Classes.Yale.edu

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Classes.Yale.edu
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Classes.Yale.edu Essentials

• Syllabus, web page, materials distribution, class
  email list, homework upload, chat, threaded
  discussion, etc.
• Easy and direct access from Classes web space to
  other web resources
• Simplicity, ease of use, low threshold to get
  started
• Student self-registration
• Automatic creation of account based on class
  schedule
• Standard Yale NetID authentication
• High reliability/availability
• Secure web-based course evaluation
• Future secure faculty access to course
  evaluations
• Mid-term course feedback

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Classes.Yale.edu Snapshot

• Usage
• 450 non-seminar classes per semester
• 478 syllabi posted (fall) of which approx 400 do
  something more
• 330 syllabi as of this morning
• Materials posted range from a few 100K to
  multiple GBs
• Staff requirements
• Designed and written in approx 1.5 FTE years
• Ongoing support 1/3 FTE
• Ongoing development ¼ FTE
• Support
• Support workshops initial page in 90 minutes
• Standard faculty support program

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Advantages

• Unique Issues
• Shopping period
• Fast response to requests
• Class photo pilot
• Course evaluation pilot
• Course feedback
• Research.yale.edu
• Committees.yale.edu

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Application Components of Stellar
 Registration (authentication, user profile, class signup, list management) Content Presentation (syllabus, calendar, table of contents, course portal) Collaboration (discussion board, email, chat)
Administration (grade book, calendar) Content Management (text, graphics, audio, video, animations, simulations) Assessment (quizzes, exams, course evaluations)
Setup (create course, course templates) Content Creation (digitization and consumption) Renewal (re-use material, archive, create portfolio)
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Portal
Course Pages
Accessibility Tools
Palm Pilot/PCS
Other
UI
Content Outline Aggregate Course Content and
Pedagogical Elements
Assignment Mgmt Turn-in, Collect, Return, Pick up
Assessment Tool Create, Take, Grade, Online
Quizzes and Tests
Comm. and Collab. Chat, Email, Shared White
Boards, etc.
Other GradeBook, Calendar, Survey, etc.
Backbone UIs User interfaces for backbone
components should be modular
Stellar Modules
Course Instance Mgmt (Associates Basic Elements
with Course)
Authentication (Modular Plug-ins)
Authorization (ACL/Roles)
Backbone Architecture
Group Management
Digital Content Mgmt (Arcs)
User Profile Management
Other
Data Abstraction and Interface Layers
Warehouse Data
Stellar Local Data
Filespace/URLs
Other Sources/Repositories
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Other Systems

• Harvards instructional tool kit with course web
  system
• MIT and Stanfords Mellon funded Stellor project
• Commercial systems provide a package of tools
  which may conflict with institutional systems
• Email, calendaring, list processing, etc.

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Our needs

• A set of well know tools
• Serge 80 of faculty will never use more than
  20 of the features
• The ability to integrate them into a simple, low
  threshold system
• That can be easily attached to our registration
  and related systems
• And fit within nebulous portal potentials
• Scalability
• Q what is the experience
• Ownership, storage and archival of course
  material
• Course web support is core to institutions
  instructional mission
• The ability for us to quickly and easily make
  local adjustments

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Futures

• More sophisticated tools
• Particularly media tools digitization and
  mounting
• But completely easy to use, no advance training
  required!
• Eventual market maturation
• Like the Library catalog market?
• Hard to make money with R1 schools?
• A clear opportunity what to do?
• Do it ourselves, ala Stellar?
• Partner with a vendor, ala Prometheus?