sakai as a service for colleges and consortia scott siddall denison university the longsight group...
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Sakai as a Service for Colleges and Consortia
Scott SiddallDenison University
The Longsight Group
What is SaaS?
Project planning
Hardware and software configuration
Customization and branding
Installation and client testing (one week)
Train local staff for tier 1 support
Online training materials
24/7 tier 2 support
Monitoring performance; capacity planning
Regular backup and restoration services
Software (i.e., Sakai) as a ServiceApplication service provider (ASP) model
Security and patch managementHardware renewalSandbox for testing, developmentSakai upgradesBug reporting and fixesTool installationsCustom development
Data migrationSIS connectivity, etc.
Why Sakai as a Service?
Providing a CLE is strategic
Running it yourself is not
It is cost-effective to hire specialists
Quicker startup, no capital investments
More predictable costs (human and capital)
Lower costs of ownership or access
Greater reliability
Why Sakai as a Service?
Campus can reallocate staff resources
Focus resources on outcomes, not technology
Focus staff on training/engaging faculty
Technical staff gain experience with open source
Gradually take ownership of the project
Not a proprietary instance of Sakai
No vendor lock-in assures choices
Our focus is on colleges, consortia
http://longsight.com
Why SaaS for Colleges?
Smaller colleges are less likely to have expertiseJava, Tomcat, Subversion, Ant, Maven…
SaaS lowers threshold for useTrain and access within a week at a low cost
Teaching and learning are paramountSakai is providing pedagogical flexibilityGood argument for Sakai in general
Achieve this innovation at lower risk without long term commitment through SaaS
Pilot versus Production
The Authentic PilotLimited only in scale
Mission critical – full support
Live courses for credit
Fully engaged faculty, students, staff
Evaluation rubricMcGill University EDUCAUSE 2005 presentation
(unacceptable – could live with it – recommended)
Walsh University
• CourseWork and CHEF pilots in 2004
• Sakai in production since August, 2005
• 2,300 students
• Campus community has developed a techno-realistic outlook on open source
Sakai Usage Survey
(151 respondents in December 2005)
Walsh University survey results
25% used Sakai for collaboration
6.5% placed notes into My Workspace
Those without prior CLE experience wanted more training
Different opinions for faculty and students
Changed your teaching/learning style?
64% of faculty but only 36% of students(significant difference, p=0.02)
Overall impression?
83% ++ faculty and 66% ++ for students(significant difference, p=0.01)
Use Sakai again?
88% of faculty would but only 62% of students(significant difference, p=0.02)
Tool assessments
• 87% ++ rating for resources
• 75% ++ rating for announcements and assignments
• 67% ++ rating for drop box
• 62% ++ rating for discussion
• 59% ++ rating for tests & quizzes
Split opinions!
• “It was hard for me to find the information I needed…”• “Easy to log on and find the necessary information”
• “Taking a paper and pencil test was easier”• “Taking tests on Sakai was easier than take a test in pencil and paper”
• “The drop box was a little confusing…”• “The drop box was the best for assignments..”
• What features did you most appreciate? “All of it!”• What features of Sakai did you find most negative? “All of it!”
What improvements would you suggest?
“Just keep listening to us as we get used to using it, and continue solving problems and discovering ways to make it even more user friendly…”
Why SaaS for Consortia?
Single shared instance of Sakai extends the tradition of collaboration
Project sites shared among disciplines
Resources shared through WebDAV
Potentially reveals courses for cross-registration
Creates new connections among support staff and faculty
Ohio Learning Network Pilot
• 42 participating institutions• Statewide program for shared CMS
– Blackboard, WebCT and open source
• Open source– Sakai, OSP, Moodle and uPortal
• Face-to-face and online training, monthly sessions
• Sandbox for testing new tools
Appalachian College Association
• 11 institutions• Pilot and production uses• Moved from WebCT• Face-to-face and online training of support staff• Week-long faculty development workshops• Strong leadership (consortium and campuses)
Longsight’s open source model
• Strict adherence to pure open source model• Branding and look & feel customizations but
nothing that breaks upgrade pathway• Bug fixes submitted to Sakai Jira site• Rights to contract work are shared• Contracted code is open sourced• No lock-in to a proprietary version of Sakai• Knowledge transfer if/when client takes over• Clients retain all content rights
Benefits
FlexibilityCollaboration
Lower costInnovative features
CHOICESLowered risk
Total Cost of Access(not ownership)
Number of accounts
ContractedSaaS costs
per year
Campus staffing
commitment
Total costs per account per year
Campus provides no new staff
1,000 $19,800 $0 $19.80
5,000 $43,860 $0 $8.77
n/a n/a n/a n/a
Campus provides staff
for tier 1 support & training
1,000 $19,800 $15,000 $34.80
5,000 $43,860 $20,000 $12.77
20,000 $126,200 $38,000 $8.21
Campus provides staff
for tier 1 support, training & technical oversight
1,000 $19,800 $25,000 $44.80
5,000 $43,860 $38,000 $16.37
20,000 $126,200 $45,000 $8.56
Sakai as a Service
Focus on what’s strategic
Cost-effective access to innovation and pedagogical flexibility
Reallocate human and capital resources
Increase local staff expertise in open source
Foster greater collaboration within and among institutions