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Nick Rutter
Fredrik deBoer
WRT 303-0001
7 March 2011
Editorial: URI Must Continue Electronic Improvements
The University of Rhode Island is not only an institution that stands out among its peers
in the Northeast Region; it is an institution whose accomplishments and current work are
consistently recognized nationally and internationally. In the spirit of our successes, the
University is currently engaged in many internal improvements to our buildings, programs, and
the most relevant of these times, our technological infrastructure. More and more of URI's
instructors and students depend on web programs everyday. Some are tools common to the
majority of internet users, some are specific to use in secondary education, and some even are
specific for use at the University. In particular our Sakai eClassroom system receives a lot of
focus as it is the common worksite for all departments of study and provides many useful tools
such as electronic submission, gradebooks, forums, polls and much more.
We recommend that URI continues work with Sakai, but only in a limited capacity, as we
have committed to be involved in the collaborative community effort. We instead call for an
instructor movement to seek alternative software, in particular, the open-source program,
Moodle.
The switch to Sakai in of itself was an upgrade from the previously implemented WebCT
system, which The Good 5 Cent Cigar reported as a result of the WebCT distributors merging
with another company and increasing the cost of operations (Myers). It is difficult to deny that
having such a variable and accessible system in place would make the jobs of students and

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instructors easier. However, at least one instructor felt the opposite. In another article of The
Good 5 Cent Cigar, Professor Donna Hughes expressed strong objections after running into
problems with the software when trying to run a summer course in Womens Studies. Particular
problems cited were assignments that couldnt function to be completed before the due date, and
instructor loaded content disappearing on the discussion forums (Broder).
While those events are over a year old, problems still persist in the Sakai system. Here
are some that we feel make Sakai much too difficult and confusing to navigate even with an
instructor proficient and involved with Sakai:
-Sakai design breaks basic webpage layout concepts of alignment, proximity,
rhythm/repetition, and contrast.
-The layout is very similar to the social networking site Facebook, something which we
feel only serves to mix classes and data up like interactions from different people.
-New replies to forum posts are not reported, hampering the back and forth discussion
atmosphere which facilitates learning.
-Text in forum posts and in assignment boxes is not available if the browser is
accidentally clicked back or if the Sakai session times out.
-To go back within forum categories, the back button does not function, only clicking on
a return or cancel link will.
-Students have to undergo an arduous process to remove completed classes tabs from
display on their space. Some are still accessible even after two years.
-An overwhelming list of features, some of which are not even implemented or that seem
redundant.

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These problems persist, although it is made clear that The University has put a lot of
work in maintaining the site and trying to fix them. Introducing the site is a document titled
Learning with Sakai, which not only outlines what Sakai is and what features it offers, but also
a Programmers Log: Updates & Fixes There are seventeen bullet points of these fixes and
updates since September of 2010. In addition, the document outlines set maintenance times:
From 7:00 am to 8:00 am each morning, Sakai may be unavailable for some or all of this
time period to allow for scheduled maintenance. The official eCampus rosters for all
academic course sites are updated automatically four times a day [during the drop/enroll
period] at 7:30 am, 12:30 pm, 5:30 pm and 11:30 pm. Each update takes approximately
35 minutes to run. Use of Sakai is not affected by this process (Rutherford and Yang).
We are well aware of work beyond scheduled updates, such as the twice a year Sakai conference
and workshops to teach and inform instructors on how to use the program.
Additionally, URI is committed to involvement with the Sakai community, as the
program itself is a collaborative effort with other institutions to improve the program, and it is
through decisions made through a board of directors that determine what updates are released
when. According to the Sakai website, Older versions may be in use, but maintaining the code
becomes the responsibility of the individual institutions. Institutions are encouraged to take
advantage of the latest bug fixes, security patches, and feature enhancements by upgrading to the
currently supported versions. This perhaps is the root of all problems mentioned earlier. URI is
still using version 2.6 when 2.7 was released in August of 2010.
This is where we feel Moodle shines the strongest, in addition to fully addressing the list
of Sakai problems we listed. On the Moodle wiki, MoogleDocs, Moodle is described as
operating as an open source program which enthusiasts can create additional modules and offer

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fixes and reports to bugs and errors, in addition to the companys support and maintenance. So
rather than having the University spend so much time and effort trying to update this enormous
program, instructors can download updates and bug-fixes to their modules, as well as download
or even create third party modules specific to their needs which may be outside of the vast
amounts already offered by Moodle. So if instructors, such as Professor Donna Hughes, feel
frustrated, or even curious about using this alternative alongside Sakai, we encourage them to do
so and encourage other professors to do the same. Even if The University administration does not
officially endorse it, enough professors using Moodle will make this largely irrelevant. However,
we do hope the administration does support this change and encourage them to downsize Sakai
as essentially an alternative to class email.

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Works Cited

Broder, Elexa. "Professor fed up with Sakai, says courseware has kinks". The Good 5 Cigar.
The Good 5 Cigar. 4 Feb. 2010. Updated 28 Feb. 2011. Web. 6 Mar. 2011.

Collman, Chris. Features. MoodleDocs. Moodle, 5 Dec. 2010. Web. 6 Mar. 2011.

Myers, Noelle. Sakai to replace WebCT beginning fall semester. The Good 5 Cigar. The
Good 5 Cigar. 10 Apr. 2009. Updated 28 Feb. 2011. Web. 6 Mar. 2011.

Rutherford, Brett and Charlene Yang. Learning With Sakai. Sakai@URI. The University of
Rhode Island. Ver. 3.2, 2 Feb. 2011. Web. 6 Mar. 2011.

"CLE Release" sakaiproject.org. Sakai Foundation, n.d. Web. 6 Mar. 2011.