Sakai Lessons Enhancement Project

Posted on behalf of Josh Baron:

Colleagues

Over the past few months the Sakai Teaching and Learning Group has been developing plans for a Lessons Enhancement Project [1] which will focus primarily on a major redesign of the Lessons/Lesson Builder interface and the overall user experience.  We believe this will significantly increase instructor use of this new and powerful tool and help support innovative teaching and learning activities such as flipped classrooms, online courses and MOOCs. Marist College and Tufts University have committed funds for the project and are now seeking 4-5 additional partners to participate.

Based on our initial time and effort analysis, the cost of this project, which would include time from an expert User Experience Designer and UI Developer, will range from between $25k to $35k and be completed in time for inclusion in Sakai 11 provided work starts this summer.   The T&L Group has also engaged Charles Hedrick, CTO at Rutgers University and the lead Lessons developer, who has endorsed the project and is ready to work with us to advise and help implement these improvements.  Members of the Teaching and Learning group are also ready to provide input, conduct lightweight usability studies and help champion the use of Lessons at their institutions.  A high-level proposal is below with more details online at:https://confluence.sakaiproject.org/x/C4CLBQ

Marist College and Tufts University have each committed $5,000 to the project to date and are currently looking for another 4-5 institutions to contribute at the $5k or higher level.  Please note that given that many institutions in North America are ending their fiscal years we recognize that some institutions may not be able to provide funds until after July 1st.

If we are successful in this approach we believe it is a model that we can replicate as means to enhance other tools and capabilities in Sakai.

If you are interested in contributing, either funding or resources, or have questions please contact Josh Baron at Josh.Baron[at]marist[dot]edu

Thanks,

Josh