SLN Technology Strategy FAQ

 

Please choose from the following Drop Down box, or the list on the right to view SLN2.0 Questions:

Why change technologies?

Why is SLN leaving Lotus Notes/Domino?

There are a number of reasons, but two stand out. First, IBM—the company that manufactures and supports the Lotus products—has told us that they cannot provide us with the support we need to continue scaling the SLN platform as our community grows. The SLN LMS utilizes Notes/Domino in ways that it was never designed to be used. This wasn’t a problem when the SLN community was under 100,000 enrollments, but the community is now large enough that the SLN LMS is beginning to push the limits of the platform’s ability to scale. The LE Technology Team is confident that the current platform can handle the growth of the SLN community for the next several years, but the longer term prospects are not as good.

The second reason that SLN is leaving Notes/Domino is that nobody else—either commercial vendor or university—is developing the components that the community needs. For example, there is no test engine for Notes/Domino and we’ve found no one working on one. Staying on Notes/Domino would mean that LE’s developers would have to create all substantial LMS-related functionality for the SLN community. Under these circumstances, keeping pace with the progress in alternative LMS platforms would not be possible.

But hasn’t Notes/Domino served SLN well up until now?

Yes it has. The real issue is finding a technology solution (and accompanying support community) that will serve SLN best in the future.

Why can’t Learning Environments (LE) migrate SLN to IBM Workplace, the successor technology to Lotus Notes?

LE could, but it wouldn’t solve any of the current problems. To begin with, moving to Workplace wouldn’t solve the current performance problems unless SLN were rewritten from the ground up. And since nobody else that we know of has expressed an interest in building an LMS on top of Workplace—including IBM—LE would be in the position of essentially having to write an entire LMS from scratch.

What will the change be?

If SLN2.0 will not be based on Notes/Domino, then what will it be?

The proposed platform is a multi-tiered solution, based on the Open Source project called uPortal, and will include components from several other Open Source projects, including Sakai and LAMS. See http://uportal.org/, http://www.sakaiproject.org/, and http://lamsfoundation.org/, respectively, for information on these projects. For complete details, see SLN’s Technology Strategy Report, Request for Public Comment dated October 24, 2005 .

Why hasn’t Learning Environments (LE) chosen an existing proprietary or Open Source learning management system?

After studying the LE Task Force Report, reviewing other relevant technology strategies happening throughout SUNY (such as the SUNY Portal Initiative), and looking at recent developments in the global community of higher education online learning, the LE evaluation team concluded that we could best meet SUNY’s long-term strategic needs while staying true to SLN’s long-standing core values by choosing a flexible combination of several existing technologies rather than be locked into one big bundle. Again, for more details see the SLN’s Technology Strategy Report, Request for Public Comment.

Doesn’t LE’s approach have the same “go-it-alone” challenges as staying on Notes/Domino?

No. To begin with, the LE evaluation team has carefully chosen components that are already in production in other places and actively supported by Open Source communities and/or commercial vendors. For example, the team proposes to use the Sakai Assessment Manager, which is actively developed and supported by the Open Source community. On Notes/Domino or Workplace, we would have to build our own. Furthermore, LE has been in contact with experts at a number of universities and on relevant Open Source projects to find out who else might be interested in the proposed system. It’s still early, but so far there has been considerable initial interest, both in the United States and abroad.

Will SLN2.0 have similar features to the current SLN?

LE has committed to carrying forward all of the substantial capabilities of the current system. However, some of these capabilities (such as comprehensive offline support) will be challenging to reproduce on a non-Notes system and will probably not be available in the first production release. SLN’s Technology Strategy Report, Request for Public Comment has a list of features that could reasonably be included in a first production release of SLN2.0, based on the functionality that exists today in the components that will make up the new system. This list may change as the components improve, as we find new components, and as we get more feedback from the SLN community regarding their development priorities.

How will SLN2.0 compare to commercial alternatives?

Based on the conservative list of possible first-release features mentioned in the last question, SLN2.0 will compare well to existing commercial and Open Source alternatives. It also should have features and capabilities that the other alternatives don’t have. If it didn’t then there wouldn’t be any point in developing something new.

How Will SLN2.0 Be Developed?

How will LE provide sufficient technology resources for such a large project?

Learning Environments will outsource the majority of the initial development work with one or more vendors, following an RFP bidding process in early 2006. Once the initial system is developed, the LE team, with the support of various Open Source communities and commercial vendors, will be able to keep the new system evolving at a competitive pace relative to other market alternatives.

When will SLN2.0 be done?

There is no one answer to this question because different stakeholders will have different criteria for deciding when the system is feature-rich and mature enough to call it “done.” That said, LE anticipates having a production-quality system ready Fall 2007, with several working prototypes available in the interim, starting with the first one in Fall 2006.

Can I be involved in the development process?

Yes. Learning Environments and its vendor partner(s) will be focusing on specific developments based on three-month projections. Input from SLN community members during these timeframes will be focused as well. Community members with relevant programming skills can also participate in the system development, since the project will be Open Source. More information about opportunities for you to participate will be forthcoming as the details are worked out.

Do I have to participate in the development process?

No. If you prefer to just get regular progress updates, or even ignore the development of the new system until it is ready to be rolled out on your campus, you may do so. But we hope that you will participate, at least in terms of providing feedback, so that we can best ensure that the system being developed is the best one for you.

What will the migration process be like?

Will SLN2.0 work just like the current system?

SLN2.0 will have many of the same features and functions as SLN1.0; however, the ways they perform will likely be different. It will not be possible to completely duplicate the Notes/Domino-based interface, and the intent is to create new features and functions to enhance your online courses.

Will I have to recreate all my courses from scratch in the new system?

No. The LE team will be able migrate the content from the old system to the new one. However, that content may need to be edited or, in some cases, rethought based on the new features or processes in SLN2.0, similar to the way you rethought a face-to-face class when you moved it to an online environment.

Will SLN help me migrate my content and learn how to use the new system?

Of course! SLN will provide training, documentation, and Help Desk support for faculty and support staff, as well as helping each campus develop its own customized migration plan.

When will I have to migrate?

That decision will be made on a campus-by-campus basis. Learning Environments does not plan to “turn off the lights” on SLN1.0 on a particular date, but individual campuses may choose to do so for their own faculty, staff, and students. Realistically speaking, the earliest that a campus would be able to migrate to the new system is Fall 2007.

What happens in the meantime?

Can LE keep the current system running until the new one is in place?

Yes, and we will continue to support SLN1.0 until the new system is fully deployed SUNY-wide.