Teaching with SmartSite
An Introduction
Steve Faith
What is SmartSite?
 “Sometimes I hear SmartSite, sometimes Sakai”.
 Open Sourced
 Just as we learn collaboratively, we develop
collaboratively.
 Big names and small names.
 International
What can I do with SmartSite?
 Encourage students to collaborate outside of class.
 Provide additional resources for students.
 Connect with students on your terms and your
schedule.
 Optimize class time by making tests and quizzes
available outside of class.
 Assign and collect student work electronically.
 . . .and more.
MyUCDavis to SmartSite Transition
That light you see is not the end of the tunnel…
…it is a train.
Get on board
Now: SmartSite Encouraged
Fall 2007: SmartSite and MyUCDaivis
Fall 2008: SmartSite only
A quick overview
Two spaces:
 My Workspace
 your course site(s)
Navigation
 Menu bar
Going Back
 Site Info
People in My Workspace
Profile
 Edit your profile
Membership
 Join Leslie’s Demo Site + one other site
People on your course site
Welcome students with your site introduction
 Edit your site information
People on your course site
Roster (populated by the registrar)
Participants
 Add two neighbors as participants
 Manage their access
Warning: NEVER change your own role
from “maintain” or “instructor.” You’ll lock
yourself out of your site.
Course content
Instructor-generated
 Web links
 Syllabus
 Assignments
Student- and instructor-generated
 Resources
 Message Center (discussion forum)
 Wiki
Course content: Web links
 Create a web link in the menu (side) bar.
 Edit it so that it opens in a new window.
Course content: Syllabus
Options:
 Syllabus posted in HTML
 Try out Create/Edit function.
 Syllabus posted in another format
 Attach syllabus (e.g., as a .doc or PDF).
Course content: Assignments
Options:
 Assignment posted in HTML
 Try out the text box.
 Assignment uploaded as an attachment.
 Attach an assignment in another format
(e.g., .doc or PDF).
Students can turn in assignments to their
personal drop boxes or directly to the
assignment.
Course content: Resources
Think of this as your virtual file cabinet where you
can store any kind of digital resource - video, web
links, Word docs, PDFs, images, audio, and more.
 Upload a single resource.
Want to organize and upload multiple
resources? Take an advanced SmartSite
workshop to learn how to use WebDAV.
Course content: Wikis and Forums
Wikis: pages can be created or edited by anyone
Forums: Spaces for threaded discussion
To learn more about wikis and forums,
take an advanced SmartSite workshop.
Communication
Announcements
 Send an announcement.
E-mail
 Change your site’s e-mail address.
 Send an e-mail from the site.
Schedule
 Add an event to your schedule
Chat
 Join your neighbor in the chat room.
Student view
To see any part of your course site as a student views it:
1. Add sakaistu1 as a participant.
2. In a separate browser, log in as sakistu1 (password:
sakaistu1).
3. Click on your course tab at the top (or in the drop-down
menu).
Further Resources
The advanced SmartSite workshop covers
 Wikis
 Tests & Quizzes
 Message Center / Discussion Forums
 Managing multiple resources with WebDAV
 Modules
 Gradebook
 and more
Further Resources
Level 1: Online help (Click “Support and Training”
link in menu bar, and then “Technical Tips.”)
Level 2: IT Express - for quick answers to questions
about SmartSite tools. (Call 754-4357 or e-mail
smartsite-help@ucdavis.edu.)
Level 3: ET Partners - for individual, customized
assistance by specially trained student technology
advisors. (754-2115, etpartners@ucdavis.edu,
etpartners.ucdavis.edu).
Further Resources
To schedule a workshop customized to your
department or other group, contact Leslie MadsenBrooks at ljmadsen@ucdavis.edu or 754-5194 or
Steve Faith at faith@ucdavis.edu or 752-1785
For pedagogical approaches to SmartSite, join the
Faculty Mentoring Faculty Program:
fmfp.ucdavis.edu.
To report bugs or for other questions, e-mail
smartsite-help@ucdavis.edu.