[DG: Teaching & Learning] site template configuration

[Lynch, Maggie]

As we automatically populate Sakai with a site for every course and
section offered, we needed to have one template.  We met with faculty
over three meetings and could not get any consensus at all.  Also, for
us to have more than one template (we did considerate but in the end
decided no) we would need to add a designator to our ERP and develop a
whole process for determining which designator faculty wanted.  With
generating upwards of 1,000 sites per term this just wasn't practical.

So, what we do now is to provide the "minimum" template based on what
the majority of faculty use.  We unstealth all tools we support and
faculty either have been trained on adding additional tools themselves
or they get instructional design support for the tools.  All course
sites are delivered as "unpublished" and it is up to each faculty to
publish when they are ready for students to see it.  Some course
sections are never published.  However, most faculty--even in
face-to-face classes--use Announcements, Syllabus, Assignments, Tests &
Quizzes and Gradebook.

Here is our default template.

Announcements
Syllabus
Lessons
Assignments
Tests & Quizzes
Gradebook
Site Editor
Sections
Site Statistics
Roster
Help

We also have two Web Content Pages linked for every site.  1) Online
Tutoring which goes to our third part tutoring vendor; and 2) Library
which goes to our library entry for database searches.


Maggie McVay Lynch, Ed.D.
Dean, Information Technology and Distance Education
College of the Redwoods
7351 Tompkins Hill Rd
Eureka, CA 95501-9300
Phone: 707-476-4576
Fax: 707-476-4435