Sakai as a Service for Colleges and Consortia

Scott SiddallDenison University

The Longsight Group

siddall@longsight.com

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

Your thoughts?

This presentation and podcast will be posted at

http://longsight.comsiddall@longsight.com