NITLE > Information Services > Sakai Services

Sakai Services

Institutions interested in open-source collaboration and learning management systems can enroll in our Sakai managed services. Sakai is a learner-centered, open-source course management system that offers faculty and students a rich, user-friendly interface, online help, and a wide variety of interactive tools to support teaching, learning, and collaboration. Sakai also includes the Open Source Portfolio, a set of tools that enables campuses and individuals to assemble and publish online e-portfolios of their work. See details and pricing for available services: Sakai Campus Service, Sakai Customized Service, Sakai Authentication Services, Sakai Consulting Services.

How can my campus use NITLE Sakai Services?

Sakai offers users a rich, user-friendly interface, online help, and a wide variety of tools that allow students to learn and collaborate in a truly interactive space. Features include but are not limited to discussion forums, wikis, chat, surveys, quizzes, glossaries, grade books, and multi-languages support. Sakai also includes the Open Source Portfolio, a set of tools allowing campuses and individuals to assemble and publish online e-portfolios of their work. E-portfolios have been used in a variety of ways, including allowing users to explore and document their coursework, for self-presentation in academic or professional contexts, and by campuses as a means of institutional assessment.

Faculty members can use Sakai to create flexible online learning environments quickly and easily and to encourage and nurture on-going learning and interaction with and between students. Faculty can use Sakai to

• make more effective use of limited face-to-face time with students by moving selected course elements online;
• foster and guide peer-to-peer discussion on defined topics;
• support and monitor collaborative group projects or peer-review activities;
• accommodate their students' different learning styles and preferences;
• challenge students to step out of their learning-based comfort zones;
• promote reflection on the learning process;
• safely and accessibly distribute course content to supplement face-to-face learning; and
• gather and review assignments, conduct surveys, and give quizzes.

Likewise, students can

• retrieve and review course materials such as syllabi, articles, images, and lecture notes from anywhere with online access;
• participate in discussions with fellow students;
• ask questions of the professor in a shared environment that allows everyone to learn from both question and response;
• review grades and feedback from the faculty member on assignments and tests.

What training and community opportunities are available?

NITLE offers several Sakai-related professional development programs and networking opportunities. Any participating institution, regardless of its enrollment status in NITLE's Sakai Services, may elect to participate in the following programs and networks. (See our list of events for scheduled instances.)

• Our online workshop, "Explore Sakai," which is delivered online via Multipoint Interactive Videoconferencing (MIV).
• An annual Sakai User Community Meeting, which faculty and staff members from participating institutions use to share knowledge and experiences, learn from one another, and identify areas for on-going collaboration. This peer-support network enables campuses to share best practices in pedagogy; exchange information about technical and support issues; avoid duplication of effort; and collaborate to develop better solutions.
• Sakai Virtual User Community Meetings, delivered online via MIV, that bring Sakai users from across the Network together between face-to-face user meetings.
• "Teaching with Learning Management Systems: Sakai," available upon request. (Find out more about our Workshops To Go.)
• The Sakai Discussion, an e-mail list and peer community for faculty, technologists, and librarians using and supporting the use of the Sakai learning management system. Participants share materials, offer teaching strategies, announce Sakai-related events, and discuss Sakai-assisted pedagogies and collaborative teaching and learning within the context of undergraduate liberal arts education.

Questions?  To enroll in or ask questions about NITLE Sakai Services or to share your ideas for other similar services that would be useful to your campus, please contact Eric Jansson.