integrating google tools with sakai duffy gillman sr. software engineer the rsmart group david...

Integrating Google Tools with Sakai

Duffy Gillman <duffy@rsmart.com>Sr. Software EngineerThe rSmart Group

David Haines <dhaines@umich.edu>CTools DeveloperDigital Media CommonsUniversity of Michigan 

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CONTEXTAnd Now Here’s Some...

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Google Offerings...

are Vast...    ...we are covering a small patch of ground today.

    CLE Integration        -     OAE had its own efforts

    Augmentation of       -     One could build a Google LMS        CLE                             interesting... but not our focus

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Why Are We Thinking About This?

• Infrastructure - Google is likely to be a university email and calendar provider.

• Extension - Google provides tools we can’t afford to make.

• Innovation - Google allows simple creation of web tools through App Engine.

• Compatibility - Lots of work is done in Google by faculty and students. How can those artifacts be available in Sakai?

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What Does Google Have to Offer?

?

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What Does Google Have to Offer?

?search

documentediting

storage

video

email

socialnetworking

blogging

chat

forums

site hosting/editing

...to name a few things

SSO

groupingfederation

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Why Might We Want These Functions From Google?

• Offloading Maintenance/Support

• Cloud/Scalability

• Well-developed UI (mostly)

• Google Market Share/Cachet

• Student/Faculty Use

• Growth of Apps for Education

• “Bang for the Buck”

• Common integration across tools (?)

• Collaboration outside of institution

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HISTORYAnd Now Here’s Some...

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2008 Call to Community

https://confluence.sakaiproject.org/display/SAKDEV/Google+Integration

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Community Interest

Responses from 18 individuals (17 institutions)

Non-scientifically produced summary of interest:

• Link to Google Doc• Edit Google Doc• Embed Google Gadget• Integrate gTalk• Replace Calendar• Integrate Calendar feed

• YouTube Lecture Videos• Offline Sakai• Sakai Sites -> Google Groups• Sakai within Google Sites• Single Sign-On (SSO)

Source: https://confluence.sakaiproject.org/display/SAKDEV/Google+Integration

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12th Sakai Conference – Los Angeles, California – June 14-16

What Has Sakai Community Done?

Sakai Maps (Edia)

Google Docs (rSmart)

reCAPTCHA (?)

Gradebook2 (GWT)

BLTI for Google App Engine (Dr. Chuck)

iGoogle Widget for CamTools (Cambridge)

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12th Sakai Conference – Los Angeles, California – June 14-16

THOUGHTS ON INTEGRATION

And Now for Some...

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12th Sakai Conference – Los Angeles, California – June 14-16

Why Does Google Matter (here)?

Offers free / cheap useful tools - Search, Email, Calendar, Docs, Chat

Offers new tools -  spreadsheet, maps, video

Offers infrastructure - Domain customized Google Apps 

Offers innovation - App Engine for your tools, new tools from Google

Already in use by students and faculty

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12th Sakai Conference – Los Angeles, California – June 14-16

Different Reasons for Integration

• Replacement - Use Google calendar and email• Supplement - Make Google tools seem like Sakai tools

(spread sheet, maps....)  Make Google documents appear to be Sakai documents

• Extension - Make it easy to write Google apps that appear to be Sakai tools.

• Expose - Sakai widgets in iGoogle

These are complementary.

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12th Sakai Conference – Los Angeles, California – June 14-16

“Easy” Integration Targets

Publish Google document in Sakai (rSmart - demo later)

Import Google calendar feed

BLTI loose integration with Google App engine apps

Cambridge iGoogle gadgets

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“Plausible” Integration Targets

Based on rSmart approach should be able to make Google artifacts visible as if they were Sakai artifacts with Sakai viewing permissions.

E.g. spreadsheets, maps, youtube video

Limitations: - Integrating presentation not creation.  Creation and editing permissions are all Google.- Versioning: How assure that document doesn't change before grading?

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12th Sakai Conference – Los Angeles, California – June 14-16

“Uncertain” Integration Targets

Calendar, email archive, resources, chat

Replacing infrastructure brings up thorny issues:

Permission model -> Google != SakaiGroups -> Google != Sakai

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12th Sakai Conference – Los Angeles, California – June 14-16

Considerations and Tradeoffs

Authz Issues - mapping Sakai / Google concepts and keeping information in synch

SSO - Coordinate local and Google login

Grading - control of Google artifacts

Control / Legal - Enforcement of Institutional policies

Flexibility - Dependent on Google implementation and policies

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12th Sakai Conference – Los Angeles, California – June 14-16

DISCUSSION of the FUtureAnd Now Here’s A...

