In the interest of transparency, I wanted to let everyone know where we currently stand on some of the technical issues that caused such fits a few weeks ago, as well as some other things we’re working on improving.

First, the domain name transfer I mentioned last week is still in progress. Basically the companies that provide this service (see Wikipedia’s entry on this topic if you want to know more) are all in competition with one another, so I get varying levels of support vs. barrier. It’s all still in the works, though, and I don’t anticipate any downtime from this project.

Second, a few people have asked recently about the status of Dossier, a.k.a. “the data collection thing.” We’ve made huge strides in making it ready for you to use, for real, in the last couple of months. The survey builder and assessment manager are really solid at this point. Now we’re cleaning up the behind-the-scenes parts that keep Project A separate from Project B and handle data security. This is important stuff, and we don’t take it lightly. In addition, we’re cleaning up the accounts management, login/logout component to make it as easy as possible for people to set up accounts, get to the groups they’re supposed to get to, and provide the data they’ve been asked to give.

Third: How about them Stratepedia Learning Labs? They’ve really taken off in terms of both semi-static supports for professional development (see Amber’s wonderful GIST: Drafting a Unit Organizer workshop) and collaborative, community of practice-like workgroups for various CRL projects. The Learning Labs are here to stay. The site will be getting a facelift in the coming weeks, and as we learn more about how to put Moodle to full use, we’ll roll out additional features and enhancements.

Finally, let me talk about the Content Enhancement Library briefly. It’s been kind of neglected of late, I know. A new version with a stronger database on the backend and a simpler interface has been in the works for a few months now. Oh, and it won’t be strictly Content Enhancement–we’re opening it up to add support for other components of SIM as well. It’s currently sitting on my laptop. I was hoping it would be done in time for the new year but that hasn’t happened. Once some of these other projects cool off, the new Library will be my top priority. I’d like to be able to at least show it off at the summer conference.

So, in broad strokes, that’s what we’ve been working on up on the top floor of JRP. As always, feel free to send me an e-mail (asumner -at- ku.edu) if you have any questions, comments, or ideas.

Thanks everybody,
Aaron

Tags: Content Enhancement Library, Dossier, Learning Labs, sim library, support