VLE/MLE developments at THC Microsoft Sharepoint Portal Services

1
VLE/MLE developments at THCMicrosoft Sharepoint
Portal Services
Interactive Learning Quality
2
Developments to-date

• Strategy/Focus
• Infrastructure
• Implementation
• Lessons/Plans

3
Strategy/Focus

• Choice/Use of a portal which worked with existing
  technologies and systems
• Portal system which didnt cost the earth
• Personalised and customisable content and
  features
• Team/Collaboration features Staff Admin
• New term new system

4
Infrastructure
5
Implementation

• Student Load Program
• Integrated .Net application
• Obtains enrolled student information from QLS
  (SQL Database)
• Creates the associated User(Student ID) in the
  correct domain and Organisational Unit, maps some
  information into the Active Directory, which in
  turn is imported into the Profiles database.
• Creates Domain Security Groups, i.e. Programme
  Area and Course. There are NT Groups like
  PA21(for Access) and TH1021PA(for NVQ Level 3
  Accounts / NVQ Level 3 Accounts AAT Intermediate
  Evening Poplar)

6
Implementation

• Adds/Removes students to/from the necessary
  groups depending on the courses that they are
  enrolled.
• Creates an Area in Mercury for the Programme Area
  and also a course Area. Security is then
  controlled via the NT Groups created
• Creates Audiences that are mapped to the Groups
  created in the Active Directory
• This allows us to target content to students down
  to a course level and/or programme area. If a
  student changes course etc, this is updated
  programmatically.

7
Lessons/Plans

• Some of the problems
• Username and Logon Prompts (this was fixed with
  the service pack)
• Security permissions were corrupted (therefore
  rebuilt mercury)
• Mercury is published via ISA (some problems
  encountered due to the length etc of the URL used
  on Mercury.)
• Web Part development to Exchange Server using
  webdav was slow.

8
Interesting Points

• We have two Exchange Servers (one for Students
  one for Staff) therefore have to access two
  servers for Outlook Web Access
• I have used SSO (Single Sign On) to store the
  server names and developed a web part that is
  forced onto the My Site that shows the inbox
  (unread messages) and Calendar Appointments. This
  web part interrogates domain and then redirects
  to the appropriate server for Outlook Web Access.
  
• Development of the CIS as a .NET web application
  is under the sharepoint website (currently on the
  development server), and has the potential to use
  sharepoint functionality i.e. web parts,
  personalisation etc. Allowing this content to be
  indexed under sharepoint.
• Use of pdf IFILTER to index pdf documents (as
  this is not standard on Sharepoint)