New faculty interview video: Sakai is a robust system. It works!

Dr. Dennis Orthner, Professor in the School of Social Work, has been teaching for nearly 40 years. He wasn’t interested in Sakai specifically and doesn’t particularly care about what goes on technologically “behind the scenes.”  However, he was interested in teaching his course in a “hybrid” mode (partly online and partly face-to face). Therefore, he wanted a system that would “make the interface with his students transparent and easy.” Sakai did that. Hear what he has to say!

UNC & Sakai: More News!

There are two meetings and an article from one of our own that you might find interesting.

Sakai: Open Source … Open Minds

• Check out the article in Learning Solutions Magazine by our own Larissa Biggers!

Teaching and Learning with Technology Collaborative (TLTC) Inaugural Meeting

Wednesday, January 20
1 - 2:30 pm
Toy Lounge, Dey Hall

• Streamlining Course Coordination with Sakai
  a presentation by Anastacia Kohl (see her video interview)
• Elluminate web conferencing

The (Last) LMS User Group Meeting

Thursday, January 21
2-3:30 pm
205 Undergraduate Library

• See the full agenda of presentations

Want to spend more time on teaching? Use Sakai!

Hear what Dr. Joelle Powers, Clinical Assistant Professor of Social Work has to say about creating a “hybrid” Research Methods course using Sakai. In particular, she talks about how using Sakai has changed the way she prepares for classes and allows her more time for teaching. If you’ve got 2 minutes, have a listen!

NEW for Spring 2010!

What’s new this term?

1. More course and project sites, more Sakai users! Why? Who? People collaborating on projects or grants find Sakai easy to learn and flexible enough to meet their needs. Faculty who teach multiple sections of a course (or oversee multiple sections as discussed in the fall) like the way Sakai streamlines course management and makes communications simpler, easier, faster. We are pleased to welcome new faculty (and students!) in Arabic, Italian, German, and French as well as the School of Medicine, Allied Health Sciences, Audiology, Radiology, the School of Social Work, and more.



2. Lunch-time help sessions online! For the first two weeks of the semester (through 1.22.10), we are available online to our UNC faculty, staff, and students every weekday from noon to 1 pm to answer questions, provide advice, or see the innovative ways you are using Sakai! Details and the link are provided in the Sakai Innovators site. If you want to participate but you aren’t in Innovators (yet), just open a help request.



3. Automatic course, enrollment, and user information is integrated into our system. This means that each evening, add/drops are automatically updated. It also means that it’s easier than ever to add UNC-affiliated people to your project sites. Just go to Site Info > Add participants > [add the user's onyen to the top text box]

Soon we’ll announce upcoming demos, brown bag lunches, and other learning opportunities in the hopper. May this be your best semester yet!