Whitman has an emerging technology group. Sakai implementation was their first project. Blackboard adoption was stagnating.

Faculty concerns:

• student login problems
• issues with digital dropbox
• changing content
• limitation with equation editor

Did a cost comparison of upgrading to enterprise and started looking at other options.

Why Sakai?

• provided the right features
• sustainable
• timeline was similar to Whitman's
• familiar
• good cost

Joined the educational partners--$5000/yr for three years. Lent credibility to their project.

Technical prep:

• ran a usage survey
• test instance
• tested features
• joined the partnership
• knowledge requirements--what staff do we need and what skills needed

Rebranded it and brought in web developer to help reskin it.

Moving forward to expand the pilot. Managed to import courses from Blackboard. Helped build that tool. Also helped improve the discussion board. Hard to integrate with the SIS. On the hardware side, built in redundancy, connected to storage network. Total hardware budget $18,500.

A lot more buzz around Sakai than there ever was with Blackboard. Established a faculty advisory committee. Helped with the feedback process.

Lessons:

• administrative buy-in important
• work closely with faculty
• transparency and frequent communication
• get involved in the sakai community
• ask for help from the community
• lobby for features
• don't have to be able to code to contribute
• don't bombard people with tools--just select the ones you need
• don't customize core pieces

Costs

• partnership--$5000
• pilot server--$4,500
• hardware--$18,500
• conference--$3,000

Staff requirements:

• about .5 fte for project
• documentation and training is taking up most of time

Benefits

• customizable
• predictable costs--as opposed to the bb increases
• large community to rely on
• collaboration with faculty--can talk to them and really meet their needs rather than having to tell them, I'm sorry, Blackboard doesn't do that

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