Among the most important decisions we make as an institution is the selection of the technologies we use to improve the educational experience for students.<p>As NYU approached a juncture where our course management system -- Blackboard -- would require a substantial upgrade, I asked the Teaching Technology Committee, chaired by Senior Vice Provost Matthew Santirocco, to take the opportunity to review NYU’s needs and determine what product best suits the University. After considerable review, the Committee has recommended that we replace Blackboard with Sakai. The transition will take place over the next two years, with a targeted completion date of September 2013.<p>Peer institutions – including the University of California, Berkeley; the University of Michigan; and Stanford – have had successful and positive experiences with Sakai, as has our own School of Medicine. And by moving from Blackboard to Sakai, the University moves from a sole-sourced commercial product to an open-source learning management environment that allows us significant say in the software’s development. It also provides an open framework to integrate the other important tools to support teaching, learning, and scholarship, such as Google Apps. Finally, the University is piloting additional Sakai functionalities, and what we learn from this will inform our next steps.<p>Detailed planning for the transition to Sakai is now underway. The planning process will include broad consultation with the University community by the Teaching Technology Committee, including development of a plan for a smooth and well-supported transition.<p>The University will communicate about additional developments as our efforts progress. I hope you share our sense of excitement at moving to a new platform that will better serve the teaching and learning process at NYU.
Though I have no experience with Blackboard, at my college we use Sakai and I must admit it is pretty awesome. My favorite feature thus far is the ability for teachers to use a drop box for students to turn in HW. I haven't printed out a paper all year...when your transition, definitely encourage teachers to fully utilize that, and over he features. They'll make Sakai feel even more awesome.