Brock is now a member of the Sakai Foundation

 

The Sakai Foundation provides the institutional and organizational base for the Sakai Community, which develops the underlying technology under Isaak.  Isaak is Brock University's Sakai-Based Learning Management System (LMS). 

 

Sakai is the open source software on which Brock University's Isaak LMS is built.  As an open source tool Sakai's code and design
represent the work of professionals and hobbyist contributing their work to the project.  Anyone can use Sakai without formal contribution but they are asked to contribute any enhancements they make back to the community.

 

Brock University joined a long list of international educational institutions when it choose Sakai to power its LMS Isaak in 2008.  Today all Brock University instructors can choose to use Isaak for the on-line components of their class.  The tools used in Isaak/Sakai help instructors and students communicate and work in a private on-line environment.  As on-line education becomes a bigger part of teaching and learning at Brock, students need access to a modern platform for their learning.  The Brock community uses the same technology that powers similar systems at Georgia Tech, Stanford University and the University of Windsor.

 

By joining the Sakai Foundation Brock University has taken the next step in supporting Sakai.  Joining this foundation is an indication of Brock's commitment to the ongoing development of Sakai.  Brock's contribution to the Sakai Foundation is made alongside other large institutions such as Oxford University, Johns Hopkins University and Yale University.

 

Now that Brock University is a member of this foundation, Brock has gained a vote in Sakai Foundation Board elections as well as representation in community prioritization consultations.

 

Membership also entitles Brock University community members to a reduced registration rate for the 2011 Sakai Conference in Berlin, Germany.

 

The Sakai Foundation was established in 2005 to continue to develop the Sakai software and community. The Sakai Foundation is a member-based, non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation engaged in the collaborative design, development and distribution of open-source software for education, research and related scholarly activities. It encourages community-building between academic institutions, non-profits and commercial organizations and provides its members and others with an institutional framework within which Sakai projects can flourish. The Foundation also works to promote the wider adoption of community-source and open standards approaches to software solutions within higher education. More information about the Sakai Foundation can be found at their web site.

 

We in the Centre for Teaching, Learning and Educational Technologies hope that this is an ongoing partnership between Brock University and the broader Isaak/Sakai community.