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12th Sakai Conference – Los Angeles, California – June 14-16

What to Expect from Google

• Appears to be "concrete interest" but we can not (at this point) rely on Google to solve any of these issues

• Google Docs API 3• Revision History potential

requirement for gradable submissions

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Potential Projects (a few...)

Publish document artifacts for grading

Smooth offloading of creation / editing to Google tools

OAuth / OpenID compatibility (not just for Google)

Calendar integration / replacement

Email archive replacement

Chat replacement 

Task list as Sakai tool (as an experiment)

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INTERMISSIONAnd Now for An...

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12th Sakai Conference – Los Angeles, California – June 14-16

Google Documents Integration

And now here’s a…

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12th Sakai Conference – Los Angeles, California – June 14-16

What Should it Do?

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12th Sakai Conference – Los Angeles, California – June 14-16

“Low Hanging Fruit”

Provide Access to Google Documentsin Resources Tool

Not EVERYTHING... but a good start

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12th Sakai Conference – Los Angeles, California – June 14-16

Benefits

Lets Google do its thingCrazy,

Wacky,

Web 2.0

^

Just share the documents

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Why not Google in an iframe?

Google

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Problem: Wrapping Sakai

Navigation...

(kind of minor)

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Problem: Wrapping Google

Does Google Know Your Users?

In Sakai I may be:

duffy@myuniversity.edu

Do I even exist in Google?

Who Am I There?

huggybear_54@gmail.com ?

duffy@gmail.com ?

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Problem: Wrapping Google

If Google appears in a Sakai iframe,you still need to log in... (somehow)

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12th Sakai Conference – Los Angeles, California – June 14-16

Problem: Wrapping Google

Solution is probably Google Apps for Education, and fancy synchronization work

I’ll get to that later...

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Without Further Ado...

What does it do?

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12th Sakai Conference – Los Angeles, California – June 14-16

Functions

• Author Browses Google Docs Assets• Document Selected for Link

• Format Chosen• Metadata Set

• Users in Site May Download via Link• Author may Delete• Clicking Edit Forwards to Google

(where one must log in)

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WHAT’S IT MADE OFAnd Now..

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12th Sakai Conference – Los Angeles, California – June 14-16

Google Docs Integration Code

• Contributed:https://source.sakaiproject.org/contrib/rsmart/google-content

•Components:• Google Doc ContentResource Entity

• GoogleDocsService• OAuthService• Google Docs Link Helper

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Dependencies

rsmart-common-tool-lib(utilities for UI)

oauth(tool for managing oauth providers and tokens)

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Google Java Client APIs

• Java library encapsulating calls to Google Web Services

• Provide API Calls for Numerous Google Tools

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Google Java Client APIs

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CONTEMPLATIONAnd Now A Bit Of...

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“But I Still Want Google in an Iframe!”

• Big issue: synchronizing access control

• Seems to place requirements on the institution - Google Apps for Education, at the very least

• Probably also requires Single Sign On (SSO) w/ Google

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Google Apps for Education

• Establishes a Google domain matching your institution’s domain name

• Provides Google accounts to all your users

Red Flag: What about guest accounts? Federated access?

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Single Sign-On

• May not be possible for institution (eg. LDAP authentication) - access rights shared, but multiple login

• Two methods:• Adopt Google as institutional SSO provider

• Deploy a SAML-based authentication mechanism (both Shibboleth and CAS apply)

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Synchronization

• To be researched; especially performance

• Sakai would probably push access rules

• Potentially a Security Advisor in Sakai could reference Google’s access rules

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What’s Next?And Now?

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Battle Testing

QA for Google Docs has Focused on Bug Elimination...

...What about Usability?

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12th Sakai Conference – Los Angeles, California – June 14-16

That OAuth Thing May Be Useful

Potential to build out a general-purpose OAuth Token Manager

Movement of Management Tool Into Profile2 (?)

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12th Sakai Conference – Los Angeles, California – June 14-16

Use Cases

Institutions with Google Apps for Education who Want Tighter Integration

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YOUR QUESTIONSAnd FINALLY, How About...