Spring Break
Sakai to replace WebCT beginning fall semester
Noelle Myers
Issue date: 4/10/09 Section: Campus
04/10/09 - After approximately 12 years of using WebCT, an online service that allows professors to teach via the Internet, the University of Rhode Island will be upgrading to a newer program.
This summer will be the last time WebCT courses will be offered at URI. Professors will be transferring their information to a service called Sakai in the fall.
Mary Jane Palm, manager of instructional technology and media Services, said, "it is time to upgrade the system."
"We ran [WebCT] as long as we could. Now it's time to go," Palm said.
It was announced in 2006 that WebCT would be merging with a company called Black Board and would eventually be discontinuing the program. If URI stayed with Black Board it would have involved adapting to a new program every few years and paying $85,000 for its services as opposed to the original $30,000 cost of WebCT.
"We are at the end of life [with] the existing WebCT program," Palm said.
It became clear to faculty about a year ago that it was time to change programs. Palmer said Sakai was the most appealing
Faculty unanimously voted for Sakai in late September and later learned about its benefits during a Sakai Conference in Providence, Palm said. The Sakai Conference was informative about its newer features.
Palm said Sakai is designed as a collaborative tool and offers features like access for student clubs and an easier process for professors to create group discussions.
"[With Sakai there are] fewer clicks to do what you need to do," Palm said.
WebCT was programmed manually and became time consuming, she said.
According to the Sakai Web site, the employees constantly building the program and adding new tools work on college campuses.
"We believe they know best what features academic users value."
Choosing Sakai allows URI to pick and choose the program's features and tools as opposed to Black Board/WebCT's pre-packaged program, Palm said.
Along with choosing the tools of their choice, "URI will get to vote on the tools Sakai wants to implement," she said.
Palm said the feedback has been positive from faculty so far and she is looking for student input as well. Currently this semester there are five pilot classes using Sakai and over the course of the summer approximately 50-80 classes will be using the program, she said. Palm plans on doing a poll after their Sakai courses are completed.
She said high school students in Rhode Island are using the program as well.
This summer will be the last time WebCT courses will be offered at URI. Professors will be transferring their information to a service called Sakai in the fall.
Mary Jane Palm, manager of instructional technology and media Services, said, "it is time to upgrade the system."
"We ran [WebCT] as long as we could. Now it's time to go," Palm said.
It was announced in 2006 that WebCT would be merging with a company called Black Board and would eventually be discontinuing the program. If URI stayed with Black Board it would have involved adapting to a new program every few years and paying $85,000 for its services as opposed to the original $30,000 cost of WebCT.
"We are at the end of life [with] the existing WebCT program," Palm said.
It became clear to faculty about a year ago that it was time to change programs. Palmer said Sakai was the most appealing
Faculty unanimously voted for Sakai in late September and later learned about its benefits during a Sakai Conference in Providence, Palm said. The Sakai Conference was informative about its newer features.
Palm said Sakai is designed as a collaborative tool and offers features like access for student clubs and an easier process for professors to create group discussions.
"[With Sakai there are] fewer clicks to do what you need to do," Palm said.
WebCT was programmed manually and became time consuming, she said.
According to the Sakai Web site, the employees constantly building the program and adding new tools work on college campuses.
"We believe they know best what features academic users value."
Choosing Sakai allows URI to pick and choose the program's features and tools as opposed to Black Board/WebCT's pre-packaged program, Palm said.
Along with choosing the tools of their choice, "URI will get to vote on the tools Sakai wants to implement," she said.
Palm said the feedback has been positive from faculty so far and she is looking for student input as well. Currently this semester there are five pilot classes using Sakai and over the course of the summer approximately 50-80 classes will be using the program, she said. Palm plans on doing a poll after their Sakai courses are completed.
She said high school students in Rhode Island are using the program as well.
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