OSS and Presentations/Speeches

Moodle, an open source course management software, is not only a tool for communication and reflection but also a virtual learning object. Explore how students in an information-literacy course respond to, comprehend, and use a variety of web 2.0 technologies in a single online environment.

Begun in 1990, the Campus Computing Project is the largest continuing study of the role of computing, e-learning, and information technology in American higher education. The session will present the results of the 2007 Campus Computing Survey, including new data on P2P policies, open source deployment, IT security issues, strategic and financial planning for IT, instructional integration of IT, campus IT standards, course management systems, and Web site services.

The Open Source Portfolio (OSP), which began as a student-centered tool promoting student learning and providing opportunities for career development and reflection, also offers features that make it an essential tool for value-added assessment, program improvement, and accreditation. This session will offer perspectives from several campuses concerning these OSP applications.

In the summer of 2006, Mount Holyoke implemented Sakai, an open source learning management system, to replace WebCT and provide diverse capabilities through a single portal. This presentation will cover planning, deployment, and transition of users and materials. The discussion will particularly focus on lessons learned including successes, challenges, and vision for future development.

Maintaining spreadsheets on server configurations, firewalls, and personal identity data, each with redundant and inconsistent information, is outmoded in today's security climate. This presentation will demonstrate using Protégé, an open source ontology and knowledge-base tool, to intelligently capture and maintain comprehensive enterprise security information in a single repository.

Learn how Indiana University has successfully implemented the world's largest installation of the Sakai open source collaborative learning environment on eight campuses statewide. This presentation will cover migration from an enterprise legacy system, tiered support model, virtualized hardware solutions, source code management techniques, and balancing local needs with community-driven development.

Claremont McKenna College aims to migrate hundreds of courses and over 150 active instructors from WebCT to Sakai within a year. Whitman College has successfully completed its yearlong pilot and conversion from Blackboard to Sakai. Both schools have worked closely with faculty volunteers and have developed tools to address technical migration issues. The schools will share the different stages of their implementations, methods used, challenges, and successes.

Going back to the beginning and revisiting how current practices developed over time can help us understand where we are now, and where we are headed. When viewed in this light, open source licenses and business models stop looking like aberrations and start looking like part of the natural progression of an industry.