements are Good

What does it mean to develop in Sakai?

Data Access10%*

Business Logic60%*

User Interface30%*

HTML, JSP/JSF, JavaScript

Java

Reads/Writes via Java (Hibernate)

* - % of time spent by developers

SSL

DEVELOPING ISIDORE

Proposed annual development cycle

Coding

Beta Release

Public Release

Summer

FallSpring

Work in Progress

Work in Progress

• Continuous Improvements and Tool Additions• Speed Issues

‘Data Heavy’ tools (Forums/Gradebook/T&Q)

• WebCT Course Migration

• Open Source = More Man Hours (and sometimes more headaches)

• Changing the campus mentality

Tips for Success• Deal with Comparisons Head On• Remind users ‘Why’• ‘Hold Hands’• Dealing with the ‘Squeaking

Wheels’– Believe the symptom, not the

explanation– Be ‘Unapologetically Helpful’

• Get everyone ‘in on the act’

Answering The Big Question

5. Are We Up to the Task? Yes. Stay Focused!

We’ll be parting ways with WebCT

onDecember 18th, 2009

Isidore Team

Training and Support Ryan Allen – Senior E-Learning Specialist (allenryf@notes.udayton.edu)

Leah Bergman – E-Learning Specialist (bergmalb@notes.udayton.edu)

Jerry Timbrook – E-Learning GA (timbroje@notes.udayton.edu )

Development Paul Dagnall – Web Developer (dagnalpb@notes.udayton.edu)

Matt Mize – Systems Administrator (mizematr@notes.udayton.edu)

Isidore Help and ResourcesIsidore Server – http://isidore.udayton.edu E-Learning Website – http://learn.udayton.edu/isidore

– Training Movies– Downloadable documentation and tool FAQs– Quick Start Guides and Introduction Video for Users– Training Calendar– WebCT Course Migration Request Form

Thank You