[Building Sakai] Moodle export/import suitability for Sakai 3

[Zach A. Thomas]

On Sep 18, 2009, at 12:51 PM, John Norman wrote:

> I agree that IMS CC looks like the way to go for system-to-system
> transfer of a course.
>
> Lance's question was different though (if I understand correctly). He
> was asking whether there is an existing format that would be good for
> a system migration use case from Sakai 2 to Sakai 3. Whether IMS CC is
> complete enough depends a lot on how much you expect to be preserved
> in the transfer. With a custom development it intuitively seems likely
> that we could preserve more than is possible in a standard designed to
> permit transfer between different suppliers systems or distribution of
> a publisher's idea of a complete course.
>
> So far, I think it is looking like there would be no existing format
> that could give a high fidelity transfer experience. If that is true,
> the choice might be IMS CC for a basic transfer experience, a custom
> solution, or an investment in a special profile of IMS CC.
>
> My view on these options would be:
> 1. IMS CC - we will probably want it anyway for other use cases. IF it
> is good enough, there is a lot to be gained from just using it.
> 2. May be quickest, depending on how useful IMS CC is as a starting
> point
> 3. A special profile might be worth it if the work/learning made [1]
> easier and if IMS CC is a good starting point

My work on this problem convinced me that it is wise to treat Sakai-to- 
Sakai transfer as a fundamentally different problem from the use cases  
that IMS CC is designed to support. By its very nature, it is a  
minimum useful cross-section.

The nature of a bit-for-bit copy of Sakai sites necessitates that it  
be Sakai-specific. I think using IMS CC as a starting point is a  
square-peg, round-hole problem.

Zach